Boys have had a fight - what now?

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PopcornPigs

PopcornPigs

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My little Georgey has been living with my big Terry since he was 4 weeks. He is now roughly 9 months old, recently the dominance behaviour has been an issue with a lot of chasing, humping and chattering however it's been fine as no blood drawn. However today things got worse and Terry now has a chunk of fur missing from just above his nose. What do I do now? I've put George in a spare cage, I need help :(
 
Nibbles and Nutty have fought before. It scared me quite a lot but I read somewhere that you should give them some cool off time then bath them together. I did this and my two are now friends again. Occassionally they argue but not too bad and not blood drawn.

I think more experienced people can give better or more detailed advice but hopefully my story will encourage you that things can get better.

Good luck.


Amy
x
 
hey hun
You need to trust your gut feeling on what to do next. If the behaviour appears aggressive I would try dividing the cage if you can, if you feel they are on the verge of a proper fight. If it appears to be building into something worse and you can't divide their living quarters (so they can see each other but not hurt each other) then you may need to pop one in another cage or carrier over night so no one gets hurt. If you do this, please re-introduce on neutral territory, give them some time, monitor the behaviour. Then clean the cage so it's neutral smelling. You could also try a bonding bath, this experience will mean they smell the same and also they go through it together. Another trick is a teeny tiny dab of vick vapor rub on both bums. Again its all about smelling the same, the different scents are what sets off the territorial behaviour.

I had to seperate a pair of mine last year, i kept them apart for about 3 days simply until the weekend when I would have the time to bathe them and re-bond them. It worked for me and at the same time they had their cage upgraded to a 4x2 c & c cage, space is key with boars.

Sometime boys nip and bite noses when they're having a 'nose off'. Basically they reach higher and higher to see who will be highest and equally 'top pig'. It can happen accidentally if they're too close and catch each other with teeth. If they're no blood shed I would perservere, it can look scary but to them this is normal behaviour, establishing the heirachy, who's boss. If you haven't already, then ensure they have a food bowl each, water bottle each and their own bed/hidey places. It just limits the oppotunity for arguments. The best advice I was given when I had a problem was to commit to the situation , let them work through it, it often passes and again, only seperate if there is blood loss or bullying, like not letting the other eat.
How big is their current cage? it may be they just need more space :)
Hope this helps!
 
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I agree with the person above, give them a bit of cooling off space and then introduce them to each other again.
How big is the cage/hutch that they live in? do they have enough room to stay out of each others way?
also try having two of everything, because they are trying to establish the dominance this might help.

it still sounds like no blood been shed, which is good, boars do nip each other when fighting , but I wouldnt freak out and separate them for good just yet. Just keep a close eye out on them and i hope it gets better.

good luck :)
 
Thank you so much for your replies.
The boys have been living in a ferplast 120. I have three of them in my tiny bedroom and am at bursting point however I am desperate to make this work. So my question right now is, (I know this may sound drastic but..) could they be moved into an insulated shed at this time of year? I don't have one at the moment but it's my ultimate wish so they can have more room, plus I'll be able to still give them lots of love and cuddles. Or will I have to wait until May? I was just thinking as if it's insulated it'd be warmer? The boys are still separate at the moment but both obviously very unhappy. Their cages are next to eachother and Terry has been constantly sitting by the side where George is. George's appetite has decreased also so this week I'm going to give them both a bath and retry the relationship. Any more help welcome thanks x
 
Can anybody offer any help/answers? Sorry if I'm being pushy but I need to make decisions, I am going to try the boys together again but the shed idea is still in the picture even if they do re bond as I want everybody to have more space.
 
I'm not very experienced with sheds and how warm they can be as I've always kept pigs inside. I would imagine to take them from a warm house at this time of year to outdoors could be a bit risky, I think they need to aclimatise?
You could do this in April though, I remember last year the end of march was very mild so if you plan on doing that long term maybe keep an eye on the weather towards the end of march and think about it then.
In the mean time if it were me I would clean out the cage and go with the bonding bath. It sounds like they're not happy on their own so it's worth trying, especially as no blood has been shed.
You say you have 3 120's in your room , are there any girls? I was wondering if you had girls as the smell can sometimes set them off.
 
Does maybe neutering one or even both help maybe? Just a thought.
 
nejlika said:
Does maybe neutering one or even both help maybe? Just a thought.
Click to expand...

No, I'm afraid neutering will not change the behaviour, just prevent baby pigs.

9 months old is right in the middle of the hormonal stage. If scrapping turns into bloody fights or persistent bullying then I would consider separating them but unless this happens I think they just have to work it out themselves. Do they have two of everything?
 
Not very often, it can make a boar hump less sometimes but that's it, it all comes down to personalities. It can also be a risky op to have for no reason so best left as a last resort for a boar that has failed to bond with other boars, so he could then be paired with a female :)
 
They have two of everything except litter trays. Can pick one of these up today. I think George is just adimant that he wants to be top pig right now and as Terry's getting older he's taking the effects rather than fighting him off which he used to.Bath and re bonding is going to occur on wednesday evening as I have thursday and friday free to keep a close eye on them. But for now it's going to have to be lots of cuddles .
 
P.s yes there is girls in the room, three of them and another neutered male.
 
There's a good chance the smell of the girls is sending his hormones crazy right now, if you can have girls in one room and boys in another that would help a lot. The hormonal phase can also last any time period from the age of 3 months to 15 months so it's worth baring in mind.
 
I rebonded the boys a while ago now and they've been absolutely fine. But yesterday I made a big mistake. I was in a rush and instead of changing the blanket in the run I plonked the boys straight in after all the other piggies had been in.

After this they were fighting and George would not leave Terry alone for a second. Humping and biting his nose/ears. I feel awful because it's totally my fault. I had to divide the cage last night as Terry was getting continually battered by George.

The question is, what do I do now? Is it another case of bathing or can I let down the divide and see how they are?
 
Hi. Can you let them run around somewhere neutral to see if that helps?

You could try cleaning the cage thoroughly and change all their bedding . Bathing might be the trick again. Some people recommend putting a little vics vapour rub on their bottoms and chins so that they smell the same. I dont know about this and not sure if it works or is the right thing to do. Other forum members might be able to give you more advice on this.
 
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