Boar lunge.

[Skinnycow83]

Hello again ; reaching out as a bit worried about our boys. We have two skinny boars: Spud and Ren- they are 6 months. Following advice on here they have a 6x2 c+c and two of everything. Generally they have been ok with some dominance behaviour- rumbling , scent marking, bum sniffing and a little chasing but it escalated tonight. Spud is a big fan of the zoomies and he has this habit of zooming around, crashing into Ren ; he was doing this tonight and I coukd see Ren getting annoyed. Ren was hissing and teeth chattering then lunged at Spud. Spud ran off and was whining, I checked him over , no bite Marks or blood- they are back to eating hay together now. I know they Are teens now and am expecting more of this;. I’ve read the guides and can see this is Amber/Red behaviour so I’m getting more anxious.
We will put a divider up in the cage if we have to bit I don’t want to unless really needed as they seem to like feeding side by side and I want them to have the security each other unless we really have to separate them.
Pics below.
Any advice welcome.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello again ; reaching out as a bit worried about our boys. We have two skinny boars: Spud and Ren- they are 6 months. Following advice on here they have a 6x2 c+c and two of everything. Generally they have been ok with some dominance behaviour- rumbling , scent marking, bum sniffing and a little chasing but it escalated tonight. Spud is a big fan of the zoomies and he has this habit of zooming around, crashing into Ren ; he was doing this tonight and I coukd see Ren getting annoyed. Ren was hissing and teeth chattering then lunged at Spud. Spud ran off and was whining, I checked him over , no bite Marks or blood- they are back to eating hay together now. I know they Are teens now and am expecting more of this;. I’ve read the guides and can see this is Amber/Red behaviour so I’m getting more anxious.
We will put a divider up in the cage if we have to bit I don’t want to unless really needed as they seem to like feeding side by side and I want them to have the security each other unless we really have to separate them.
Pics below.
Any advice welcome.

Hi!

Lunging is first and foremost a defensive and NOT an aggressive behaviour; it is a most strongly worded 'Stay out of my space'. Crucial is not the lunging but how the other party reacts - do they get the message or not? If not, then this can lead to a fight. Since your other boy has beaten a grumpy retreat, it keeps the incident very much within acceptable limits.

I hope that this puts the behaviour you have witnessed into a bit more of a perspective? It is unfortunately often misinterpreted.

Your boys are unfortunately at the age when testosterone production is at a life-long high.
You may find the practical tips and advice in our Teenage guide very helpful: Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Skinnycow83]

Thank you! This really puts my mind at ease; it really looked as though Spud was behaving in an annoying way to be honest! He definitely backed off as he usually does- thank you for this! Xx