Grounds for separation?

[toodledoodler]

Hello everyone! It’s me *again*, the most worried pig dad in the world. I have 3-month-old boars who haven’t gotten along great since I got them 3 weeks ago, but since then, it’s gotten much worse. No actual fighting with blood, but they’re chattering very loudly ALL the time, to the point where they can’t be out in the cage at the same time without it happening at least every 10 minutes. The submissive one actually full-on lunged at the dominant one yesterday, who then got spooked and ran away. Freddie (dominant) chases Wilbur around even more now, and is constantly disturbing him when he’s eating or trying to relax. They can’t even have floor time together without squabbling, and I am so, so scared and anxious that Wilbur is going to get hurt. I separated them for a couple hours during floor time so that I could clean their cage (if I had them together I would have to watch them the entire time), and Wilbur REALLY perked up. He was happy, explored his surroundings, and popcorned, which is new for him. As soon as Freddie wasn’t there to constantly bug him and scare him off, he was a totally different pig. Freddie was the same, they didn’t seem to look for each other. Wilbur cannot take Freddie’s energy level as he’s more calm and Fred is super energetic, and gets very annoyed when Fred is running and popcorning around. Should I still try to make this work or should I just face that they don’t get along and separate them? I am so lost on this and I’m terrified of messing up, my previous boars loved each other, I feel confused and worried all the time I’ve tried everything, but as soon as they’re out in the cage together, this happens. It’s escalated very drastically these past few days. They’re on day 2 of antibiotics for an URI, if that matters. I love them so dearly and just want them to be happy

 

[4boipigs]

Try a trial separation with them. You don't want to stress them out with constant dominance issues if they are ill with a URI. Do you have a c&c cage? You can divide it down the middle with extra grids. That way they are in the same cage but can still interact (but not hurt each other) thru the bars. They are also going to be entering piggy puberty soon (or could have already started), which can really test the bonds of boys!

 

[Piggies&buns]

They are hormonal teenagers now so seeing an increase in dominance is to be expected.
What is concerning is you said they when he was away he perked up. That can be a sign of a dysfunctional bond which means this may have gone beyond dominance.
The lunging is a defensive behaviour

I would also suggest a trial separation for a few days and see if Wilbur perks up again is happier to be living as a neighbour rather than sharing a cage.
If the separation does need to be permanent, then each piggy needs a minimum of 120x60cm or a 2x3 c&c cage.

Bonds In Trouble