I Don't Think My Boars Like Each Other Much

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Mairi M

Mairi M

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It has been one month now since I adopted my 17 month old boars (brothers). I now know it may have been wiser to go to a rescue but I got these two from a lady advertising on Gumtree. In many ways they are settling in well. They have a 2x4 with 2x1 cage and most days get a long period in a 4x4 run. They are not fighting and I don't think they will. Neither appears to want an all out fight. I do however think they are too closely matched in dominance. There is a lot of rumblestrutting, particularly from Parsley (the small one). When irritated by each other they teeth chatter at one another and do sharp exhalations of air through their nostrils. They sometimes appear wary around each other though are not especially possessive over food or hay most of the time. They never snuggle together. I just feel a little sad for them that they are not currently each with a better buddy. Are they happy enough?! They seem to be benefiting well from a better diet and more space but I don't know if they will ever become better friends.
 
Sounds like normal boar behaviour to me! Some are really close, some are just like yours. They sound like they have plenty of space, so that shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure that any hidies have two exits, to make sure that nobody gets cornered. And please don't bath them to try and create a stronger bond; it will just cause stress and a temporary 'let's stick together' time.

They are beyond the adolescent stage, but are still relatively young, so may still mellow a bit more. Just don't panic, they'll still be getting used to their new home and humans.
 
MintyAndGarry (TEAS) said:
Sounds like normal boar behaviour to me! Some are really close, some are just like yours. They sound like they have plenty of space, so that shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure that any hidies have two exits, to make sure that nobody gets cornered. And please don't bath them to try and create a stronger bond; it will just cause stress and a temporary 'let's stick together' time.

They are beyond the adolescent stage, but are still relatively young, so may still mellow a bit more. Just don't panic, they'll still be getting used to their new home and humans.
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Thank you! That is a relief to know and good to know not to try the bathing. I've only ever looked after sows when their owners were on holiday so boar beviour is quite different and new to me. I had a wee breakthrough with one of them today. Every day for the past month since I got them I have been doing very short lap time while hand feeding their favourite food. It's short because once they're finished they want to be off exploring again. Today, one of them came up to me and asked to be picked up when he knew I had arrived with their afternoon pepper treat! I was so pleased with the little guy!
 
Not all pigs want to snuggle up, even those that are a bonded pair. I've had several rotating pairs of bonded sows over they years (rotating the sense that when one passed,we would introduce another so there was some crossover in the pairs) and although they were clearly bonded to one another, they were never glued at the hip. The two I have now only snuggle closely when the lights go out at night or when they're scared... as soon as it's daytime, someone gets kicked out of the pigloo! LOL!
 
My boars are doing the exact same thing! They are bonded but still occasionally rumble and chatter at each other. They don't ever snuggle up against each other, they only will if they are frightened.
 
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