Ideal age?

Sally Newbie

Sally Newbie

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Hi
We have had our 2 females for 5 years but 1 sadly died 3 weeks ago. I am contacting rescue centres which mainly have single neutered boars for a new companion. This is because they will take care of the bonding process which I have no experience of.
2 questions. Given that our current female is 6 years old what age is best for the new male? The ones I have found are
5 year old
8 months
1.5 years
2.5 years
1 year.

Secondly I am worried that the change of environment to the rehoming centre plus the new pig will be too stressful for our 6 year old. What do you think?

Any advice appreciated, thank you.
 
Hi
We have had our 2 females for 5 years but 1 sadly died 3 weeks ago. I am contacting rescue centres which mainly have single neutered boars for a new companion. This is because they will take care of the bonding process which I have no experience of.
2 questions. Given that our current female is 6 years old what age is best for the new male? The ones I have found are
5 year old
8 months
1.5 years
2.5 years
1 year.

Secondly I am worried that the change of environment to the rehoming centre plus the new pig will be too stressful for our 6 year old. What do you think?

Any advice appreciated, thank you.
 
Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry for the loss of your other sow.


It's more about character-compatibility than age. I suppose the various new males are all in different rehoming centres? Otherwise you could leave it up to the centre to find the best match. Having said that, it could certainly be good to try 2 seniors together to give the 5yo a chance at a new forever home. They're definitely slowing down by that age would probably prefer an older companion, all other things being equal.
If that doesn't work out, I'd try the 2.5 yo.
 
Hi, I’m all for rehoming boys (I only have boys) but would you not prefer a girl of maybe 4 plus for your girl? Is it just that the rescues don’t seem to have any? A calm girl would be ideal in my opinion. I would just worry that the boy might be dominant and humpy, which they do even when neutered. Maybe it would be worth trying one of the boys - can the rescues tell you about their personalities, ie if he’s very hyper or chilled? I have a pair of senior boys atm and just know that when I lose one of them, I will not be inflicting one of my wild singles on them! But they both have arthritis, so I don’t want them jumped on or chased. This is just my opinion so hope you find her a friend to suit.
 
I'm sorry for your loss.

It would be difficult to say who would be best because it comes down to character matches rather than age.
The forum has most definitely seen older sows become best friends with younger boars without any issue - wiebke for example has bonded much older sows with baby boars very successfully.

You are doing right looking to a boar though - it is often the easier of the rebonding options for an older sow. Older bereaved sows tend to be harder to rebond anyway, particularly if they have spent their life with just one piggy. With a bereaved older sow, a baby sow or a neutered boar (of any age) would be the options to try. You are likely to find bonding her with another older sow stands the highest chance of failure (some older do just fine together but it’s just that experiences show they tend to be more likely to fail) .
Be prepared that some older sows will refuse new company of any sort. This is usually down to fear. If an older bereaved sow refuses all company then living side by side with others becomes the next best thing.

Sows are rather different to boars in that respect. Boars mellow with age and tend to want new company after losing a cage mate. Sows don’t necessarily want new company and can become quite grumpy.
I bonded my bereaved (dominant in his previous pairing) 6 year old boar with my dominant 2 year old boar (who has fought with his previous cagemate - I have had to keep them side by side following the fight). The 6 year old just wanted a new friend and happily relinquished all previous dominance and let the 2 year old take charge - he didn’t care about dominance anymore, he just wanted a friend (following the death of the 6 year old, the two youngsters who can’t stand each other are now back side by side). Sows are highly unlikely to do that.

Good luck and let us know how things go

Ps - I have merged your two threads back into the one in the bonding section of the forum
 
Thank you everyone. The rescue centre that I am looking at doesn't have any single females as that is what I would want. I would rather not get another pig but feel I have to do that our current female,Cheese, does not get lonely. She has been fine in the 3 weeks since she lost her companion but I feel we need to get another or she will pine. It is the same rescue centre and I have selected them as they will undertake the bonding process but they also will take back their pig when Cheese passes away as we cannot get into the cycle now of getting a new pig as a companion. They have suggested the 5 year old boar.
 
