Doubt about neutral ground for boar introduction

LunaticPoodle

LunaticPoodle

Forum Donator 2023/24
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
236
Reaction score
456
Points
420
Location
Tampere, Finland
Hello everyone,
I have written about my piggies when I introduced myself but here's a summary:
I adopted Geezer (9 weeks) and Tony (4 years) in november 2020. Their introduction was extremely easy and they got along like a charm until Tony's passing around Easter due to a very aggressive cancer.
Now, Geezer is in the middle of the difficult teen months, and when I tried to introduce him to a younger (2 months old) boar they almost immediately showed they were having none of it and even refused to live as neighbours (big fight, minor wounds, luckily no consequences- Geezer got beat up the most).
The thing is, when Tony was there he very gently but firmly took the dominant position, without any aggression needed. Geezer comically tried to hump or rumblestrut a few times but Tony was still a giant compared to him and was having none of that cheekiness. With the younger baby, he tried of course to be dominant, but the new kid was't impressed.
We are soon going to try with a very young one, barely 6 weeks old.

My question is: since Geezer is easily spooked, would it be possible that the introduction with the younger boar failed because he was too scared of being in an unfamiliar room and that made him especially nervous? They were not compatible characters for sure, but I'm thinking maybe the unfamiliar territory was a bit much for him. So, when I introduce him to the new baby, should I still try a different room or rather a cleaned-up but familiar room? He does free roam, so most of the living room is pretty much his roaming ground. Are there exceptions to neutral territory or is that an absolute requirement?

Thanks in advance
 
It wonder whether it is actually more likely the two month old was fear aggressive than Geezer being uncomfortable in neutral territory. Youngsters just want to belong so they clearly did not like each other at all for a fight to break out straight away.

Any introductions do need to be done somewhere the originally piggy does not see as their own.
If you put the newcomer in Geezer’s space - so in your case it will be the entire room as he is free roaming - then he may see the newcomer as an invader which will cause problems from the off.

Moody guinea pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour
 
Thank you, that definitely clarifies it.
It is a possibility, although the little one was exceptionally brave for a baby pig, for example had zero issues with being touched or picked up, wasn't even spending much time in hiding at all. He was a purring, popcorning ball of confidence, while Geezer is more on the skittish side and dislikes being touched. It's true that Geezer is not aware of his strength compared to a baby pig, likely because Tony was in excess of 1.3 kg and could handle a bit rougher grooming. So perhaps the new kid was overwhelmed too.
 
How a piggy behaves with people is not a gauge of how they will behave with another piggy so he may have been confident with handling with people but scared of another piggy.

I hope this new bonding goes well. Keep us posted
 
Thank you so much, I will!
We will bring the new baby home this weekend if the owners agree as he is still a little under 6 weeks and generally no one gives them out for adoption before that. If he's grown enough that should be ok. Otherwise next week. I asked if they would feel comfortable letting us bring him home a few days in advance cos Geezer is starting to look quite fed up of having no pig company, just the big smelly giants fussing about all the time.
 
Update: we got the baby today. He's tinyyyyyy! Can't remember Geezer being this tiny, but he indeed was 😅
Introduction is going well so far. No aggression, just rumbling and humping. The baby fell asleep in a tiny tunnel where Geezer doesn't fit, he's been rumbling around it but then just sat down at one end of it looking sleepy. I turned off the light cos they've been at it for almost 2 hours. Should I leave them be overnight? I think I'll sleep in that room just in case anyway.
 
Oh, they're awake. So far so good. No teeth chattering at all. Just lots of rumbling from Geezer. The baby doesn't seem scared, more like interested in the new chap. he has the little tunnel in case Geez gets too rough.
 
...Geezer is sitting at one end of the tunnel and making that weird bird sound. He's never done this before. What in the world?
 
Thank you, sorry I was just a bit scared, he's never made that sound before and he looked like he was in a trance or sleeping and twitching when it got louder. He snapped out of it after about 4-5 minutes straight. Back to rumbling/trying to get into the small tunnel/munching something.
 
Sounds good for the bonding!

Chirping is a mystery, nobody knows why it happens because it’s something owners will never get to hear.
 
Good morning! He was chirping again around 3 or 4 am. He had weird behaviours I had never seen before, like lying down and rubbing his body on the fleece(not his butt, his whole body, like a dog rolling in grass), and he was really, really overexcited. And oh my god the humping, that poor baby was a trooper! I called it a night when (4 hours later) it became apparent that the whole chasing had turned into a game. If Geezer would move away, then the baby would run to him. They were sharing food too.
I found them sleeping next to each other, now they're in the new cage. We managed a 7x4 C&C. I was going to make it 8 but it already looks really massive for 2 piggies. We have the space though, if needed.
This morning Geezer is suddenly a responsible adult and guiding the little one to the veggie pile, they're grooming each other and giving friendly nose bumps. I am impressed!

20210613_085327.webp
 
Sounds like a lovely, lively, friendly bonding and you are blessed to hear chirping. I’ve only ever heard it a few times. And we still don’t know what it means.
 
VickiA said:
Sounds like a lovely, lively, friendly bonding and you are blessed to hear chirping. I’ve only ever heard it a few times. And we still don’t know what it means.
Click to expand...
Thank you ❤️I had to wake up my husband in the middle of the night so he could hear it too. He was confused 🤣 So far they've been exploring the massive new enclosure, running around, eating, popcorning, the good piggie stuff. Geezer has toned down the humping a lot. The baby has been trying to nurse🤣 Now they're napping together, Geezer looks exhausted but he's been looking so miserable the last few days that it's such a relief seeing him being active, happy and vocal again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top