Females at war

A

Annieareyouok

New Born Pup
Joined
Aug 3, 2024
Messages
11
Reaction score
9
Points
90
Location
Essex
Is this something to be concerned about? 2 females and a neutered boar. They have 3 hayboxes but I was just refilling one. The past couple of days white female has been somewhat “narky” to black female. Nothing major but black female (who is normally the boss) seems very, very jittery around white female. It has all amounted to nothing and they are all sleeping fine now, there’s no resource guarding or anything like that but it seems like white and black girls are not getting on atm! My boy is not getting involved at all. It just goes like this every couple of hours with the odd bit of chasing and teeth chattering then they go quiet. They have been together since birth and are around 1 year old. Just don’t want it to be the start of fighting 😩 thanks
 
Annieareyouok said:
Is this something to be concerned about? 2 females and a neutered boar. They have 3 hayboxes but I was just refilling one. The past couple of days white female has been somewhat “narky” to black female. Nothing major but black female (who is normally the boss) seems very, very jittery around white female. It has all amounted to nothing and they are all sleeping fine now, there’s no resource guarding or anything like that but it seems like white and black girls are not getting on atm! My boy is not getting involved at all. It just goes like this every couple of hours with the odd bit of chasing and teeth chattering then they go quiet. They have been together since birth and are around 1 year old. Just don’t want it to be the start of fighting 😩 thanks
Click to expand...

Hi

How old are your piggies, especially your two sows? This can be crucial for any further advice.

Please make sure that they have access to more than one hay box and sprinkle feed any pellets and veg around the cage (it makes it also a good enrichment activity as it stimulates natural species behaviour and not only decreases dominance behaviours). Also make sure that any hideys etc. have all two exits.
Laying claim to first choice in terms of food and denning is an integral part of dominance display, especially from a group leader.
 
hi, the girls are around a year old. My boy is a bit older about 18 months. They have 3 hay boxes which are open sided baskets (the “door” is quite wide - I’d say about 20+ cm) and then they have 3 of everything else. I scatter feed their pellets and veg. They eat together absolutely fine, side by side no problem.
Could the hay baskets be an issue? They’ve always had them but this could be the only thing I can think of as they seem to “argue” over these (they have one each)? If I remove these would this make a difference?
 
I’ve removed the baskets and just put in a couple of low level trays, they seem MUCH happier, girls are even eating from the same tray. Hopefully this continues! Anything else I can try to keep their bond?
 
Hi, I'd like to join this recent thread, as I have the same problem! I have two girl piggies aged 5 weeks from same litter. I bought them 3 weeks ago from a lady. Both were the same size when they came home with me. The white patched girl piggy is now much bigger than the brown patched sister! Also, the white one has started to snatch food from the brown one whenever I lay fresh veggies etc down. Also I had one cardboard box 'cave' with two entrance holes for them to share when they were so small, but yesterday made an identical second one, as the white one for the past week has been nipping at the brown one. They snap at each other and chase each other a bit. The brown one is more bonded to me, but the white one has become more aloof - although both piggies are generally happy and playful. I'm just worried - as all week the white one has 'kicked out' the brown one from the main cave, so in the morning I'd find the brown one inside the tunnel instead. The white one was lording it inside the one cave, but when I put the second one in their cage, after they both sniffled, the brown one kept chasing the white one out the second cave and claimed the second cave (rightfully) for itself! That made me happy, as I saw the white one went sat back in the first cave and teh brown one now had her own cave. BUT tonight I see the white one has now kicked out the brown one from the new cave and claimed THAT! The brown one is now relegated to the initial cave.

To my way of thinking that just isn't fair! It really looks like the white one is being a right bully! They were both so sweet before and i gave them equal cuddle time most every day. Now I don't know what is going on. This all started a week ago. Please anyone help?
 
@mangocavvy9 - Just to check - you got them as two week old babies? What is the background to that as they were rather young to be away from mum at that point.

The dominant will get her pick of hide and the submissive piggy will have to go somewhere else. This is not a cause of concern and definitely not a reason to separate - it’s just normal dominance
As long as each has somewhere to hide then there is no issue.

Taking food from each other is normal behaviour and the way they learn what is safe to eat.
Nipping is a gesture of power from a dominant piggy to a submissive one.

They will both start to have seasons very soon so seeing a change and more dominance is to be expected
 
Thanks @Piggies&buns , yes I thought so too - why was she selling them so young? (I researched only once I got home)
They were actually 2 1/2 weeks old.
Just asking re cage - the base of the cage that the lining sits on, measures 50cm x 110cm. Then it widens only slightly where the wire cage top half sits on the blue plastic base bottom half. Is this contributing to the behaviour?
 
mangocavvy9 said:
Thanks @Piggies&buns , yes I thought so too - why was she selling them so young? (I researched only once I got home)
They were actually 2 1/2 weeks old.
Just asking re cage - the base of the cage that the lining sits on, measures 50cm x 110cm. Then it widens only slightly where the wire cage top half sits on the blue plastic base bottom half. Is this contributing to the behaviour?
Click to expand...

It’s a shame they were sold so young. Generally baby sows can stay with them mum until they are much older before being sold - 6-8 weeks of age is best for going to a new home. Never mind it’s done now.

The cage is too small. They need 120x60cm as a minimum but 150x60cm is recommended.
The behaviour is going to happen regardless of the cage size (because the behaviour is normal) but they do need to be in an appropriate size for their welfare and long term happiness.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top