Do I need to seperate pur two Sows?

Rachel1234510

Rachel1234510

New Born Pup
Joined
Nov 18, 2018
Messages
46
Reaction score
43
Points
175
Hello!

We have two Sows, 5 months old. Tonight we noticed the less dominant sow (Piggy) has a bite out of her ear. The other (Emily) has always been more dominant, always rumble strutting, first for food etc.

As we have found a clear bite do we need to separate them? I am also
wondering what is normal when it comes to females rumble strutting? Emily does it all the time every day, is that normal behaviour or should it be an occasional thing Is this a sign that they aren't getting on? Piggy has occasionally done it and been the more dominant one for a maximum of about half a day, bless her.

Any advice would be very much appreciated

:)
 
I'm sorry I can't offer much advice, but someone more experienced will be along shortly. Usually excessive dominance behaviours in sows indicate a potential case of ovarian cysts however at your sows age I don't believe she would be at risk of cysts just yet.

May sound silly, are you sure the bite hasn't always been there, as sometimes during birth, if a baby doesn't respond straight away, the mother may nibble at its ears to get a response? Idk if it's just something that's gone unnoticed?

Anyway I hope your girls continue to be able to live together 🤞
 
How long have your girls been together? Is the ear bloody or scabbed over at all? It's not uncommon for ears to be damaged even from a misswipe of the foot. Rumblestrutting is also very normal for dominance behaviours or for a sow in season, particularly a strong season.
 
Are you sure it's a sow? From what I've seen, my own sows only rumble when THEY are in heat and ready to be mounted. As soon as the window to be mounted closes, they stop rumbling, which your other one you describe as being "more dominant" for half a day, sounds to be doing, though she most likely wouldn't rumble at a boar if he's doing his job. Non-stop rumbling from a sow seems odd to me. Usually they are whining about intruding into their personal space, etc..

Boars can rumble a lot, regardless.

Usually more serious bites will result in scabs on the rump area, face or nose, or possibly on the side of the body if they are actually fighting a lot. Very tiny scabs might just be from nips. Ones that are like the size of a pencil eraser are more serious wounds. Ear damage is probably accidental. Sometimes, one gp will tug onto an ear (seems to either be a "comforting" or a "join my group" or "let's be friends" type of action; boars do it a LOT but sows can occasionally do it). If one gp is in the middle of doing an "ear tug" and the recipient isn't having it and pulls away or shakes their head at the exact wrong moment, that might cause a tear or even a puncture. I honestly wouldn't worry unless it's severely ripped. They do seem to live OK with a hole in the ear, split ear ends, etc.. IF it scabs up, don't pick at it.
 
Thanks so much for all the advice and sorry for the late reply.

They have been together since birth (sisters). The bite was scabbed over when we noticed it, today its much better and seems to be healed. We always check them over when we can (they are still not very happy being handled but tolerate it when apple is involved), we have never noticed anything else to be concerned about.

Funnily enough, earlier the same day that we found the bite on Piggy's ear, I wrote a note to remind me to post about Emily's rumble strutting to see if it is a normal behaviour for a Sow.

We have had our suspicions about Emily's sex in the past, we did a lot of research and have examined her properly and we are quite certain she is a Sow, we haven't had that officially confirmed by a vet yet though which I know is a bit naughty but I feel sure. Her behaviour is certainly quite strange though!
 
Rachel1234510 said:
Thanks so much for all the advice and sorry for the late reply.

They have been together since birth (sisters). The bite was scabbed over when we noticed it, today its much better and seems to be healed. We always check them over when we can (they are still not very happy being handled but tolerate it when apple is involved), we have never noticed anything else to be concerned about.

Funnily enough, earlier the same day that we found the bite on Piggy's ear, I wrote a note to remind me to post about Emily's rumble strutting to see if it is a normal behaviour for a Sow.

We have had our suspicions about Emily's sex in the past, we did a lot of research and have examined her properly and we are quite certain she is a Sow, we haven't had that officially confirmed by a vet yet though which I know is a bit naughty but I feel sure. Her behaviour is certainly quite strange though!
Click to expand...

If Emily is rumbling a lot and seeming more aggressive I would recommend a check up at the vets as that could be a sign of ovarian cysts. They are very common in piggies
 
Thanks Kelly.

To be honest, it's not a change in behaviour for Emily. She has always rumbled at Piggy a lot.

A check up at the vets sounds like a good plan :)
 
Hi all. Thought I would give you all an update. After a trip to the vets Emily is in fact a female! The vet also said in her many years of experience she's never come across a case of ovarian cysts in a Sow so shes not too concerned.

The rumbling has improved. We have started telling her off when she does it a lot to piggy, even tapped her on the bum a few times and she has chilled out a lot! She seems to even recognise what we mean when we say "OI, stop it" so we don't need to be right next to their cage!

Thanks for all your advise ladies and gents!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top