My accidental herd of males

[Sharon.Mackay]

I just wanted to post and tell you about my herd of accidental of males. I don't know if any of you remember me posting a while ago about one of my pairs not getting on, and we were going to have to rehome Ringo. I was gutted!
So our set up was 3 cages, 2 side by side and one on top, each with a pair of males in. The bottom cages opened out onto a pen which we used to exercise them in turn. Dougal and Ringo were in the pen, the other boys cages were closed. My hub went to feed the boys and didn't realise Dougal and Ringo were out, so he decided to open one of the doors and let Spike and Sunny out to play. Off he went to work. I got up and popped in to say hello, I nearly fainted when I saw Dougal In Spike and Sunny's cage, asleep. Ringo laying next to Spike and Sunny chilling in his hammock! The boys in the other cage were chewing at the bars desperate to get out and join in. So I thought, in for a penny! and got a towel ready, opened the door and observed. There was the usual grumbling and mounting and boy stuff but no aggression! So i carefully observed them over the weekend and all boys were great, Dougal however seemed very on edge and wouldn't eat so we removed him. This left a herd of 5 happy boys and a single Dougal. I volunteer at a small animal rescue and knew there was a lovely female needing a home, as Dougal was neutered I brought her home and it was love at first sight x)
So we now have a fab herd of 5 boys and the happy couple in a penthouse above the pen |) This was about 2 months ago and I'm still amazed |) as well as relieved because we get to keep Ringo! I know some members have herds, but I never thought my boys could live so happily together. The area they live in is huge, with plenty of food bowls and beds so I think this helps. I'll get some photos, I did have some but deleted them by mistake! I'm one happy piggy slave!

 

[helen105281]

Wow, you would never have expected that to work. One thing to watch for is when the sow is in season up in the penthouse it may cause a bit of agro amongst the boys.

 

[sport_billy]

A herd of boys and Dougal with his wifey pig - bless him. That is fascinating to hear. Great that bromance is blossoming, all they need is a little widescreen tv, xbox and a beer fridge (which, naturally they'll use for veggie's) and it'll be like 'men behaving badly'

 

[Sharon.Mackay]

A herd of boys and Dougal with his wifey pig - bless him. That is fascinating to hear. Great that bromance is blossoming, all they need is a little widescreen tv, xbox and a beer fridge (which, naturally they'll use for veggie's) and it'll be like 'men behaving badly'

Hee hee hee |)

 

[Sharon.Mackay]

Wow, you would never have expected that to work. One thing to watch for is when the sow is in season up in the penthouse it may cause a bit of agro amongst the boys.

Ok thanks Helen, I've never had a female. What are the signs that she's in season?

 

[Wiebke]

I know that groups of boars can work; the larger the better, actually and with plenty of space, which you have got. Great to hear that it has all worked out for you and and your boys. Quite a few of the most harmonious boar groups have constituted themselves by accident. While boars tend to mellow with age, it is often the opposite with girls!

So far, I only know of one quartet that has worked out over time; that seems to be the most instable combination, even more so than trios.

Sows can have stronger seasons occasionally; please move her out of the room for a day or two if you notice that the pheromones upset the boars below.

 

[Sodapops]

5 boys all living in harmony - i cannot wait for pigtures x)

One other thing to watch for is bedding/poops falling in to the cages below - i used to have two pairs of boys living in 2 x 150 cages side by side and then a group of 5 females and a neutered male on top in one huge cage (well 2 150 cages opened up) - two of my boys (father and son pairing) had lived together for over 2.5yrs but one day had a huge falling out and had to be separated permanently (one now has two wives of his own while the other had been paired up with my other recently bereaved male).

I use fleece/vetbed in all my cages - but when i posted about the huge abscess that had developed on one of my pigs faces through the fight they'd had 3 days previous - it was mentioned that perhaps the poops/bedding (my lot have litter trays filled with woodshavings/hay) from the neutered male/females could have fallen down to the cages below causing the boys to have a huge fight/falling out.

Just be aware that as you have a female on top of the males this could happen - the ideal scenario would be the female/male paring on the bottom and any bonded males above....This is exactly how all my boys live now - i have 4 boys (2 pairs) living in 2 x 140 double cages that sit on top of 2 x 150 cages (one of which has a neutered male and 2 females and the other has 3 females in)