Boar trio problems

[Tanc]

Hi we got a lone 10 month old male in February from a private seller, with the assumption that the same seller was going to give us one a second pig when her current litter reached 8 weeks. However he was in such a state with mites and ingrown nails when we got him, we decided not to go back to the breeder.

Once he got the all clear from the vets we started looking for a friend for him but the local rescue didn't have any suitable piggies. This lead to pets at home in march where they had two little baby boys left we couldn't bare to separate hence ending up with an ill advised trio.

The pigs live in the garage in a 6x6ft compound with three of everthing loads of hides and mountains of hay. There is a two story hutch which is always open in the compound as well.

They all seemed to be getting on well and were always snuggled up and eating together but last month one of the younger pigs has be upstairs and not himself. As they are huge balls of fluff we started to groom them and noticed scratches and one deep wound on the withdrawn pig, the vet gave us some antibiotics and weve put a mesh barrier into the compound so one pig gets a 2x6ft area and the other two have the hutch in a 4ftx6ft.

It appears the two younger pigs have been fighting whilst the older pig gets on well with both of them.

The question is do you think they could ever rebond or tolerate each other and if not who should go into the 2ft compound the bully or the bullied?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

I’m afraid there is no chance they can go back together as a trio. Boar trios with teenage boars pretty much never work and now they’ve fallen out they will always dislike each other and fights will always occur.

You say you’ve separated them - which two have you got together? You need to keep the two who get on best together - a successful bond comes down to character compatibility.
Ensure the pair has the biggest single level area to themselves. The piggy who is single will need to live in the separate enclosure but it needs to be side by side with the pair so the single piggy can still interact through the bars so he doesn’t get lonely .

 

[Tanc]

Thanks, the bullied pig and the older pig are together as he found out he could pick up and move his hide and use it as a spring board to vault over the barrier. The bully hasn't worked this out yet! hopefully I will make alternations if this has to be a permanent set up so the 2ft section has access to the upper floor of the hutch and then raise the barrier height.

the older pig doesn't seem fussed who he's with along as their hay and veggies about

would it be too distressing/confusing if I occasionally swapped the two younger ones between the differing sides of the barriers so all three can talk to each other? and let them have supervised time together when cleaning?

 

[Piggies&buns]

The separation does need to be permanent. I'm afraid ending up with a pair and a single piggy is the usual outcome of attempting a boar trio.

I am afraid you cannot swap them or let can never have time together, supervised or not. They do not get on so must never be allowed to have physical interaction. The pair need to be left together at all times on their side of the cage. The single piggy needs to live in his side of the cage, with his cage being along alongside the pair so they can interact through the bars only so he doesn’t become lonely. Living one upstairs and the pair downstairs (if that is what you are describing, unfortunately means the single piggy will not have full interaction at all times so may become lonely.

For boars, each meeting is a full on bonding session which gets cut short and never seen through to conclusion. This in itself is stressful but when added to the fact that the piggies do not get on, have already had fights and cannot form a functioning hierarchy, then the stress is increased. This is why they must now remain permamently apart. If you were to allow them to physically be in the same space, then they are highly likely to fight again, plus allowing the pair to be in the same space with the single piggy physically would have the potential to destroy their bond - you would run the risk of them fighting and then having three single piggies, all of whom need to remain entirely separate.

You also do not want to put piggies into the territory of other piggies.

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?