lone boar should I get him a friend?

[andic]

:wave: I have posted before on this subject but I'm still in a dilemma!

Winston has been a lone boar for the past 10 months, he's approx 2 1/2 years old. I was thinking of getting him a little boyfriend as when I babysit my friend's gp's He loves watching them (obviously I don;t put him in the run with them, just sat on my knee watching). It seems as if he's talking to them, nothing aggressive and they don;t bother about him. It's so sweet to watch.
then the other day I was looking at a vid of piggie;s talking on you tube and he pricked his ears up and started talking to them, and week week weeking.... it was sooooo sweet
so I was looking for a baby boar to rescue and bond him with. But the place i got him from advised that I should not even entertain bonding him as they tried pairing him up and they ended up fighting. He was an unwanted child's pet. he is so confident though and is a lovely cheeky chappie. I don't want to get him neutered.
would you advise steering well clear of bonding? I have been reading up on this and on one site it did say if the bonding wasn;t successful it would be better than nothing to just keep 2 boys seperate but still in the same room so they still have piggie company of some kind...
Sorry for the long post....
I'd be grateful for any advice.....or if any of you have had similar experiences.
many thanks
Andrea

 

[Angeladeedah]

I would definitely try to get him a friend - a lot of rescues will allow you to take him there and let him choose a friend.

I don't have any experience in bonding boars but there are plenty of people on here who have and can give you lots of good advice.

 

[andic]

Thanks!
I went down to the local RSPCA and there was a lovely himilayan boy there. But he was the same age as Winston and I just didn;t want to risk them fighting.

 

[Angeladeedah]

I do know you are better to try to bond him with a baby boar, otherwise they fight for dominance.

 

[boureki]

2 & 1/2 years is a nice, mature age - if the Himi you have spotted is the same age, then you may have a reasonable chance at bonding them as they should be past all the hormonal nonsense by now. It's a shame that the place that you got him from recommended against trying to bond him - just because it went badly once doesn't mean to say it will happen again, he may just have not found the right pal yet

I would say that it's best to try rather than avoid altogether as he sounds like he needs the company of another pig. If you were to get the Himi, would you have space to house them together with a divider do they can still snuggle and chat through it? I can't bond some of mine, but they all seem to love this arrangement, but obviously it takes space.

I would tend to agree with Angela's post above, perhaps a local rescue will help you with the bonding process, if not, we are all here and there is a great website here: www.cavyspirit.com that gives socialising advice. (Click on Social Life in the left hand side menu).

Good luck!