Bonding Two Boars: How Do You Know If It's Working Or Not?

[Carrotyd]

We have two new boars who we're in the process of bonding: Seabass and Pugwall.

Seabass (4 months) came from a rescue over a month ago to keep our recently bereaved older boy, Harry, company. They got on very well, until Harry passed unexpectedly from a unexpected complication with bloat two weeks ago.

We went back to the rescue last week and Seabass got paired with another boy (Pugwall), who is over one years old, and they seemed to hit it off.

I've been keeping a close eye on them this past week, and have observed a lot of chasing between the two of them (instigated by Pugwall), a bit of humping (mutual), the odd low growl every so often and a little bit of Pugwall barbering Seabass.

On the whole, they seem okay to me, and I'm cautiously optimistic things will work out, but the pair of them are very different (more vocal and more lively) than Harry and Lloyd, which takes some getting used to.

However, my boyfriend got woken up at 3am last might by the pair of them chasing, wheeking and making a nuisance of themselves for several hours. No fighting, just lots of noise and chasing.

Now, I'm the primary care provider for our pigs, but I was away last night and my boyfriend seems troubled by how much chasing and noise he saw/heard from the pair of them. Now, I'm not dismissing his concerns, but I've got a lot more experience of what is normal for boys and what might be bordering on aggression, but fear might be worrying about something that's perfectly normal.

Either way, I'm curious to know if there is an average amout of time with regard to how long it takes for things to calm down or work out whether the bond is likely to stick or not?

 

[Wiebke]

We have two new boars who we're in the process of bonding: Seabass and Pugwall.

Seabass (4 months) came from a rescue over a month ago to keep our recently bereaved older boy, Harry, company. They got on very well, until Harry passed unexpectedly from a unexpected complication with bloat two weeks ago.

We went back to the rescue last week and Seabass got paired with another boy (Pugwall), who is over one years old, and they seemed to hit it off.

I've been keeping a close eye on them this past week, and have observed a lot of chasing between the two of them (instigated by Pugwall), a bit of humping (mutual), the odd low growl every so often and a little bit of Pugwall barbering Seabass.

On the whole, they seem okay to me, and I'm cautiously optimistic things will work out, but the pair of them are very different (more vocal and more lively) than Harry and Lloyd, which takes some getting used to.

However, my boyfriend got woken up at 3am last might by the pair of them chasing, wheeking and making a nuisance of themselves for several hours. No fighting, just lots of noise and chasing.

Now, I'm the primary care provider for our pigs, but I was away last night and my boyfriend seems troubled by how much chasing and noise he saw/heard from the pair of them. Now, I'm not dismissing his concerns, but I've got a lot more experience of what is normal for boys and what might be bordering on aggression, but fear might be worrying about something that's perfectly normal.

Either way, I'm curious to know if there is an average amout of time with regard to how long it takes for things to calm down or work out whether the bond is likely to stick or not?

It sounds perfectly normal for lively youngsters! They were probably zooming and popcorning and playing dodgems as well...

Youngsters are at their most vocal and loudest at that age when they have got the reach, but not yet the experience, so they are at their most vulnerable. By being so vocal in thick grassland, the group they belong is constantly updated about their whereabouts and status. After 6 months, they start to quieten down more, and when they reach aduthood, you will notice the comparative silence.
You can find lots of behaviours listed