Boars and their popularity.

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Connie

Connie

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I am a little disapointed that some forum members are often advising newbies that boars (generally, rather than just in groups bigger than 2) are a bad idea! If I'm not mistaken rescues aready have far more trouble rehoming bonded boar pairs than female pairs anyway. To be honest, i think its really bad that people on a well respected forum are suggesting rehoming boars isnt a good idea?

I have previously had people told this, that boar pairs would be unsuitable, then when they are told rescues are best, they go and look, the closest rescue only has bonded boar pairs so instead they BUY females from places like p@h. mallethead

I have had 3 boar pairs so far, Admittedly two of those pairs (due to my lack of knowledge, and my age) were not given the space they needed (3ft by 1.5ft each) however i never once had a problem with dominance. :(

I'm disapointed that people are being put of perfectly lovely rescue piggies due this advice.
 
I never comment on boars as I have only had 2 sows before, so don't feel I can have a proper opinion about it. All piggies both sows and boars have a right to a loving home, so its not nice to hear that people are being put off rescuing boars.
 
Connie said:
I am a little disapointed that some forum members are often advising newbies that boars (generally, rather than just in groups bigger than 2) are a bad idea!.
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this is not the impression that I get from this forum.
 
When I say some, I do mean some, and not all. However I have seen it 4 times over the past couple of weeks and it saddens me. :(


I agree, i mean i have no experience of sows personally, however I have no complain about my boys friendliness. Admittedly my newest pair are very nervous, and have taken a while to trust me, but thats just them! not boars in general. The last pairs were confident very fast. And all have been affectionate and interactive. I cant sing boars praises enough! I also think having a pair I cant add to, has, for me atleast, really stopped me adding more piggies than I can cope with, or afford. :)
 
MrsM said:
this is not the impression that I get from this forum.
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Nor me!

Personally, I prefer boars :)) They're such cheeky little things! Saying that though, I've only ever had one sow, and that's Cameo, who is rapidly turning into a cheeky little madam!
 
I've seen comments on this forum that boars will fight to the death so should not be kept with another male - what a load of twaddle, it really makes me cross as I prove the opposite every day.

I hope that the Boar Dating Service thread will help educate owners of boars that adult males can be bonded when done so correctly, with suitable males to choose from. Babies are sometimes used in pairing males but I specialise in bonding adults as I find the pairing more stable.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=59233


Piggy trains are available to transport lonely males to suitable rescues for Boar Dating if needed, we can help if you let us!

Suzy x
 
Thankyou suzy. :) As i said, it really was only a few comments, not the general advise, and i dont want to blame anyone, just to raise the profile of how boars can be lovely in a pair. :)
 
I would love a pair of boars for this reason. There always seem to be more boys up for adoption and there seem to be a lot of boys waiting a long time for their forever home. My first pig was a boar, and due to lack of knowledge was housed with a rabbit, but he was such a sweetie i've had sows a LOT more dominant and trouble making than he was. I would love to get a pair of boys but I dont have the money or space to keep them away from my girls :(
 
I love my cheeky boars, my boars bonded so well as the one lived on his own for a year till we got him a friend, they have never fought,ever. They are sooo laid back.lol.;-)

I have a pair of sows too! (:
 
(Whispers) I do have to confess that my favourites are my boys (oh the shame of having favs).

Suzy x
 
I was talking to someone about this the other day. Boys do get a bad press!

I have had so many friendly, bonded pairs in and not had issues with them. I also love boars!
 
I can't say I've personally come across that kind of poor advice but i do think people seperate them too quickly if they squabble and people freak out and think all boars are terrible hassel.

What people need to remember that even if they are chasing, nipping and rumbling at each other, this may look scary to us, but to them this is normal behaviour. When my latest two had a falling out (i freaked cos never in over 10 years of keeping boars have i ever heard a boar hiss!) the best advice I was given, on here and by the rescue they came from, was to let them work it out and only seprate if there's bloodshed. You have to commit to the situation and see it through. And the chasing and teeth chattering DID pass.