Good luck with everything- they sound like a great rescue centre.
It's so hard to end the piggy cycle, but it sounds like you're doing it in the best way for your remaining sow and your own heart. 🥰
 
Sally Newbie said:
Thank you everyone. The rescue centre that I am looking at doesn't have any single females as that is what I would want. I would rather not get another pig but feel I have to do that our current female,Cheese, does not get lonely. She has been fine in the 3 weeks since she lost her companion but I feel we need to get another or she will pine. It is the same rescue centre and I have selected them as they will undertake the bonding process but they also will take back their pig when Cheese passes away as we cannot get into the cycle now of getting a new pig as a companion. They have suggested the 5 year old boar.
Click to expand...
The 5 year old boar may be a good choice to avoid being stuck in the piggy cycle 👍
 
Wheekallweek said:
The 5 year old boar may be a good choice to avoid being stuck in the piggy cycle 👍
Click to expand...
The rescue centre take them back after Cheese has passed which was one of the reasons I selected them. They have suggested the 5 year old boar as he has been waiting for a home the longest. Hopefully with the 2 of them both bring elderly they will get along 🤞. I am just worried about a boar!
 
Fingers crossed for the bonding.

Why are you worried about a boar? We can help if you have specific concerns.
Boars, particularly older ones, are fantastic! They tend to get more friendly as they age and are such funny characters!
 
Thanks for sharing your situation — I’m sorry for your loss, I can imagine it’s hard.


In my experience (and from what I’ve seen in piggy bonding advice), character and temperament usually matter more than exact age. A calmer, more social pig (regardless of being younger or older) is often a better match.


But having said that, if I were in your shoes, I might lean toward a pig around 2–3 years old or even a slightly older one, rather than a very young boar. That gives them enough maturity so they’re less likely to intimidate or upset your 6-year-old sow, yet still have energy to make the companionship worthwhile.


One thing I like to do (for any pet really) is compare chronological vs. behavioral age — i.e. not just how many years they are, but how “old in habits, health, and activity” they seem. (I use a small tool called a Chronological Age Calculator for pets to help me get that “adjusted age” perspective.)


If you’re able to ask the rescue centre about the candidate pig’s daily habits (e.g. how active, how calm, how they interact) and maybe even see video or meet them, that could help you pick the one closest in behavior to your existing sow.


I hope whichever pig you bring home gets on wonderfully with Cheese. Please share how things go — would love to hear updates!
 
Hi!
I thought I would give an update on the search for Cheese's companion. She spent a week at 1 rescue centre but didn't bond with the 2 pigs they tried her with.
She was quite withdrawn when she came back so we kept her at home again to get used to her usual surroundings again.
Next week she is going to another rescue for a week where hopefully they will be able to bond her with another pig.
The rescues are not very local so I haven't been able to go all the way for just 1 pig which is why the process is taking so long. The next rescue is an hour 20 mins drive away.
I have seen something about getting her hutch ready for a new pig in terms of minimizing Cheese's scent, etc so if anyone can send me the link I would be very grateful.
xx
 
Sally Newbie said:
Hi!
I thought I would give an update on the search for Cheese's companion. She spent a week at 1 rescue centre but didn't bond with the 2 pigs they tried her with.
She was quite withdrawn when she came back so we kept her at home again to get used to her usual surroundings again.
Next week she is going to another rescue for a week where hopefully they will be able to bond her with another pig.
The rescues are not very local so I haven't been able to go all the way for just 1 pig which is why the process is taking so long. The next rescue is an hour 20 mins drive away.
I have seen something about getting her hutch ready for a new pig in terms of minimizing Cheese's scent, etc so if anyone can send me the link I would be very grateful.
xx
Click to expand...

I’m sorry the bonding didn’t work - fingers crossed for next time.

You will need to thoroughly clean the hutch and remove as much scent from the wood as you can. I would do it on the day you drop her off at the rescue so it is empty for a week. Use F10 to spray to clean it.
Then put in fresh bedding on the day you bring them home.
 
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