Introducing a new pig to the herd

M

Mabel100

New Born Pup
Joined
Jul 7, 2021
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
25
Location
Ontario
I am looking for some advice about introducing a new pig to my herd. Presently I have three females that are 3-4 years in age. I have recently adopted a single female pig that is four years old and have been working on introducing her to the herd. Two of the pigs are not very eager to accept her. All of the pigs have floor time together but I have not been able to put my new pig into the cage yet. Do you think it’s possible my pigs will eventually accept the new pig?
 
Welcome to the forum

All bonding comes down to character compatibility and if piggies don't like each other then a bonding won't work, they also dont change their minds so if you've tried a few times and she isnt being accepted, then its now unlikely that willl ever change.

When adding piggies to a bonded group it can work better if the new piggy is younger as they cannot challenge for dominance and upset the hierarchy (although adding a youngster can still faill). As bonding and establishing a hierarchy works from the top down, a youngster will fit in at the bottom of the hierarchy, where's an older piggy is more likely to challenge to be higher up in the hierarchy. The existing piggies are unlikely to want to give up their positions in the hierarchy and this will cause the bonding to fail.

The guides below explain the process further

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
The other thing is that unless she came from a rescue where she had been health checked etc, then you need to quarantine her for two weeks in a separate room to your current piggies.

How many times have they had floor time together? And were you doing it as a bonding session or just putting them out together? Would you consider bonding her with the one that seems to accept her and have two pairs? That’s if the other two get along well enough? Good luck.
 
Siikibam said:
The other thing is that unless she came from a rescue where she had been health checked etc, then you need to quarantine her for two weeks in a separate room to your current piggies.

How many times have they had floor time together? And were you doing it as a bonding session or just putting them out together? Would you consider bonding her with the one that seems to accept her and have two pairs? That’s if the other two get along well enough? Good luck.
Click to expand...
I did a lot of research before the introductions and followed all the best practices (I tried to choose what I thought to be reputable sites). When I adopted my first two pigs they were a bonded pair and the introductions with my third pig went pretty well. I did consider bonding her with the pig that does accept her, however my three piggies are so bonded I would hate to separate any of them. I have made three attempts in a large area, providing unique toys/tunnels, scattered hay and veggies and open ended places to hide. They have spent 2 to 3 hours per session. They tolerate the new pig pretty well for most of the time, but eventually she ends up upsetting someone! She is very interested in the herd and does a lot of following, smelling them and trying to lay in the hideouts with other pigs (which is the biggest problem).
 
Mabel100 said:
I did a lot of research before the introductions and followed all the best practices (I tried to choose what I thought to be reputable sites). When I adopted my first two pigs they were a bonded pair and the introductions with my third pig went pretty well. I did consider bonding her with the pig that does accept her, however my three piggies are so bonded I would hate to separate any of them. I have made three attempts in a large area, providing unique toys/tunnels, scattered hay and veggies and open ended places to hide. They have spent 2 to 3 hours per session. They tolerate the new pig pretty well for most of the time, but eventually she ends up upsetting someone! She is very interested in the herd and does a lot of following, smelling them and trying to lay in the hideouts with other pigs (which is the biggest problem).
Click to expand...
If you’ve tried several times and things are failing, then I’m afraid it’s not worth trying again. Bonding is more of a one time thing. Several hours, or overnight if necessary, in the bonding pen. If it doesn’t work, the separate and call bonding a failure (not trying again). They don’t change their mind if they decide they don’t like another piggy. however, during the bonding session, hides should not be used. There should only be a pile of hay

the guides explain further
 
Hello and welcome to the forum
These naughty little piggies, wouldn’t it be lovely if they could all get on 🙄
 
Unfortunately it sounds like it just won’t work. If you’re to keep her she needs to live next door to them. I don’t know if you’d be able to bond her with another piggy so she’s sharing her space with another.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top