don't know what to do....

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dorothy

this may turn out to be quite long, so please bear with me!

I have my 4 she-pigs loose in my shed. It's large and they have loads of room to run around and play in.
Also in the shed is a lone she-pig, who lives in a hutch at floor level. Although I have tried to introduce her to the other pigs (I have tried everything) she really doesn't like them- to the point that she attacks them. She is quite happy to sniff them and watch them though.

Anyway, I need some suggestions. Out of the herd of 4, Mabel(3yo) is the boss, followed by Mildred(20months), and then Sheila then Dorothy(sisters,7months). Recently, Mabel has been really dominant towards Sheila and Dorothy, to the point that she is humping Sheila. Last night, I noticed that Dorothy has a small nick in her ear, but I don't know if Mabel has done this. The humping, and growling, always happens at feed time, even though they get loads and it all gets spread out. Mabel chases Sheila around until Sheila hides somewhere. It has got to the point that Dorothy will not come out at food-time, she was timid to start with but now she hides in her igloo, and wont come out.

What should I do?
 
Can you not put a divider up and pair them off so they each have a friend. Mabel may be in season so trying to hump anything tho could also be a dominance thing. I would deffo split them so shelia and Drothy ae together and then Mabel and Mildred are together you could then try them together again in a week or so see if anything has changed. Hope you sort it out is horrid when piggies fight! x
 
I cant seperate them in the shed- I'd have to put them into hutches.

Do you think that'd be ok?
 
yeah, why not put them in hutches (2 to a hutch) for feeding time etc then let them out for exercise the rest of the time
 
would definatley pair them up and keep in hutches especially at feed time. maybe in a week or two slowly introduce them to each other. perhaps with the lone pig maybe a fixed boy would keep her company. good luck with your fur babies :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
i tried putting Ethel with my boy pig- under STRICT supervision as I don't want any more piglets- and she just attacked him. :(

I'll seperate the she-pigs as of Monday. I think I'll set one the small outdoor hutches up inside the shed with a run attached so although they'll be able to see each other, they'll be seperate.

thankyou! :)
 
dorothy said:
i tried putting Ethel with my boy pig- under STRICT supervision as I don't want any more piglets- and she just attacked him. :(
Click to expand...
Guineveire attacked Merlin the frst time they met ;D
i think the girls should be fine with the new set up
Good luck!
Ron x
 
Good luck love i'd try pairing them also O0
What a terrible time for you, you must be so worried :(
It can be like this..... little minx's ::) >:D >:D >:D >:D
 
I have a lone girl pig, she absolutely HATES other pigs, cannot put her with any others as she just attacks. I think living alone is the best bet for Ethel. As for the other girls, the idea of seperate hutch and run sounds good :)
 
Ethel is a happy girlie on her own- she's very afffectionate and loves having cuddles.

I think I'll split the herd and see how it goes.

I am worried about them cos Dorothy is SO much smaller than the others, and Sheila isn't much bigger.

:)
 
Remember to have them on neutral territory and give them lots of treats to distract them if they get a bit narky O0
Could you try both Dorothy and Sheila together perhaps ? have they met previously ? if not you could bathe them and then pop them on a large towel with food and let them sniff and eat together O0 :smitten:
I do so hope all goes well for you...... keep us informed there's always somebody about to help O0
 
Dorothy and Sheila are sisters.... :smitten: and they do get on well, so that should go soothly... and Mabel and Mildred get on too, so that shouldn't be a problem.
Just had a bit more of a think, and I think I'll seperate the herd, and put them in hutches for a week, and take the opportunity to take everything out of the shed, disinfect it, and sand down the rougth patches where they have chewed and then in a week, bed it down again and re-introdeuce them all.
 
Please do not put un-neutered males with females again. You might think you're supervising them but it literally takes a split second for them to do the deed.

When you say attacking are they actually lunging and biting or just humping?
 
yes, I do realise that you shouldn't put an un-neutered male with a female but I was watching them and they were together for 5 minutes tops.

They were actually fighting (i.e biting, lunging, hence 'attacking') not humping- I do know the difference.
 
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