Bonding issues

[Fm64]

Can anyone help with a bonding situation please? I introduced a 7 week baby sow to my 2 other sows 2 months ago, one who is 4 yrs and the other who is also quite new at 4 months. The initial bonding process was a little stressful, and I followed the guidelines of neutral set up with open hides and piles of hay.
Ettie, the baby was just keen to have company, but Willow, the 4 month old was chasing Ettie and showing signs of dominance. The enclosure was 7ft square so they had plenty of space to move around in, and Edna, my 4 year old, who is very independent wasn’t really interested in baby Ettie.
I watched them all afternoon and evening, until midnight, when they finally settled.
So here is my concern now, Ettie and Willow tolerate one another, eat together and settle in their own hides, but Willow always pushes Ettie away if she gets too close, and they never seem to ‘like’ one another, as such. There’s at least a couple of times a day when I hear a little squeal from Ettie, but never any whirlwind fights or biting. Edna just gets on with things!
Is this normal behaviour, will they settle more as they get older perhaps? I worry all the time, and even wonder if I should separate Ettie and find her a new companion instead, but would that just complicate things?
Thankyou!

 

[Piggies&buns]

It sounds normal to me. It sounds like willow is simply asserting dominance over ettie and making sure ettie knows she is bottom of the hierarchy.
The little squeals you are hearing from ettie sounds to be submission squealing and is completely the correct response she should be giving - she is literally saying I’m little, I’m no threat and I know you are in charge.

If ettie is happy and gaining weight well each time you weigh her then that is often a good sign that she isn’t being bullied or pushed away from food.

To double check their cage sizing is 7ftx7ft - making a total of 49 square feet?

 

[Fm64]

Thankyou so much for your advice, it’s very reassuring. When I introduced sows together in the past they simply bonded with never any issues, perhaps I was just lucky! This behaviour is so different to experience, so good to know it’s all normal.
Yes, their floor space is 7ft x7ft, and now with a 2 x 6 c&c grid upstairs loft area via ramps where the girls all sleep. They have a hide house each and always stay separate from one another, which again is new to me as my previous sows would often settle in twos together.
Willow is quite a character, very flighty and super zoomy, which makes an interesting mix with Edna and Ettie who are more chilled and confident.

 

[Fm64]

From left - Ettie, Willow, Edna.

 

[Piggies&buns]

The actually very normal for them to want to sleep separately; a lot of pairs will never choose to share a hide