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Hormone Spike?

Chettsgenie

Chettsgenie

New Born Pup
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I was away for a few days and had family coming in to feed my piggies etc. Got back today and underpig Tweak seems to be going through a hormone spike (I think, he's just past ten months old), and being really aggressive with the dominant pig, Butters (who is just over a year old). Excessive chasing, humping (including his head/face) and teeth chattering which caused Butters to also chatter. I put in a divider as it's a 2x6 c&c cage they're in and Butters doesn't seem to care that I've separated them but Tweak has been chewing at the bars of the divider ever since it was put in. I'm not sure what to do now as I don't want Tweak hurting his teeth or something if I leave the divider in, but I'm trying to avoid a full-blown fall out.

Will a couple of days with the divider in maybe be enough to let Tweak's aggression cool down? Or is this possibly a fight for dominance?

They have two of everything and usually get along okay as Butters is reasonably laid back as the dominant piggy and only seems to do some rumble-strutting and chasing for a few mins when I'm sweeping out the cage etc., and everything calms down again really quickly after. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Chettsgenie said:
I was away for a few days and had family coming in to feed my piggies etc. Got back today and underpig Tweak seems to be going through a hormone spike (I think, he's just past ten months old), and being really aggressive with the dominant pig, Butters (who is just over a year old). Excessive chasing, humping (including his head/face) and teeth chattering which caused Butters to also chatter. I put in a divider as it's a 2x6 c&c cage they're in and Butters doesn't seem to care that I've separated them but Tweak has been chewing at the bars of the divider ever since it was put in. I'm not sure what to do now as I don't want Tweak hurting his teeth or something if I leave the divider in, but I'm trying to avoid a full-blown fall out.

Will a couple of days with the divider in maybe be enough to let Tweak's aggression cool down? Or is this possibly a fight for dominance?

They have two of everything and usually get along okay as Butters is reasonably laid back as the dominant piggy and only seems to do some rumble-strutting and chasing for a few mins when I'm sweeping out the cage etc., and everything calms down again really quickly after. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
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HI! Of course Tweak is not happy about the divider. He should calm down though. If necessary cable-tie or simply tie some card board to the divider as a temporary measure.

The two day separation will hopefully do the trick, but there is never a full guarantee. Generally, if the bond is otherwise stable, the odds are very good that they will get back together without much in the way of problems. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
HI! Of course Tweak is not happy about the divider. He should calm down though. If necessary cable-tie or simply tie some card board to the divider as a temporary measure.

The two day separation will hopefully do the trick, but there is never a full guarantee. Generally, if the bond is otherwise stable, the odds are very good that they will get back together without much in the way of problems. ;)
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Thanks very much! I used spare grids and cable ties for the divider so I think it's as secure as I can make it. Just have my fingers crossed now it will be okay in a couple of days.
 
Chettsgenie said:
Thanks very much! I used spare grids and cable ties for the divider so I think it's as secure as I can make it. Just have my fingers crossed now it will be okay in a couple of days.
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All the best! the cardboard can help re. excessive grid gnawing when you tie it across over the dividing grids on the gnawer's side. ;)
 
So, I put them back together after their clean out on Friday night. They seemed really happy about it, lots of zoomies and popcorning. I kept a close eye on them over the weekend and every day at sweeping out time there was the usual couple of minutes of popcorning, chasing and rumble-strutting which also had a tiny bit of humping added in now, but there was no sign of serious fighting and they both seemed content.

I had hoped that was the end of it, but tonight Tweak is going crazy trying to fight Butters again for no reason that I can tell. He's stopping him from lying down and relentlessly chasing him to hump him. Butters keeps getting away, turning and rumble strutting at Tweak but Tweak was ignoring that and humping him from any possible direction while he was rumbling, a lot of the time he was grabbing Butters by the head. I took Tweak out for a while on his own in an attempt to calm him down but it hasn't worked.

Is it okay to separate them again for a few days? I don't know what else to do really. I'm not sure if they have to work out who's dominant again or if it's a hormone thing that'll die down or if maybe they weren't as friendly or as well bonded with each other as I first thought. Any ideas? I'm not sure what to do for the best. I just don't want them fighting to the point of hurting each other.
 
Chettsgenie said:
So, I put them back together after their clean out on Friday night. They seemed really happy about it, lots of zoomies and popcorning. I kept a close eye on them over the weekend and every day at sweeping out time there was the usual couple of minutes of popcorning, chasing and rumble-strutting which also had a tiny bit of humping added in now, but there was no sign of serious fighting and they both seemed content.

I had hoped that was the end of it, but tonight Tweak is going crazy trying to fight Butters again for no reason that I can tell. He's stopping him from lying down and relentlessly chasing him to hump him. Butters keeps getting away, turning and rumble strutting at Tweak but Tweak was ignoring that and humping him from any possible direction while he was rumbling, a lot of the time he was grabbing Butters by the head. I took Tweak out for a while on his own in an attempt to calm him down but it hasn't worked.

Is it okay to separate them again for a few days? I don't know what else to do really. I'm not sure if they have to work out who's dominant again or if it's a hormone thing that'll die down or if maybe they weren't as friendly or as well bonded with each other as I first thought. Any ideas? I'm not sure what to do for the best. I just don't want them fighting to the point of hurting each other.
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I would separate but you may find that they may not be able to live together again and may be better off as neighbours. You do not have to wait until there are full-on bites if a relationship is clearly not working; it is just a guideline for the overanxious owners that separate at the first sign of dominance behaviour. The teenage months are such a tough time for boars! :( :( :(
 
Wiebke said:
I would separate but you may find that they may not be able to live together again and may be better off as neighbours. You do not have to wait until there are full-on bites if a relationship is clearly not working; it is just a guideline for the overanxious owners that separate at the first sign of dominance behaviour. The teenage months are such a tough time for boars! :( :( :(
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Okay, thanks. I'm really gutted thinking they might not go back together. I know! I thought I had gotten through the worst of the teen months with them getting along quite well, then this happened. I'll try again, but if it happens again I think they'll need to just be neighbours. They are both lying down on either side of the divider now, right next to each other.
 
Chettsgenie said:
Okay, thanks. I'm really gutted thinking they might not go back together. I know! I thought I had gotten through the worst of the teen months with them getting along quite well, then this happened. I'll try again, but if it happens again I think they'll need to just be neighbours. They are both lying down on either side of the divider now, right next to each other.
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It is what I call a 'power lie-in' - demarkating the boundary of their respective territory.
This is a very little known dominance behaviour because it is in most cases misinterpreted as a friendly wanting to be together action.
 
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