Bonding Two Pairs Of Sows

[Dianet]

Hi, I adopted two sows from P@H just after christmas which I was hoping to house with my current two girls who are nearly 4. I'm not sure how old the new ones are as they said they weren't given that info but guessed at around 18 months to 2 years.
The problem is I tried to bond them at weekend in a neutral play pen, but it didn't go well. After several minutes one of my older girls and one of the new ones flew at each other with chattering teeth so I panicked and abandoned the session. I did make the mistake of having tunnels and cardboard tubes in there as well as food and straw though. I'm just wondering if I should try again in a bigger space, less cluttered, but with just food and hay in. I'm new to bonding and not sure if I should have left them longer but was worried they would get hurt. Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

 

[Mother Hubbard]

Did you try bathing them first to remove any scent?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! In my experience it is not very likely that a second try is going to be successful once sows have decided they don't like each other. When bonding pairs, it generally very much depends on whether the two top sows gel and can come to an agreement as to which one comes top. With two adult pairs that can not work out, as I know from my own experiences. When bonding guinea pigs, you always need to have a plan B in case the bonding doesn't work out.

PS: The whole bathing thing is not relevant for sow bonding; only for rebonding nearly fall out boars. In the end, it all comes down to whether initial acceptance happens and whether a new hierarchy can be worked out or not.

You may find the tips and information in this very detailed thread here helpful that takes you through the whole process step by step: Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

 

[Dianet]

Thanks for your replies. My existing girls live in a double wooden hutch in the garage (not used for car) with free range into a large 6 x 4 grid C and C pen. At the moment I've put the new girls in a large double indoor cage with a 3 x 4 C and C pen in front in my bedroom. I was going to transfer the cage into the garage on the opposite side and just extend the pen in the middle. I can still do this and just put a divider between them, but I would love them to all be together and didn't want to give up too soon. I do also have a single elderly boar in a very large wooden cage in my living room but he has an open door to come and go round the house when I'm home. He just loves following me and my border collie, Millie, everywhere ;-)