Fighting

[evetsg86]

Hi,

We now have 4 pigs. Bruce is 4-5 years old. Worf is 2 years old and they get on very nicely and have been since worf was a baby.

We recently introduced two new babies which were 10 weeks old when they were introduced and that was about 5-6 weeks ago and they have all been living together very happily until the last couple of days.

One of the new babies Anthony keeps really going for Worf but none of the others. Worf doesn't put up a fight he yelps and runs away to a corner on a pillow and will stay there the whole time until he is chased of again by Anthony. He has pulled little bits of hair form his bum and today noticed he had done quite a job on one of his ears and has split it and has a few more teeth marks in it.

Really not sure what to do as it's the first time I have experienced this and googling it doesn't really help. I have currently split the cage and keeping Anthony by him self and worf is now back to his self eating and playing with the other two. I feel really bad keep Anthony by himself though...

They live in a 6x2 with a 2x2 loft

Any advice?

Thanks

 

[natalieheep]

I had this problem with two of my pigs as well, and it didn’t end well as my pig stopped eating. If youre pig isn’t eating, or if blood is beig drawn, i would separate them. The bullied pig will most likely end up not eating as much as mine did. Since you have so many pigs, maybe put one of the pigs who was nice to worf on his side with him?

 

[Siikibam]

Are they boars? Unfortunately the failure rate for 3+ boars is very high, especially in such a small cage. I think it’s be best not to reintroduce them. Can you keep the babies together and have Worf and Bruce paired as before? Otherwise you risk a big fallout and possibly ending up with 4 separate boars. The babies have more than likely begun their ‘teenage years’ (4-14 months) and so are testing the hierarchy. I’m sure someone more knowledgable will be along soon but I doubt you’d get any different advise.

 

[Pigwhisperer]

Yes as @Siikibam says separate the new babies again. Keeping 3+ boars together almost always results in fighting.

 

[Reenie]

Hi, unfortunately it's highly unlikely that all 4 will get on together. As @Siikibam kibam says, your best bet is to keep them as 2 pairs. This link will help. Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Good luck x

 

[sport_billy]

Agree with all great advice, go back to pairs. Boars in anything other than pairs rarely work and are a recipe for fighting