Hi all, first post here and a little daunted with all the information so I hope this post is ok! 
We adopted 2 sows earlier this year, they are 5 months old. As they settled in, Fidget quickly asserted dominance and Willow submitted. They've been happy together so far but I had noticed they were spending more and more time apart. They share a very large two storey hutch and for the most part they seem to have settled to a floor each with some crossover. Willow generally sleeps upstairs and Fidget downstairs.
We enjoyed having them both so much that we started to think about adding to the family. This finally happened last weekend when we adopted two more sows, both 8 weeks old.
We also have a single level indoor hutch, so the new arrivals (Bean and Scooby) went straight into this and spent the first few days settling in with very little interaction from us. They slowly but surely began to emerge. No signs that either were trying to assert dominance, they both seem very comfortable with each other and always by each others side.
On day 3, I tentatively started the bonding process. Being a complete newbie to this I did some research and started with swapping some items from each hutch. A few hours later I felt it would be ok to introduce both sets in a neutral pen in the garden. This initially went ok, Fidget (Dominant) seemed very passive, lots of sniffing and eventually lay down next to both the new arrivals. Willow (not dominant) was another story .. she has always been a bit of a diva and by far the most vocal and attention seeking of the two. She checked out both new arrivals and it wasn't long before she was exhibiting negative behaviours, such as lunging and nipping at them. I found this quite frightening to be honest, and in my inexperience quickly ended the bonding session.
We tried again the next day and things were improved, all of them happily milling around munching on the grass and it was an absolute delight to see one of the newbies popcorning away. However the lunging and nipping still occurred periodically and I also noticed that Fidget and Willow were no longer getting along quite as well, it seemed to me as if Willow was trying to assert herself as the dominant one, which was totally unexpected! (although I now understand this is totally normal with new arrivals).
The weather sadly dipped over the last few days, so we tried to continue bonding periodically in our indoor hutch. We started this by allowing the older ones in on their own to check the place out, then added the newbies back in. Initially there was excitement again, all looked happy and lots of popcorning. However it quickly changed and both older pigs started to intimidate the younger ones. This wasn't too bad with Fidget (dominant) but Willow took it too far, chasing and cornering the newbies to the point I felt the need to intervene. Perhaps I should let it play out? The squeals from the young ones scare the life out of me though.
During this time, both Fidget and Willow started to face off and it was clear they were trying to sort out dominance between themselves again. To my surprise Fidget seemed to submit and she went and sat next to the two newbies at the far end of the hutch, wiggling her hips as she sat. Things pretty much settled down again, however Willow still couldn't seem to stop herself lunging at the newbies who were by now squealing whenever she went anywhere near them ... I ended the session, probably in more distress myself than the actual pigs!
Just not sure where to go from here .. should I carry on as we are or take a step back and do things differently? Have I gone to quickly or should I simply not intervene when things kick off?
Apologies for this long rambling initial post. Really keen for any advice that can be offered.
We adopted 2 sows earlier this year, they are 5 months old. As they settled in, Fidget quickly asserted dominance and Willow submitted. They've been happy together so far but I had noticed they were spending more and more time apart. They share a very large two storey hutch and for the most part they seem to have settled to a floor each with some crossover. Willow generally sleeps upstairs and Fidget downstairs.
We enjoyed having them both so much that we started to think about adding to the family. This finally happened last weekend when we adopted two more sows, both 8 weeks old.
We also have a single level indoor hutch, so the new arrivals (Bean and Scooby) went straight into this and spent the first few days settling in with very little interaction from us. They slowly but surely began to emerge. No signs that either were trying to assert dominance, they both seem very comfortable with each other and always by each others side.
On day 3, I tentatively started the bonding process. Being a complete newbie to this I did some research and started with swapping some items from each hutch. A few hours later I felt it would be ok to introduce both sets in a neutral pen in the garden. This initially went ok, Fidget (Dominant) seemed very passive, lots of sniffing and eventually lay down next to both the new arrivals. Willow (not dominant) was another story .. she has always been a bit of a diva and by far the most vocal and attention seeking of the two. She checked out both new arrivals and it wasn't long before she was exhibiting negative behaviours, such as lunging and nipping at them. I found this quite frightening to be honest, and in my inexperience quickly ended the bonding session.
We tried again the next day and things were improved, all of them happily milling around munching on the grass and it was an absolute delight to see one of the newbies popcorning away. However the lunging and nipping still occurred periodically and I also noticed that Fidget and Willow were no longer getting along quite as well, it seemed to me as if Willow was trying to assert herself as the dominant one, which was totally unexpected! (although I now understand this is totally normal with new arrivals).
The weather sadly dipped over the last few days, so we tried to continue bonding periodically in our indoor hutch. We started this by allowing the older ones in on their own to check the place out, then added the newbies back in. Initially there was excitement again, all looked happy and lots of popcorning. However it quickly changed and both older pigs started to intimidate the younger ones. This wasn't too bad with Fidget (dominant) but Willow took it too far, chasing and cornering the newbies to the point I felt the need to intervene. Perhaps I should let it play out? The squeals from the young ones scare the life out of me though.
During this time, both Fidget and Willow started to face off and it was clear they were trying to sort out dominance between themselves again. To my surprise Fidget seemed to submit and she went and sat next to the two newbies at the far end of the hutch, wiggling her hips as she sat. Things pretty much settled down again, however Willow still couldn't seem to stop herself lunging at the newbies who were by now squealing whenever she went anywhere near them ... I ended the session, probably in more distress myself than the actual pigs!
Just not sure where to go from here .. should I carry on as we are or take a step back and do things differently? Have I gone to quickly or should I simply not intervene when things kick off?
Apologies for this long rambling initial post. Really keen for any advice that can be offered.
with 
Sounds like you’re all prepared for plan b though! 
to the forum!
