Hi, please advise me..!
We have had our male piggy neutered and have started introducing him to our girl over the last few evenings on the bathroom floor! Lots of piles of food and places to hide but I’m worried it’s not going well. There’s lots of teeth chattering and attempted mounts and yesterday a lump of fur was pulled out of young man. I’ve read so many different sets of advice but what I’d like to know is should I when should I intervene, so many posts say leave them to it unless there’s blood and also if anyone has any top tips. They’ve been in adjacent cages for weeks and we have swapped bedding. TIA
Hi and welcome
It is only boar-boar intros that you cannot separate until they have either bonded or the bonding is heading clearly in the wrong direction and will not come off.
However, in your case, it does not look like acceptance or a leadership sort-out has been established or is likely to be established once a sow is starting to pull fur (the equivalent of an intentional serious boar bite, only without the blood).
That is in my own experience usually a sign that she has made up her mind that she doesn't want another piggy to be part of her group.
And once a sow has made up her mind about who's in and who's out, she is not likely to change it anytime soon this side of life. My Tegan is making it clear to Gethin everytime she passes his cage that he is the last boar in the world she would consider living with - three years after she dumped him summarily! I have a good-sized cupboard full of t-shirts from failed neutered boar/sow bonding...
Unfortunately, what many people are not aware of is that the one big hurdle - and it is a big hurdle - of cross gender bonding is that acceptance right at the beginning is by no means guaranteed. Bondings with sows don't usually get into fisticuffs and bites; but that doesn't mean that every bonding comes off.
Mutual liking is key, and that is not something that you can predict. There is a magic wand trick that can personality outlook and make piggies like each other, as little as you can make feuding kindergarten kids become best friends by telling them so. Adult and especially older sows are often a lot less inclined to accept a neutered boar than young sows at ideal pup bearing age.
In fact, unlike what most people thing, sow bonding is a lot trickier and less likely to succeed than boar bonding. Boars are generally rather upfront; you will know fairly quickly whether a bonding is heading in the right direction or not. Whereas with sows a bonding can fail at any stage of the process and some can be rather subtle about it. Ask any experienced rescue bonder!
Please take the time to read our very comprehensive bonding guide, which looks at both interaction and a range of possible dynamics, discusses the specialities of various bondings and lists clearly the behaviours to look out for at each stage of the bonding process that tell you that the stage has failed.
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts
Here are our tips on what to do when piggies have fallen out or won't get together (the last chapter also goes for failed bondings).
Bonds In Trouble
I am very sorry. I know exactly how gutting and frustrating a failed bonding is when you have gone to great lengths to make your piggy happy!
PS: I assume that your boy is safely six weeks past his neutering operation?