I think newer owners may come on here and see the talk of boar squabbles (and poor advice occaisonally) and this can put them off so I just want to say as a boar lover, its all normal and keeping boars is not something to be afraid of! :))
 
I would love a pair of boars as I think they do get a rough deal so feel really sorry for them. But I dont have the set up as I keep saying to keep them, they would be kept too close to a group of three girls and a boy, I dont want a bonded pair to possibly fall out from an unsuitable set up so I know I cannot keep a pair of boars.

I have only seen a few mis-informed comments that are corrected swiftly and that to me shows that this board is very knowledgable not negative towards them
 
i havent seen any comments being negative about boars, we love ours, but equally love sows, but if we had any that WOULD cause problems x
 
Haha. :) I'm not claiming to prefer them, as ive never had sows, i just dont want them beaten down where there are so many out there looking for a home! :)
 
we have had sows in the past,, we had a herd of 7 livivng together, and because they were all together, they were not very interested in us! we had boys singularly, they were much more people friendly, but i just think it was the way they were kept - namely on their own, they were much easier to catch!
 
i have a trio of boars, and ive heard that it's rare for 3 to get along (admittedly roger and george arent the best of friends) but ive never had a serious problem or had to seperate. they generally love eachother
 
I think the comments clearly relate to a reply i posted today?

I hope i can defend myself and say that i have never suggested that boars shouldn't be re-homed or that boars should never under no circumstances be kept together, because i haven't, i have just said that groups of boars rarely work and even pairs can be known to fall out and not work, however this isn't as often the case with sows. Can someone clarify that what i have said above is right or wrong? This is just what i have learnt through the forum, however if it is not correct i will happily give the correct advice.......?

Here is my post from earlier, having re-read it, i can see that part of it would be misleading, where i said pairs of boars will sometimes get on especially around sows, obv this should have said that they may not get along around sows.

Toffeewoffee said:
Females will usually live happily together in pairs or groups, and even better with one nuetuered male for company, where as boars sometimes live happily in pairs especially around female piggies, and very rarely get along in groups as they will fight. A sow and nuetuered boar or 2 sows would probably be the best option, unless a rescue have a bonded pair of boars, but even this is never guaranteed to last.....
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If i was in the position to do so, i would very happily walk into a rescue and adopt as many bonded paired or even grouped boars as i could, i personally find they can be more relaxed and enjoy the attention more than sows, so if people got the impression from my post that i have suggested not to get boars but to get females then i am sorry if this was the vibe i was giving off but i can assure you it is not what i meant.
 
Toffeewoffee please dont feel my post was only about you. While it was partly that type of comment i was refering too, you are by no means the sole reason for my moaning. :( I have seen many "oh but boars are always falling out" type things over the last couple of weeks. I was just a little saddened, as I definatly havnt found this to be the case. And if your starting out as a piggy owner, if feel a bonded boar pair from a reputable rescue is as good as any other.

I can see your point, in that new members (and owners) need to be aware that they wont be able to add more males, for someone going souly on our opinions they may then think they shouldnt get a boar pair. However, I am of the opinion that its very, very rare for a pair of bonded boars from a rescue, that are given the recomended amount of space, 2 of everything etc to fall out. (If I am wrong, I am happy to be educated)
On the other hand, your right that pet shop "pairs" of boys that are sold in a cage far to small and only given one of everything are far more likely to fall out.

I really dont want to have a go. :(
 
I know it is unusual and probably frowned upon by some people ,but I have 9 neutered boars all living together in a group with18 sows . They have lots of space and hidey places but I have never had a serious fight . Bits of domonance now and then but they really dont seem to want to fight. Not recommending this to small group keepers ,but it does show that boars are not always wanting to have a go at each other.
 
Its ok connie, i completely understand where your coming from and i back this thread completely! However i feel it is important that we do stress the difficulties that can be had with boars as new piggie owners could walk into a pet shop say P@H for example looking to buy piggies and see three boars in a pen, following advice that piggies should have company of their own kind they will want 2 but wont want to leave the last one on its own so therefore will buy all 3 and be sold a tiny cage, then a few weeks down the line, they could all end up falling out and wondering why......?

This is the only reason i say that boars dont always work especially in groups rather than a pair.

I certainly dont prefer sows to boars or boars to sows, i have 2 sows and a boar all living happily together and love them all equally.

