Pemberleypiggies
New Born Pup
Hi guys! I rescued two skinny pigs from a local rescue in February. They are going to be two years old in July. I know that boys can be aggressive with each other, but I’m having a hard time determining if what I’m seeing warrants separating. One is specifically the bully, and the other never starts anything. They were surrendered to a shelter, then a rescue got them to adopt out, and then within about 1.5 weeks of them arriving at the rescue, I adopted them. So they’ve moved around a lot in a short time! Their history isn’t well known, but the bullied one has scars on his back.
As soon as I got them home, it was clear that one was a major bully to the other. Bingley (the bully) constantly guards all food. I mean all of it, and all the time. If Darcy (the submissive one) tries eating in the kitchen area and Bingley is on the opposite end of the cage doing his own thing, he runs to Darcy and starts nipping the back of his neck, his butt, or his face. Darcy just freezes and screams :/ and then flees to another spot in the cage. Bingley chases him and keeps the nipping going. Eventually he stops to eat himself, and that’s when Darcy eats. I have never seen any mounting, it’s always biting and chasing. No major blood has been drawn yet, however on day 3 of them being home, I found a small slice on Darcy’s back. Nothing that caused drops of blood, but definitely shaved the top layer of his skin off. I didn’t see what happened, but I do assume it was his brother since there is nothing sharp in the cage. It’s been almost 2 months since they’ve come home, and their fighting doesn’t seem to be improving. There have been no more cuts, but Darcy seems to just live in fear and Bingley seems to live to bully him. I haven’t witnessed any torpedos, but lots of biting and chasing even though Darcy never challenges Bingley back. They also are frequently chattering at each other most of the day. It’s unusual to see them sitting near each other eating. I’ve seen it, it’s just rare. What’s common is that I hear Darcy screaming out from the other end of the house multiple times a day as well, and I know it’s because Bingley is snapping at him again.
Basically, I don’t know if I should allow Bingley to continue terrorizing his brother since he’s not making him bleed, or if it would be better for them to put a divider in. I don’t want to separate and break their bond if this is all normal and okay, but I also feel terrible that Darcy seems so scared all the time.
To get a better idea of their living situation, here are the necessary details!
Cage:
They’re in a c&c L shaped cage (14 inch cubes). It’s a 2x5 for the longer part, and a 2x3 for the shorter part that sticks out. So it’s a pretty large cage!
Hay:
There is a huge kitchen area at one end of the 2x5 section of their cage with a massive pile of hay. I also put small piles right outside of this tray because they often won’t eat in here at the same time despite the tray being about a 2x2 grid size.
Then a couple feet away, I have a hanging toy which holds a handful of hay for extra enrichment. I put a small pile under this toy as well.
In the 2x3 section, I have a large hay rack from Piggies choice that I keep full, and I also put a pile in the corner about a foot and a half away so that there are two piles in this section.
Pellets:
There are 3-4 spots with their pellets in the cage far apart from each other.
Water:
I have two large bottles on opposite ends of the cage.
Hides:
I have 3 hides in the cage which have more than one entrance. I also have a hammock which isn’t technically covered, but I drape fleece over those grids for a bit of a covered feel.
Any and all advice is welcome! I just want to do the best thing for my boys <3
As soon as I got them home, it was clear that one was a major bully to the other. Bingley (the bully) constantly guards all food. I mean all of it, and all the time. If Darcy (the submissive one) tries eating in the kitchen area and Bingley is on the opposite end of the cage doing his own thing, he runs to Darcy and starts nipping the back of his neck, his butt, or his face. Darcy just freezes and screams :/ and then flees to another spot in the cage. Bingley chases him and keeps the nipping going. Eventually he stops to eat himself, and that’s when Darcy eats. I have never seen any mounting, it’s always biting and chasing. No major blood has been drawn yet, however on day 3 of them being home, I found a small slice on Darcy’s back. Nothing that caused drops of blood, but definitely shaved the top layer of his skin off. I didn’t see what happened, but I do assume it was his brother since there is nothing sharp in the cage. It’s been almost 2 months since they’ve come home, and their fighting doesn’t seem to be improving. There have been no more cuts, but Darcy seems to just live in fear and Bingley seems to live to bully him. I haven’t witnessed any torpedos, but lots of biting and chasing even though Darcy never challenges Bingley back. They also are frequently chattering at each other most of the day. It’s unusual to see them sitting near each other eating. I’ve seen it, it’s just rare. What’s common is that I hear Darcy screaming out from the other end of the house multiple times a day as well, and I know it’s because Bingley is snapping at him again.
Basically, I don’t know if I should allow Bingley to continue terrorizing his brother since he’s not making him bleed, or if it would be better for them to put a divider in. I don’t want to separate and break their bond if this is all normal and okay, but I also feel terrible that Darcy seems so scared all the time.
To get a better idea of their living situation, here are the necessary details!
Cage:
They’re in a c&c L shaped cage (14 inch cubes). It’s a 2x5 for the longer part, and a 2x3 for the shorter part that sticks out. So it’s a pretty large cage!
Hay:
There is a huge kitchen area at one end of the 2x5 section of their cage with a massive pile of hay. I also put small piles right outside of this tray because they often won’t eat in here at the same time despite the tray being about a 2x2 grid size.
Then a couple feet away, I have a hanging toy which holds a handful of hay for extra enrichment. I put a small pile under this toy as well.
In the 2x3 section, I have a large hay rack from Piggies choice that I keep full, and I also put a pile in the corner about a foot and a half away so that there are two piles in this section.
Pellets:
There are 3-4 spots with their pellets in the cage far apart from each other.
Water:
I have two large bottles on opposite ends of the cage.
Hides:
I have 3 hides in the cage which have more than one entrance. I also have a hammock which isn’t technically covered, but I drape fleece over those grids for a bit of a covered feel.
Any and all advice is welcome! I just want to do the best thing for my boys <3
with 