Bonding Boar Trio

BasicPiper

BasicPiper

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Hey guys! So my boyfriend has had two bonded piggies for the past two years and right now he is doing a one week trial with a single 10 month old boar from his local animal shelter. Introductions yesterday were going well in neutral territory which I assume is a good sign, but once they were introduced again into the old piggies cage, that's when they began to fight. No blood was ever drawn, but my silly boyfriend tried to separate them with his hands and got a pretty good nip. He had done a washing of the cage, cleaning all the fleece. I myself have 4 sows and so for round 2 I recommend that he (1) get brand new fleece/towels so that there are no leftover scents at all whatsoever, (2) that he makes sure that he thoroughly cleans the bottom of the cage (possibly with a diluted bleach solution?) and (3) leave them in that neutral space for longer than he originally had and (4) drastically change the cage as much as possible so that is his as new as it can be to both the old and new piggies. I"m really proud of my boyfriend for trying to make this work and I know that boar trios are the hardest to bond as I have read that wonderful pinned post on here as well. ;) So mainly I have a few specific questions:



~how long should we have kept them in the neutral space?
~is there anything wrong with the advice that I already gave my bf?
~what is a good midwest size cage for 3 boars?
~I know pairing adult guinea pigs with teenage boars is notoriously difficult and so I was wondering what age is considered "teenage" the adopted one is aprox. 10 months old and the current pair is 2 years.
~does it mean anything that they were getting along in the neutral space and only started fighting when placed into the old cage (admittedly too soon)?
~the bottom of his cage isn't hard coroplast or plastic, its this canvas-like material. Any advice on how to clean it and remove as much scent as possible?
~any other advice that comes to mind?



I appreciate your time guys! :) thank you!
 
A trio of boars pretty much never works, and you could have ended up with 3 lone pigs. It can affect the bond the other two had in the the first place. Two boars need to stay as two boars, else trouble will brew
 
BasicPiper said:
Hey guys! So my boyfriend has had two bonded piggies for the past two years and right now he is doing a one week trial with a single 10 month old boar from his local animal shelter. Introductions yesterday were going well in neutral territory which I assume is a good sign, but once they were introduced again into the old piggies cage, that's when they began to fight. No blood was ever drawn, but my silly boyfriend tried to separate them with his hands and got a pretty good nip. He had done a washing of the cage, cleaning all the fleece. I myself have 4 sows and so for round 2 I recommend that he (1) get brand new fleece/towels so that there are no leftover scents at all whatsoever, (2) that he makes sure that he thoroughly cleans the bottom of the cage (possibly with a diluted bleach solution?) and (3) leave them in that neutral space for longer than he originally had and (4) drastically change the cage as much as possible so that is his as new as it can be to both the old and new piggies. I"m really proud of my boyfriend for trying to make this work and I know that boar trios are the hardest to bond as I have read that wonderful pinned post on here as well. ;) So mainly I have a few specific questions:



~how long should we have kept them in the neutral space?
~is there anything wrong with the advice that I already gave my bf?
~what is a good midwest size cage for 3 boars?
~I know pairing adult guinea pigs with teenage boars is notoriously difficult and so I was wondering what age is considered "teenage" the adopted one is aprox. 10 months old and the current pair is 2 years.
~does it mean anything that they were getting along in the neutral space and only started fighting when placed into the old cage (admittedly too soon)?
~the bottom of his cage isn't hard coroplast or plastic, its this canvas-like material. Any advice on how to clean it and remove as much scent as possible?
~any other advice that comes to mind?



I appreciate your time guys! :) thank you!
Click to expand...

Hi! You may find our illustrated and very detailed bonding guide helpful. Interactive behaviours are the same for both genders, but the particulars for boar bondings are also dealt with. Understanding behaviours, body language and dynamics at every stage of the bonding process, which lasts around 2 weeks on average is vital.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Please be aware that your third boars is still right in the teenage months and he can still experience sudden strong testosterone spikes for some months to come yet. Whether they work out as a trio, depends entirely on the personality balance - with trios, especially with a teenager, you are up against it. Personality and outlook is not something that you can influence or change.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

Please abort any bonding ASAP if the leading pair is starting to interact negatively between themselves or if there things suddenly start blowing up between the newbie and one of the others; you are in acute danger of ending up with three singles. Have oven gloves and a carrier on stand-by.
 
Hi. As @Betsy says, I have a boar trio which works. It wasn't an intentional thing, it came about because I didn't know how to bond and tried to let a fourth piggy into the mix to see which would be the best two pairs.... I know, I know, crazy idea, which went badly wrong.
I have always maintained that I am very lucky. My boys have been together since birth, and have just never had a massive fall out (they're almost 2 yrs old now) There have been several close calls and temporary short separations, but I'm still getting away with it for the time being.
I can't give advice on trying to bond them as I've never successfully done that, and in any case Wiekbe is definitely the expert on these things.
Would you have the option of getting another and having two pairs rather than run the risk? If you do go ahead, the best advice I can give is space, space and more space. Mine have a 5x3 C&C with a loft, and loads of room to be apart. They bicker a lot, but don't like when one is taken out, so despite the bickering it's obvious that they'd rather be together. As @Wiebke says, it's ultimately down to personality - my Little Dude is generally the peacekeeper between the other two, who just seem to tolerate each other. Good luck whatever you decide x
 
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