Double Checking Normal Behaviour

[nonscripta]

Hiya!

My boys are about 2 and a half months old now; I just wanted to make sure I've nothing to worry about in their behaviour.

For background, they have a two story cage that's about 1.5 by .5 metres, but they're only in there at night. In the day they can freely wander a large section of the room, about 4 by 4m.

They're mostly okay sharing hideys and food/water, though I make sure there's two of everything just in case. Fairly often, though, when theyre out and about, they'll rumblestrut and mount each other. They do also occasionally steal food. Sometimes when they're rumblechasing they'll jump in a movement resemblent of popcorning; is this playing or a warning? Is there much risk of the teenage arguing getting worse?

Thank you!

 

[Mage of Mist]

Sounds like my two boys who are a year old. I am pretty sure it is normal dominance behavour, essentially making sure the other boar doesn't forget that they are the boss pig.

Percy is the main rumblestrutter which I find amusing and he tries getting behind Pedro quite often, leading to the spinning hops on both, though Pedro steals food off Percy and Percy just stares in bafflement.

Sometimes the rumblestrutting, rumblechasing and hopping results in them going into an all out popcorn, where they both just start jumping wildly about their enclosure regardless of proximity (usually 1-2 am... Who needs sleep? ) before they both tire out, get a drink of water, maybe nibble on a pellet or two or a few bits of hay, and then return to the hide to snuggle and sleep.

My BF thinks they are fighting when they do it, but I never see any kicking or biting between them, and they always return to cuddling with eachother afterwards.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Their behaviour is Normal
If they aren’t compatible it can escalate into a fight and then they need separating. However for the majority of boars you’ll just get dominance throughout the teen period which will then calm once they hit adulthood (14 months). You will see mounting and rumbling throughout their entire lives though

a 150cm cage is the minimum for boar pairs and being double storey doesn’t count towards the cage size

 

[piggieminder]

Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

There's lots of useful guides in above link. Have a read of the boar ones in particular they will help you decide what's normal and what's not. A big cage at least 2 of everything and hides with 2 openings go a long way towards keeping the bickering down, but boars will still bicker and grumble at each other from time to time it tends to get less as they age.