Bonding Query

H

Harli.21

New Born Pup
Joined
Sep 21, 2016
Messages
30
Reaction score
44
Points
175
IMG_0443.webp Daisy my 8 year old piggy died recently so I decided to get her cage sister Celeste a new friend so she didn't get lonely. Celeste is almost a year old and has always been a quiet, and I thought, submissive pig. So yesterday I got a beautiful little baby girl and called her Lillie. We introduced Celeste and Lillie on the living room floor and all went OK. I put them in the freshly cleaned out cage together and for a while all was peaceful. However, after an hour or Celeste started chasing Lillie who ran off squeaking and bunting her bottom with her nose. There was no tooth chattering or aggressive stances just the chasing and butting. They seem to happily share the little hut, Lillie stays close to Celeste and all was peaceful last night, no squeaking at all. This morning Celeste stayed in the hut entrance watching while Lillie ate and mooched around a bit. Is this behaviour just normal sorting out of dominance? I know they have only been together for 24 hours but for 8 years I've only introduced new piggies to Daisy and she never did any of this. I'm worried Lillie is feeling stressed and bullied, she's such a tiny little pig I feel sorry for her.

I've attached a photo of them just after they met.
 
As long as they don't draw blood it sounds normal behavior to me they have to establish a Alfa and the chasing and butting is part of it ..if that's all that happening id watch them but not worry to much
 
They may even hump each other
 
Thank you. Most of the time they just sit near each other peacefully. In fact Celeste looks very relaxed most of the time. It's just the odd incident of butting and chasing. Celeste hasn't nipped her at all. I think Daisy must have been a very laid back piggy, I introduced 3 new sisters to her with none of his sort of behaviour. I'll keep an eye on them.
 
I have 2 males that been together 3 weeks now and they still case,hump,butt each other and then they fine ...
 
Sounds like dominance to me and you need to give it time to settle. It sounds like bossiness rather than aggression.
 
Thanks for the reassurance. I'm sure they will settle as you suggest. I got so used to Daisy being so good with introductions I forgot how they usually work.
 
Harli.21 said:
Thanks for the reassurance. I'm sure they will settle as you suggest. I got so used to Daisy being so good with introductions I forgot how they usually work.
Click to expand...

It's ok it can be a handful. I've been going through it the last few months while building up to four piggies and its still a bit tense now. I think my youngest has recently restarted the dominance phase and is determined to be second in command. Its meaning a lot of chasing and the occasional squeaks and a lot of defending of one particular area. It can be very stressful to see it happening but they are all eating together, gaining/maintaining weight and no one is getting hurt so I'm leaving them to it
 
I am pleased to say that the pecking order has been sorted and all is again peaceful in the piggy pad. Celeste and Lillie are now best of friends and Celeste seems very protective of her new sister. Lillie seems a lot happier and more confident. She really is a gorgeous girl, she's got three little white spots on her right front paw toes and her left back paw toes and her fur is a lovely brown/grey mix.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top