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Is this new bonding normal?

Sian25 said:
Was it constant? There was nothing at all for the first 3 or so days, which is confusing me as it came on so suddenly and now it's all the time! Its giving me a headache :xd: but most importantly, I want my girls to be happy!
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The first three days were when your newbie was still trying to get her bearings; they don't count towards the the post-bonding dominance phase that lasts around two weeks on average.
 
I was going to say that most of my sow bondings have taken a couple of weeks to settle down. But they are all different. Flo has found her feet and is now stamping them all over the place to show she wants to be boss. It’s piggy hierarchy!
 
When Pippin was bonded with new pig Winny - it has taken weeks to settle down and even now they still have the odd fall out.... Its quite stressful especially when one screams and you think what the hell has happened .... to find they are no where near each other ! Hopefully your girls will settle down soon..
 
Thanks all. I knew bonding was pretty stressful, but I forgot that it was *this* stressful!

I cant see them having a fight -touch wood- because there has still not been anything more than rumblestrutting and chasing out of hidies. Ive not heard any teeth chattering etc, so it's more that I'm concerned about Effies happiness at the moment with the rumblestrutting being so constant. I feel it is getting her down.

Also, with being inexperienced with bonding, it's hard to judge when enough is enough.. like how long do you wait this out before trying a divider?
 
Sian25 said:
Thanks all. I knew bonding was pretty stressful, but I forgot that it was *this* stressful!

I cant see them having a fight -touch wood- because there has still not been anything more than rumblestrutting and chasing out of hidies. Ive not heard any teeth chattering etc, so it's more that I'm concerned about Effies happiness at the moment with the rumblestrutting being so constant. I feel it is getting her down.

Also, with being inexperienced with bonding, it's hard to judge when enough is enough.. like how long do you wait this out before trying a divider?
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The dominance phase is never pleasant, but hopefully it is starting to settle down more over the coming days. It lasts on average 2 weeks until all the dust is settled, but it can go from just a few days to over a month.

See whether taking hideys out of the cage and just leaving two tunnels side by side either right next to each other or at opposite ends will help with the possessiveness.
 
Thank you @Wiebke ive taken the other hidies out for now.

Its been a week since they were first introduced and Flo is still at it 😔 Poor Effie doesnt get a break

 
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From that video @Sian25 it looks like Effie is getting some peace. Flo looked in her tunnel a few times but then left her alone. And Effie isn’t looking distressed or like she’s going to snap. Flo does look a bit like she’s “patrolling” which can be a sign of stress but that’s not looking like that here. She’s just settling in.
Ralph “patrols” in our cage. And i have to say it’s livelier than this at mine. Charlotte has been in with Ralph and Holly for 2 weeks and she and Ralph are still a lot like this. I think it’s just normal.
 
I agree with @VickiA . Flo is a pest, but she keeps well within limits. She is NOT chasing Effie, just what I call 'dominance driving' her at Effie's pace and she is haring off whenever Effie is making it clear that she's had enough. Effie may be rather fed up by now, but the bond is not broken.

I've had this when bonding Beryn and Betsan. It took a goodly while to settle. Beryn still has her moments occasionally and I have to make sure that there are two fabric tunnels so they can't get into a dispute over one as that has been declared the most desirable property.
 
Thanks again as always @VickiA and @Wiebke. Sorry for so many questions/comments/videos, I just worry about them and the last thing I want is them to be unhappy. I'll try and lay off now and see how they go.

@Tiamolly123 they did have more hidies in but tried taking some out to see if it helped Flo's posessiveness
 
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