Boars fighting

Pigglemama

Pigglemama

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Simba was 3 months old when we got him and as he was a baby we put him with Percy aged 2 who had lost his brother. They have been great together but this evening they have been teeth chattering and chasing each other. Simba is now 9 months and Percy is 3. Simba has ended up with a split lip ( photo attached) I have put saline solution on it and am going to the vets with him tomorrow. I very much thought Simba was the victim but I can see on piggy cam now ( they are in an outhouse) that it’s actually Simba chasing Percy around and doing this weird digging thing in the hay in front of Percy. They have plenty of space so the question is do I separate them overnight or risk a fight? I am so worried they’ll injure each other x
 

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It's late and you need an answer before you go to bed so I've looked at the behaviour and bonding guide on boars fighting and it says if there are full bites ( not scratches) then you should separate them. Please look at the guide in the guinea pig info tab above.

I had two boys fight with numerous bite injuries after living together happily for 2 years. It just happens and Simba has reached his teenage period. Usually bites are defensive from the piggy at the brunt of too much chasing/ mounting etc just saying that they have finally had enough, which seems to be the case here.

I'll tag @Wiebke and @Piggies&buns as I'm sure that they will have more to say.
 
Posyrose said:
It's late and you need an answer before you go to bed so I've looked at the behaviour and bonding guide on boars fighting and it says if there are full bites ( not scratches) then you should separate them. Please look at the guide in the guinea pig info tab above.

I had two boys fight with numerous bite injuries after living together happily for 2 years. It just happens and Simba has reached his teenage period. Usually bites are defensive from the piggy at the brunt of too much chasing/ mounting etc just saying that they have finally had enough, which seems to be the case here.

I'll tag @Wiebke and @Piggies&buns as I'm sure that they will have more to say.
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That’s so kind of you to respond so late. I am so worried there’ll be a further injury. Just trying to figure out how to separate them overnight. They’re a bit calmer now but I’m not going to be able to watch over them all night. My fear is being too hasty in separating them x
 
There is a hormone spike at around 9 months of age so he may well be going through that.

It’s morning now so I wonder whether you did separate or not?

I have a separated pair due to a big fight and they dig at the dividers but I know that is not for friendly reasons - they are trying to fight again through the divider.

Keep an eye on them and do be prepared to separate if things escalate.
If you are unsure, You can separate for a few days, carry out a neutral territory reintroduction and see if they want to be together.
If they do fight then they will need to be separated permanently sadly.
 
Piggies&buns said:
There is a hormone spike at around 9 months of age so he may well be going through that.

It’s morning now so I wonder whether you did separate or not?

I have a separated pair due to a big fight and they dig at the dividers but I know that is not for friendly reasons - they are trying to fight again through the divider.

Keep an eye on them and do be prepared to separate if things escalate.
If you are unsure, You can separate for a few days, carry out a neutral territory reintroduction and see if they want to be together.
If they do fight then they will need to be separated permanently sadly.
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Thanks for your reply. They spent the night separated by a partition in their normal set up(see pics) I’ve been in this morning and fed them and they are both fine- I also watched on piggy cam in the night and Simba did stop digging to get to Percy. The vet has said to monitor Simba’s lip. They don’t seem to be pining for one another so my question is should i attempt to re bond and if it failed would this be enough space for each do you think? They have an upstairs section each too. Thanks for your support.
 

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Happily munching on hay and veggies this am.
 

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Whether you attempt is your call to make depending on what you are seeing.
It may be worth it if you haven’t actually seen a fight.
As I say, my two dig like that but they have had an almighty fight so I know if they got to each other it’d be a disaster!

They still have a bond of sorts and interaction so sometimes not having to share territory is enough for them to remain ‘friends’ through the bars

In terms of space, yes it looks fine. You are looking for a minimum of 120x60cm or a 3x2 c&c space and it looks like you have a bit over that.
The upper level of the hutch does not count.
 
Pigglemama said:
Thanks for your reply. They spent the night separated by a partition in their normal set up(see pics) I’ve been in this morning and fed them and they are both fine- I also watched on piggy cam in the night and Simba did stop digging to get to Percy. The vet has said to monitor Simba’s lip. They don’t seem to be pining for one another so my question is should i attempt to re bond and if it failed would this be enough space for each do you think? They have an upstairs section each too. Thanks for your support.
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Hi

Please always give it 2 days separation for any hormone spike and temper to settle down before you try a formal reintroduction on neutral ground outside their territory. Don't be tempted to rush it - it is worth waiting so the cut lip doesn't hurt, the hormones have died down and tempers have had time to settle down, too. Chances for a positive outcome are much higher.

