I have 2 sows aged around 14-16 months who have been together happily with just the occasional spat until about 6-8 weeks ago. The younger one (Cookie) started to display increasingly dominant behaviour. She does it all from rumble strutting to mounting & it gets very noisy at times! It doesn't look like any blood has been drawn but I am getting concerned about the length of time this has gone on for & any long term effect it might have on the older piggie (Charlotte) being chased & mounted so much. I have read that it is common around this age for piggies to challenge hierarchy & to leave them to it but is it common for it to go on this long? They have quite a big cage & run free around the front room whenever someone is here to get them out.
Dominance Or Hormones?
- Thread starter Doe
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Cookie is still a bit young for ovarian cysts, to be honest, and a bit old for the teenage hormones, but if you are worried, I would have her checked out by a piggy savvy vet if necessary if the seasons are really bad or the over the top dominance behaviour is constant (i.e. she is likely in season all the time, which is very stressful for her body as well as for the bond).
Best monitor their weight, too, by weighing weekly at the same time.
No worries thanks for the advice. It does seem to be escalating rather than easing so might take a trip to the vets soon.
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