Boar dating....how successful is it really?

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disneymad

disneymad

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Hi, I need to get my 1 year old boar a friend. Booked him in to the vets yesterday to be neutered so I could get him a lady friend but when I got there and spoke to the vet he said it was a 50% chance of something going wrong after e.g. abscess. Decided I could not go through with it. He suggested getting a female and neutering her because risk of infection afterwards is far less. What do you think??
Am now thinking boar dating but would appreciate advise. How successful is it? My boar had to be separated from his brothers because he fought them. How likely is it this would happen again?
Does anyone know any boar dating places in near Kent?
Thanks!
 
For me boar dating was really successful. I took my 5 year old male to get a new baby friend after he lost his brother and it was a lot easier than i expected.

It's a great way to get a friend in a controlled environment that the piggy is compatible with and also you get great after care advice and support.
 
I always thought neutering sows was generally not recommended, as it is far more invasive and risky than neutering boars. There's also a much greater risk of infection. It's also notably more expensive...

Boar dating sounds much more piggy-safe!
 
Neutering sows is a far more invasive operation than neutering and therefore much less performed. Sows are usually spayed only for medical reasons. As far as I know, neutering was less risky option!

It very much depends on the vet and his experience how high the risk of post op complications is - but I would certainly not use that vet. While complications are sadly not all that rare, that ratio is very, very bad even for a general vet with not great experience! With the right vet, the risk is much lower, but like with any operation, nothing is ever completely failsafe.

Boar dating - when done properly - would be my first option and is highly successful when done properly. If I were you, I would contact Jenny (crawleygprescue) from Crawley GP Rescue near Gatwick airport; she is the rescue in the South that I can recommend most warmly! http://crawleyguineapigrescue.org/default.aspx

It is well worth going the extra length to have things done properly - a rescue that is boar dating to the highest standard will introduce your boar to likely candidates over the course of a week, with suitable breaks in between if things don't work out with the potential. If two boars hit it off, their bond will be tested for stability, usually for a minimum of two days before they are sent home. If your boar doesn't hit it off with any of the boars he is introduced to, he will be invited to come again at a later date for a second round with different boars. So far, I haven't heard of a boar needing a third trip yet.

If things go wrong, you can always return a boar back to his rescue. When carefully done like this, the success rate is actually very high and the procedure is very low risk for you and your boar. Compared to what you would pay for an operation (and especially potential complications), paying that bit more to use a good rescue is money well spent in my opinion!
 
I have several examples of boar dating that has gone well. Firstly Benny was dated with Billy, a much older pig who took him under his wing at the rescue where I got them from. When Billy died I went to another rescue for boar dating and although Benny didn't take to his first date, he fell in love with baby Harry and they are devoted to each other. With my other pair of boars, I contacted a local rescue when Peppa'a brother died and after a successful date Barney and Peppa lived together for a year until Peppa's recent death. I'm taking Barney to Suzy's in Glynneath next weekend for a date (and also because I've been wanting to visit Suzy for ages and now have an excuse to go!) So to sum up - boar dating, done properly, works really well.
 
Just to second everything already said - boar dating really can be very successful indeed when done by someone experienced and knowledgable, and I would also very much recommend Jenny at Crawley GPR. After Rocky died last October his brother Rufus was left on his own and so went for a fortnights holiday with Jenny :) he was first tried with Buggs but it didn't work out, then with Bob who came home to us with Rufus a week later! They are very happy together :) I think they found common ground with their greediness! There are many boar dating success stories on this forum, I hope it works out for you if it is what you choose to do :)
 
Boar dating was extremely sucessful for me! Previously lonely Charlie (aged 3 years) now lives very happily with George (aged 3 months) :) Good luck :) x
 
Also...I was advised that they need two of everything! so water bottles, food bowls, beds etc...to avoid any conflict. Works a treat :)
 
Thank you all for your replies. I thought it was weird that he suggested neutering the sow too. Having read up on neutering here it went against all that had been advised. The vets was recommended by a forum member though from a previous post of mine.
I am going to contact Crawley yomorrow! Thanks again!
 
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