Extreme fighting after baby boar introduced to 2 mates HELP

[RebeccaJohn]

Hi , I'm new to this forum but really need some advice. We recently lost one of our 2 male pigs. The remaining pig Hugo is 3 years old and seemed distressed so we took advice to get another mate.

We purchased another male around 7/8 weeks old and when introduced to Hugo they got on well. When the new pig was around 10 weeks we were offered another boy pig - a 4 week Teddy Pig (male) which my daughter loved and so we brought him home.

This is when things started to take a turn - both of the pigs like the baby (whos tiny) but its causing them to fight and I mean fight. It starts with shaking and teeth chattering and then they yawn at each other and launch into a full fight. They are seperated at night but in the day we try to keep them together - they fight around twice a day. The turning point to this was came when a fight resulted in hugo having his eye scratched and thats when he got nasty. He has needed eye treatment and this seems to have made him very resentful and frightened so much so that even when we removed the baby they dont seem to like each other.

We think it could be because they are unsure if the baby is a boy or girl or whether the attack on his eye means he will never trust the middle one.

We are unsure if we can turn this around - perhaps we cannot cage them together. It seems a shame as we brought the other two to keep Hugo company but it would be wrong to seperate the two young ones.

Have we done something wrong? Any advice on how to get them back together would be most appreciated.

Thanks you

 

[Saltpig]

Hi , I'm new to this forum but really need some advice. We recently lost one of our 2 male pigs. The remaining pig Hugo is 3 years old and seemed distressed so we took advice to get another mate.

We purchased another male around 7/8 weeks old and when introduced to Hugo they got on well. When the new pig was around 10 weeks we were offered another boy pig - a 4 week Teddy Pig (male) which my daughter loved and so we brought him home.

This is when things started to take a turn - both of the pigs like the baby (whos tiny) but its causing them to fight and I mean fight. It starts with shaking and teeth chattering and then they yawn at each other and launch into a full fight. They are seperated at night but in the day we try to keep them together - they fight around twice a day. The turning point to this was came when a fight resulted in hugo having his eye scratched and thats when he got nasty. He has needed eye treatment and this seems to have made him very resentful and frightened so much so that even when we removed the baby they dont seem to like each other.

We think it could be because they are unsure if the baby is a boy or girl or whether the attack on his eye means he will never trust the middle one.

We are unsure if we can turn this around - perhaps we cannot cage them together. It seems a shame as we brought the other two to keep Hugo company but it would be wrong to seperate the two young ones.

Have we done something wrong? Any advice on how to get them back together would be most appreciated.

Thanks you

Ive found that when real fighting breaka out , it almost never gets better
My piggie salt, got hurt a lot by his brother piggie , as he likes to snuggle but they dont.
Now they are just separated .

I'd say separate the 2 and keep one with the baby and the other find a new friend.

 

[Siikibam]

Please separate permanently and do not give them floor time together at all. The first two fights should have led to permanent separation.

Did you double check the sex of the two piggies you took on? Even if the third is a boar, trios rarely work out so you were unfortunately not correct in putting them together.

You will have to decide which pair to put together and have the single living alongside them. Then you decide whether to pair him with a friend of his own (rescue bonding is the best way to go).

 

[piggieminder]

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides
You will find the above links helpful. Particularly read the ones with relation to boars but they are all very interesting. I am so sorry you find yourself in this situation, trios very rarely work.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I agree with the @Siikibam and @piggieminder, keeping three boars together generally does not work out. Boars are best kept in pairs.
Please separate them. Now they are having full on fights, their relationship will never work out. Work out which get on best and leave then together. Put the single boar alongside in a separate cage so they can interact through the bars and so your single won’t be lonely. Do not let them have physical contact with each other again - they must always remain separate. You will then need to look into options for the single boy and look into finding him a character compatible friend of his own.

 

[LMPigs]

Hello - what a mess!

As you will see from the guides linked above trios are difficult, and almost impossible when its three boys. It sounds like of your three there are two that definitely will not work together. I'm assuming you've now separated all three?

First step now - read the bonding guide: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
and learn about dominance behaviours: Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

The 4 week old baby will be very much in need of guidance and adult help, and I would guess that your best chance of a stable long term pairing is probably him with Hugo. Re-introducing the two of them on neutral territory and following the guidelines. Assuming there are no issues with this, you can then put the two of them together in a thoroughly cleaned out cage and, hopefully, they'll live happily ever after (subject to any issues when baby those awkward teenage years).

This leaves your ten week old as an odd pig out. Following a cooling off period of a few days, is it possible for you to set him up in a separate cage but with an adjoining wall so that they can all see, hear and smell each other? That way he still gets the stimulation of piggie interaction, but also his own territory.

In the long run, you can also look into finding another companion for your solo guy, but it may be better to wait a bit since boars go through an awkward hormonal stage any way (see Boar guide: Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next? ) which might mean you need to rejig any pairings anyway. So potentially better to wait that out with your little guys before adding more piggies to the mix?