If the aggravation factor is too high, the interaction should deteriorate within a quarter of an hour in a no longer functional bond. If the bond is still viable the boys will usually simply go on together as if nothing had happened with very little mild dominance.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

How big are the individual pens?
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Please always give it 2 days separation for any hormone spike and temper to settle down before you try a formal reintroduction on neutral ground outside their territory. Don't be tempted to rush it - it is worth waiting so the cut lip doesn't hurt, the hormones have died down and tempers have had time to settle down, too. Chances for a positive outcome are much higher.

If the aggravation factor is too high, the interaction should deteriorate within a quarter of an hour in a no longer functional bond. If the bond is still viable the boys will usually simply go on together as if nothing had happened with very little mild dominance.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

How big are the individual pens?
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Thanks this has been super helpful. His lip has scabbed over nicely. Will try and rebond on Friday. Each pen is 120cm by 92cm x
 
Fingers crossed for you that they settle. My younger boar is only just finishing his teens now and has definitely created some drama. I have had a few occasions when I was very close to separation. I'm very lucky that my dominant is very laid back.
 
Pigglemama said:
Thanks this has been super helpful. His lip has scabbed over nicely. Will try and rebond on Friday. Each pen is 120cm by 92cm x
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Hi

That is an acceptable singles cage (3x4 ft) if needs be. Thank you for confirming.
 
I’m going to attempt to rebond Simba and Percy today but I have a question- if all goes well should they be returned to a newly cleaned set up or back to the one that I had separated but with the divide removed. Thanks! I’ll update with how it goes x
 
Good luck. I hope it goes well. 🤞🏻

Definitely return them to a newly cleaned out cage.
 
Pigglemama said:
I’m going to attempt to rebond Simba and Percy today but I have a question- if all goes well should they be returned to a newly cleaned set up or back to the one that I had separated but with the divide removed. Thanks! I’ll update with how it goes x
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You can go back to the original layout (cleaned) if the bonding is working out. If their bond is strong enough to survive then they will have to go through a modicum of group re-establishment anyway. Just make sure that there is nothing with just one exit in the cage.

Wait for some hours in the bonding pen to see whether the bond is firmly back in place before making up the cage; until then you'd better leave the divided set-up ready for use.

Fingers firmly crossed!
 
Wiebke said:
You can go back to the original layout (cleaned) if the bonding is working out. If their bond is strong enough to survive then they will have to go through a modicum of group re-establishment anyway. Just make sure that there is nothing with just one exit in the cage.

Wait for some hours in the bonding pen to see whether the bond is firmly back in place before making up the cage; until then you'd better leave the divided set-up ready for use.

Fingers firmly crossed!
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Thank you 🙏
 
5 minutes in and they’ve lunged at each other - no injuries but Percy had Simba’s fur in his mouth. They are puffed up and teeth chattering but also eating a bit of hay. Not sure it’ll work.
 
Pigglemama said:
5 minutes in and they’ve lunged at each other - no injuries but Percy had Simba’s fur in his mouth. They are puffed up and teeth chattering but also eating a bit of hay. Not sure it’ll work.
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Please separate. It only going to get worse from here; they clearly are not happy to share the same space anymore. I am very sorry.
 
Wiebke said:
Please separate. It only going to get worse from here; they clearly are not happy to share the same space anymore. I am very sorry.
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They have calmed now and we’ve even had popcorning- do you think it’s still risky?
 
weepweeps said:
I hope it’s still going ok. You can leave them in the bonding pen overnight if you think they need more time together.
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They are back in the original set up and are ok (ish) teeth chattering and bum swinging but no violence. I have piggy cam on constantly!
 
Update! Poor Percy got bitten on the face by Simba so they are back to being neighbours 😢 Percy’s cut is fairly deep but I put saline on it and am just glad I’ve separated before bed. Blurry photo but would you take to the vets? The advice they gave for Simba was just to watch for infection. Thanks for all your support. 9ADB0B7B-65A9-412C-9081-BFD009660162.webp
 
I’m sorry to hear that. After the initial lunging it did sound like they were rather on borrowed time.

When Wilbur and Hugo had their fight their wounds looked similar but I did take them to the vet for peace is mind. They were given antibiotics to stop the risk of infection
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear that. After the initial lunging it did sound like they were rather on borrowed time.

When Wilbur and Hugo had their fight their wounds looked similar but I did take them to the vet for peace is mind. They were given antibiotics to stop the risk of infection
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Aw thank you. They were ok until I brought. Vitamin C cookie in for each of them. They’re absolutely fine this am seem to like sniffing each other through the bars and go to their hay piles at the same time so they have interaction which is good. Percy’s cut has scabbed but I’ll keep an eye on it. Thanks for all your help! X
 
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