Keeping males advice please.

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ggpeartree

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I recently gave a home to two females. It became apparent a few weeks later that they were both pregnant. Two weeks ago they had 7 pups between them. 5 males and 2 females. I already have 5 other females and I'm planning on keeping them all (males and females separate) but i've read a lot about males having hormone surges between 3-15 months and need to be kept in pairs only? Anyone else have experience of this. I'm hoping to at least keep them in a 3 and a 2 group otherwise i'll have an odd boy out. Any advice appreciated.
 
You can try a trio but it's really not certain that it will work out in the long run. Your best best is giving them as much space as possible and 3 of everything but be prepared that you may need to separate during the teenage stage if they start fighting. I think it's classed as more likely than not to fall out but I would try it first as, if you were to get an additional pig to have 3 pairs, there's no guarantee that the other two pairs will survive a friendship through the teenage months. At least having the 5 you can try and work out who pairs best with whom and if you do end up with an odd one out then you can look at maybe adopting a new piggy to pair with him
 
Thank you Piggies&buns and Lady Kelly. Thats really helpful. I've only ever had girls up to now and theres never been any fighting. Just want to get it right for them.
 
ggpeartree said:
Thank you Piggies&buns and Lady Kelly. Thats really helpful. I've only ever had girls up to now and theres never been any fighting. Just want to get it right for them.
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I didn't even think of the option for neutering to go with the girls. That's another good idea if you didn't want to take on additional piggies
 
ggpeartree said:
Thank you Piggies&buns and Lady Kelly. Thats really helpful. I've only ever had girls up to now and theres never been any fighting. Just want to get it right for them.
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You are less likely to see the kinds of fights between girls that that incompatible boys have - boys who don’t like each other can go for full on blood drawing fights and it can be quite nasty in the worst cases. Any relationship between any sex requires the piggies to like each other and your girls sound to get on great!
Boys can be tricky and it is best to always keep them in pairs to avoid difficult situations, fall outs and separations.

You will need to observe which of the boys get on best together to pick their pairs As that will give them the best chance of making a stable bond. You will still need to observe behaviours as they age and it may mean some swapping about in the pairs if there are any issues.

As you will need to separate the boys from the girls when the boys hit 3 weeks old, you will want to consider your more immediate steps - whether they be getting another Male for the piggy who ends up alone, or until he can be neutered. You of course could try and a trio and a pair until that time and then remove one piggy from your trio to be neutered and then following his six weeks post neuter wait, he can be put in with your girls.
 
Have you had a male neutered before. The risks seem high? It would be a great solution if its relatively safe. I know theres risks for any animals with anesthetic but pigs just seem so small.
 
I've had many males neutered and the 99% of the time they sail through it. Obviously there is a risk, but my lads being happy with their girls far outweighs them. You do however have to find a piggy savvy vet who has done plenty of piggy neutering before!
 
:agr: I’ve had rabbits neutered and spayed before, not piggies as mine are both male so no need to do it! Having an experienced vet knowledgeable in piggy neutering will reduce the risks as much as is possible, but no surgery is totally risk free.
 
Ok great, thanks very much everyone. I'll have a chat with my local vet and then look further afield if they aren't experienced in this.
 
In the rescue we have a boar neutering programme and have many neutered each year. In the right hands it is a relatively safe procedure. We have only had a couple of piggies with problems over the past few years. We had one anaesthetic complication and one with an abscess. My own vets give a course of prophylactic antibiotics when neutering boars to prevent infection and abscess formation.
if you do decide to neuter please be sure to wait the full 6 weeks before introducing the male to any females.
 
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