Excessive chasing

[KathT]

I have two sows with a neutered boar who have been together for over a year. This afternoon (about 3pm) I heard a lot of squeaking and on checking I found the boar of the trio (Bruno) chasing one of the sows (Bella). The chasing and squeaking has continued into this evening and though Bruno seems to have mated with Bella, he continues to chase her and she seems quite harassed. She is the less dominant sow of the pair and very submissive, but she has been nose butting Bruno to drive him away and he has been teeth chattering back at her, though only for a few seconds. I have never seen this behaviour before in them and I just wanted to know how long is normal for this sort of behaviour to continue? I clipped Bella recently (she is long haired) and noticed she has bald flanks and crusty nipples, so I assume she may have ovarian cysts - I am planning to take her to Simon & Kims when they are back from their holiday. Would ovarian cysts cause this type of behaviour with Bruno? I don’t want him wearing her out at she’s quite nervy anyway, though she is definitely standing up for herself. Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Marlee and Fluffy]

I’ll tag @Wiebke @PigglePuggle @Piggies&buns since no one responded yet

 

[Wiebke]

I have two sows with a neutered boar who have been together for over a year. This afternoon (about 3pm) I heard a lot of squeaking and on checking I found the boar of the trio (Bruno) chasing one of the sows (Bella). The chasing and squeaking has continued into this evening and though Bruno seems to have mated with Bella, he continues to chase her and she seems quite harassed. She is the less dominant sow of the pair and very submissive, but she has been nose butting Bruno to drive him away and he has been teeth chattering back at her, though only for a few seconds. I have never seen this behaviour before in them and I just wanted to know how long is normal for this sort of behaviour to continue? I clipped Bella recently (she is long haired) and noticed she has bald flanks and crusty nipples, so I assume she may have ovarian cysts - I am planning to take her to Simon & Kims when they are back from their holiday. Would ovarian cysts cause this type of behaviour with Bruno? I don’t want him wearing her out at she’s quite nervy anyway, though she is definitely standing up for herself. Any advice gratefully received.

Welcome to the special madness of a strong season! It should be over by tomorrow; all you can do is sit it out and not interfere.
It sounds however like she has hormonal ovarian cysts.

Strong seasons can be caused by a wider range of issues (bonding with boars or another sow experiencing a stronger season - in both cases as reaction to a heavy pheromone output; teenage hormones but also a hormone spike caused by ovarian cysts). If you adult sow is looking like she is in season nonstop, then ovarian cysts are definitely at the bottom of it.

When Sows Experience A Strong Season (videos)

 

[KathT]

Thanks Wiebke. They were squeaking and chasing as I typed the post but as I’ve voiced my concern about their behaviour, it’s now gone all quiet and they seem happy eating hay together! Probably just me over reacting but I have never seen them like that before. I will get Bella checked out regarding cysts.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks Wiebke. They were squeaking and chasing as I typed the post but as I’ve voiced my concern about their behaviour, it’s now gone all quiet and they seem happy eating hay together! Probably just me over reacting but I have never seen them like that before. I will get Bella checked out regarding cysts.

Have a look at the video link I have put in my first post; it can be quite an eye opener - and it has been by no means the wildest season I have ever witnessed!

 

[KathT]

Thanks - I did watch them before I posted the thread - it was just like that except it was Bruno doing the chasing and Bella didn’t want the attention. It is definitely calmer now, not heard any squeaking but I will keep an eye on them.