Help! What Do I Do With Really Aggressive Piggy!

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KookieGurl7

KookieGurl7

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I had to make a new post since it seems my last one is going unnoticed. My black smooth-hair, Oni, is really aggressive. I've tried all I could to try to fix this. I thought it was just his Teen phase but this seems so much more than that. I cant leave them alone for more than ten minutes. They are doing the usual, humping... but... it doesnt seem right... Oni seems really really intent on being the boss of Skruffy(Abyssinian). And it almost looks like they are fighting. I'm scared, angry and after two weeks of this off and on, I'm sick of it. I dont have any time or money to build a second story to their cage. I also don't have the room at all to have two cages. Right now I have a sort of divider in the cage now. I dont have another cage to separate them. They still try to get at each other and chitter. This whole thing is really stressing me out and its taking away from my life to watch after them. I've tried so many options like, buddy baths, unfamiliar territory, distractions (food and noizes), and nothing has worked. At first I thought they were in their "teen phase" but it really seems like something more. Right now Oni is trying to dig under my divider. I'm scared, angry and I dont know what to do!
 
I can only go with what I have been told and say that as long as there isn't any bloodshed then it is normal. I do know that separating then putting them back together again is counter productive as they have to go through the whole *I'm the boss* show again. Hopefully someone else will have a bit more knowledge on this.
 
I have never had male pigs but I have females and had the same exact problem with mine - I had 2 females which had bonded very well together and I decided to introduce a 3rd pig to the group which started off ok but shortly after the 2 that had bonded together decided to start attacking her - they would chase and bite her. I never actually saw blood on her but I did find that theyd nipped a tiny bit of her ear. So I tried everything from bathing them together, putting them on unfamiliar territory etc.... but none of it seemed to work either. In the end I decided to get another guinea pig hoping to bond it to Katniss who was excluded from the other 2 pigs. And the strangest thing is, ever since I got the 4th pig all of them can now go together fine without harming each other. Then the 4th pig ended up having a baby so I separated her for a while. When I re introduced her to Katniss, Katniss decided she didn't like her anymore. There was a lot of teeth chattering and chasing going on, but no actual attacking. So I stuck them in the cage together and I would go and check on them all the time, which became less and less as I began to trust them. Theres not much you can really do they need to work it out otherwise it will just continue :O I think as along as they aren't physically trying to kill each other I would put them together for short amounts of time to try and get them used to each other but not to the point it totally stresses them out. !
 
I agree with theoretikos - are they fighting enough to draw blood? If so then they will need to be separated and it will not be possible to bond them. If they are just doing dominance displays then you need to let them get on with it until they figure out who they boss is and then they should calm down. Have you got 2 of everything: bowls, water bottles, hay racks, hideys etc. How big is your cage?

I wound not keep separating them as if you do that with boars they just have to start from scratch. Unlike with bunnies, neutering will make no difference as it does not reduce the testosterone enough to make a difference to their behaviour.
 
Come to think of it, I did have the same experience (but this was with male rabbits). They used to get on like a house on fire but as they got older they became dominant and decided not to like each other. I ended up having them both neutered. The temperaments on both of them changed dramatically (not overnight). I was advised by the vet to keep them separated for about a month until all the hormones etc had left.

I know it is frustrating when they just don't get on. There are also specialists who deal in re-bonding animals. Vets can also give you advice on it too. My vet helped heaps with my bunnies.
 
It sounds like your two boys don not get on. There is a point at which, even if blood isn't drawn it is obvious that two piggies don't get on well enough to stay together. Just like us people not all piggies get on even if they are siblings. Personality is more important than family ties. The 'teenage' years and hormonal stage can last from a few months old to about 12-18 months for some so your lads are in the prime age group for having a falling out, just as they are growing up and would be looking to make their own herd in the wild.

Reading your other thread I can see that there has been problems for a while but every time you separate and then re-introduce they just have to go through the whole dominance thing again every time. This is extremely stressful for you and the piggies so you really need to make a decision to either separate permanently or spend a good length of time with them to bond them properly but I suspect that now they will not tolerate that. Trying again and again with separation in between just confuses them and makes them fight for dominance more at each introduction.

Make sure if you plan to keep them together your cage is at least 120cm x 60cm minimum but bigger is always better especially with young boars. Have two of everything to avoid arguments especially food bowls. water bottles and hidey holes. That way they can be apart if they want some peace and quiet.