I may sometimes suggest that inexperienced owners get a pair of sows to start with, only because they are less likely to fall out (not that i am saying all boars do and will fall out, but it is more likely especially as they get to hormonal stages) maybe this is wrong of me, but i just feel that inexperienced owners may not understand the difficulties that they could or could not come across with boars, and as soon as they see a bit of chasing they will separate them and have 2 unhappy loan boars, and as with all members i only have the piggies best interests at heart, and would hate to see this, i have learnt so much from being on this forum, i would have been the sort to go into p@H and buy all 3 boars and have them all live together.
 
Like i said, i understand where your comming from but i also think, theres no difference between a rescue boar pair and a rescue sow pair. :) If a new owner chooses to ignor our advise about rescues and goes to p@h, they may end up the 3 fighting boars, or 3 pregnant sows. Bit of a toss up really.

I always try the "there is no real differences between keeping a boar pair or a sow pair. If you wanted more than too then they would have to be sows or sows with a neutered boar as more than 2 boars would likely fight. If you rescued some piggies then you would be guaranteed to have healthy and well bonded pigs. If you choose to buy them instead your exposing yourself to pregnancy, pigs that dont get along, or pigs with ilnesses. :) If you give us your location we can let you know where the nearest rescue is. Etc etc..."
 
christine said:
I know it is unusual and probably frowned upon by some people ,but I have 9 neutered boars all living together in a group with18 sows . They have lots of space and hidey places but I have never had a serious fight . Bits of domonance now and then but they really dont seem to want to fight. Not recommending this to small group keepers ,but it does show that boars are not always wanting to have a go at each other.
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I have rescued recently from somewhere where there were a big group of boars living next to a big group of girls. Between Suzy and myself we rescued all the girls and we both checked the boars, they were getting on fine despite the girls.

However I also went to another last weekend where the boys were trying to really hurt each other.

But like I said experience here lots of happy bonded boys and those that weren't have been neutered and lived with girls.
 
Just wanted to put in my opinion...

I personally prefer boars. They love attention and get on fine in pairs (normally, I know they sometimes just don't get on but they just have different personalities)

My friends sows are little madams and seem to want far less attention. I'm not saying all sows are like that but my experience suggests they are a little more highly strung.

I think sows are more popular because, and this isn't the rule, mostly its little girls who want pets and little girls want girls. (My brothers love our piggies but they wouldn't have actively tried to get them)

I'm just saying boars are brilliant. I haven't personally read anything on here that says otherwise but then again I haven't seen people saying bonded boar pairs are just as good as girls before this when they are! (oh and although not as common girls fight too.)

Amy
x
 
I have always had boys so dont know anything different and not had any problems with fighting, I mean they have the odd moment but thats about it nothing to be worried about, I just recently introduced my new piggie Romeo to two other boys that have been together for two years and its worked out great :)
 
Obviously, I love all piggies to bits, but my personal pets are all boars and I have to say in my experience I find them adorable! I have lots of bonded pairs in the rescue at the moment and even a group of four boys (named after the take that boy band! :p) and they spend 99% of their time in a heap together. Its all down to personality of the boys whether they will get on in a pair or group. Anyway, just wanted to add my experience of boars, everyone has their own opinions/preferences regarding piggies. :)
 
I have a pair of boars

I had read all the stuff about boars potentially falling out so I looked for pair of females in a rescue and there was non nearby (within about 1 hours drive) but then I saw this face on NEGPR facebook account and I fell in love, at this point I forgot all about the fact I was looking for females and I ended up taking the fellow and his huspig home with me about 4 weeks later :-)

They do squabble now and again but its only like old married couples rows not actual fighting :-)
 
Prior to my current gang of piggies I always had more boars than sows. Only a third of my past piggies were sows and some of the sweetest piggies I've had have been boars - I love them!

Last year I really wanted to make a herd and obviously there's only one way to do it - lots of sows, so I don't have as many boars as I'd like. I've got 4; a pair and two neutered boars that live with 1 sow/15 sows. I love my girls so much but there is definitely something about boars that they just don't have (apart from the obvious!). Boars to me are definitely cheekier and more cuddle-friendly!

Once I've graduated and found a job I'd love to buy a few more hutches and give a home to some boars!
 
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