Failed bonding?

Toffsploffs

Toffsploffs

New Born Pup
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Hi!
I’ve been attempting to bond my recently bereaved sow Toffee with an established sow pair Tiffin and Treacle. I’ve followed the advice on the bonding thread and let them have interaction behind bars for a few days. They’ve been together for 4 hours now. There was some teeth chattering, a bit of chasing, but never for a prolonged time. They’d stop and start eating hay for a while and then start chasing or chattering again.

My problem is the two dominant ones (Toffee and Tiffin) haven’t been able to establish who is boss. Now whenever Toffee approaches her she just runs away and won’t interact. Is this a failed bonding? They’re not aggressive to each other and are asleep in opposite corners of the run. Should I try again another day? Or leave them to it a bit longer? Or is this a failed bonding?

thanks!
 
I think it's only failed if it gets aggressive. I'm still a bit if a newbie myself, but I think it can be difficult at times with groups of 3 sows. Hopefully someone with more experience will be along soon.
 
Hope4gem said:
I think it's only failed if it gets aggressive. I'm still a bit if a newbie myself, but I think it can be difficult at times with groups of 3 sows. Hopefully someone with more experience will be along soon.
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That’s what I thought as well. They all seem pretty chilled, they just won’t interact anymore!
 
Thanks for replying. They’ve been together for about 3 hours, we’re not sure how long to keep going. Toffee keeps chasing the other fairly dominant one and there seems to be no conclusion. The chasing is still interspersed with calm periods though.
 
I would leave them for a bit longer but it all sounds good so far. When I did a bonding a couple of months ago, I left them for 6 hours before putting them in the cage but I was bonding two pairs
 
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Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep going then! Was your bonding successful?
 
Please leave them together until the evening and if necessary overnight before transferring them to the cage. It is always best to not rush the introduction stage. The more your piggies can work through the whole hierarchy establishment process on neutral ground, the better. Be aware that this happens in rounds. if your boys are eating together in between, it is a surefire sign that they are still on track and want to stay together. No piggy group is functional without a group hierarchy and its reinforcement over the following two weeks.

Please take the time to read/watch our detailed step-by-step bonding guide. It is very comprehensive and talks you through all aspects as well as key behaviours: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
I’ll definitely leave them until the evening and then reassess to see if they need more time. I really appreciate the help. Thanks!
 
They’ve all calmed down a bit now but are still having a few stand offs. What do I do about leaving them overnight, would they be ok unsupervised?
 
or should I move them back into their enclosure but with open ended hideys, like the guide says, to finish bonding there?
 
The bonding area is completely empty of any hideys should I put any in or would that disrupt things?
 
Brilliant, I’ll do that! They‘ll be ok unsupervised from this point then?
 
Keep an eye on them until you go to bed but then leave them in the bonding pen if you don’t feel they are ready to go into the cage yet. If all is well overnight, then you will be able to move them to the cage in the morning
It takes around two weeks for them to fully establish their relationship and hierarchy.
 
As @Piggies&buns has said, keep your eye on them until bedtime then leave them in the bonding area overnight. When I bonded mine, my dominant sow did a lot of chasing for around two weeks as it takes around two weeks for them to establish a heirachy
 
If they are happy to eat hay and sleep in the same enclosure it all sounds very promising, a definite fail wouldnt get that far at all! It will just take some time, with some chasing and posturing, and every new hidey or food dish may trigger further negotiations between the top ladies- but this is normal and will hopefully settle in a few weeks!
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone. This is the first time I’ve tried bonding and although I’ve read the guides it’s hard to know what‘s typical and whats not without experience.
They’re all eating together and napping. Like you said with your sow though, the dominant one won’t let the others get close to her without chasing them. It’s like she’s just got to make sure they definitely know whose boss! It’s good to know that’s pretty normal, hopefully things will continue to calm down from here. Would it be ok to move them into their new enclosure now that they’ve spent the night in the bonding area?
 
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