You already say you cannot afford/make a new cage right now so make a more permanent divider so there is no risk of them getting through and causing problems. Ideally a piggy needs to be able to pick their own friend and that is best done with the help of someone experienced in bonding piggies like a good rescue. I can see you are in the US so I know rescues can be hard to find but perhaps someone else on here can recommend one or try posting on the Potty for Piggies Facebook page as they have a number of US fans who may be able to point you in the right direction. Please don't go out and choose a new buddy for either pig without bonding help as it will most likely end up in the same position you are now but with another piggy. Some people will say that getting a piggy neutered may help but it is very likely that this would have no effect what so ever on their behaviour it would only stop them being able to father pups. It is also an operation that carries some risk and shouldn't be taken on lightly.

I hope some of this helps but please try to keep stress for your boys at a minimum to give them the best chance of a happy, settled, life even if it is apart.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I was really starting to worry if they will ever be bonded again. I dont like to see them fight but since they are not drawing blood, i wont separate them. It scares me because it looks so serious and I'm afraid if i let it go on, blood with come and I don't even want to risk it. Could I just break up the fight when it happens? like make a loud "yip" or howl to scare them into stopping? I usually do that, then go to throwing a shirt or small towel on them. And when that doesn't work, I would separate them. But I see that wouldn't do any good. I'll just keep breaking up the fights when they happen in any way I can. Oh and what about a small 1 hour time-out? Will they learn that way or is scaring them better?

I do have two of everything but a hay bag... I'm sewing one up at the moment, i dont have a machine so its by hand. They don't argue much over that because I stuff toilet paper rolls with hay. they only really argue over carrots... but I make sure each gets just one =P

They have an 8 sq ft cage and i did research that that is just enough for the two of them. I'm working on getting a two story cage from a friend at school. Her rabbit passed away and she doesn't want the cage. I believe each level is the same size, I'm getting pictures tomorrow.

I'm also working on improving their environment a little. Like I need to buy a bunch of fleece and just go crazy building them things. But for now they have soft aspen as their bedding with puppy potty pads and newspaper underneath. Just a question... how do you wash fleece? like just throw it in the washer and dryer or is there a specific way to do it? Also, how can I weigh down the fleece so it would be easier to vacuum?

Thank you for the advice!
 
I wash my fleece in the machine with vinegar after shaking it thoroughly outside.I do it at 60 degrees.It either gets chucked in the dryer or is hung on my clothes horse to dry, depends how much dying I need to do.I don't vacuum mine, just brush it up with dustpan and brush.It Arial need washed the Torres with no detergent to wick it(make it so puree goes through onto towels and pads underneath).I find it very easy to use and my piggies seem to like it.Well you be using litter trays
 
madguinealady said:
I wash my fleece in the machine with vinegar after shaking it thoroughly outside.I do it at 60 degrees.It either gets chucked in the dryer or is hung on my clothes horse to dry, depends how much dying I need to do.I don't vacuum mine, just brush it up with dustpan and brush.It Arial need washed the Torres with no detergent to wick it(make it so puree goes through onto towels and pads underneath).I find it very easy to use and my piggies seem to like it.Well you be using litter trays
Click to expand...

Well that just sounds too complicated @.@
 
My boys still have falling out periods when one of them decides to steal food off the other but this is even the same with humans so it must be normal! I have started chopping up smaller pieces of food for them so that it can't be grabbed out of the others mouth.
 
I would really check the one getting bullied for wounds. Mine was getting bullied and I didn't see them properly fight but when I held him I could feel scabs under his fur. Wounds can turn into abscesses and abscesses are nasty!
 
Try not to use time out as it just means that when you put one back they have to re-establish their dominance hierarchy again which could lead to another fight. You can break up fights using a towel or some people swear by using a dustpan, just keep your fingers out of harms way.

Monitor both of their weight regularly as weight loss is often an indicator of bullying. If one is significantly lighter or is losing weight then consider separating more permanently to keep them both happy and healthy. Like Jeniva says, check them over thoroughly and regularly, just because you haven't seen blood drawn doesn't mean it hasn't happened. They can get bitten and scratched in the strangest places and easily pick up infections in un-noticed wounds. Check all round them underneath and through their hair to make sure that all is well.

Best of luck but please bear in mind that it may be that they just don't get on.... It's not fair to them to keep them in a really stressful situation. We wouldn't expect a human to stay in a house with someone who was physically or emotionally abusing them so we shouldn't expect our animals to do it. That said, I hope they iron out their differences, they may well just be going through a phase and settle down soon :)
 
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