My sows don't like each other

[ratatellie]

Hi all! I'm posting for a little bit of help figuring out what is going on with my two sows! Gloria and Astrid are around 10 and 12 months old and I got them from a rescue a little over 2 months ago, but don't know their history before this. Gloria quickly established herself as the boss as soon as she arrived.

At the best of times, these pigs are totally indifferent to one another. They spend all of their time at opposite ends of the cage and won't share hides or cosies. If Astrid gets too close to Gloria, she immediately tells her off. The only time I see them happily share the same space is if something has spooked them and they both flee to the same hiding spot, but in these cases I assume their prey instincts are taking over and have higher priority than their dislike for one another.

Other times, Gloria seems to go after Astrid for (seemingly!) no reason, lunging at her while she's just sitting still or pushing her out of houses. I've added two houses now and Astrid will usually get kicked out of one, and then five minutes later Gloria will come along and kick her out of the other. I wasn't overly concerned about this (as sad as it was), because I watch to make sure they both get an equal share of the food and it's never been violent. Eventually they always settle down. Tonight, though, Astrid was minding her own business eating from one of the hay containers and Gloria came along and shoved her out of the way. Astrid moved around to the other side to get some hay from elsewhere and then suddenly I heard her squeal. When I looked over, Gloria had her paws on Astrid's face and was making a hissing noise while Astrid was squirming to get away. Before I could get to the cage, she managed to escape and ran to hide in the other corner and Gloria carried on eating like nothing had happened! I've checked Astrid over and she doesn't seem to have been hurt, and she's moving around the cage again now, giving Gloria a wide berth.

I'm really concerned now that this will keep escalating and I don't really know what to look out for or how to address it if it does. Is there anything I should be looking out for? Any actions I can take now to help keep the peace? I already have two of everything, and have recently expanded the cage from a 4x2 C&C to a 5x2, so they should have plenty of space. Please help!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear they are having issues.
Not sharing hides or cosies in itself is not a sign they don’t like each other - a lot of well bonded piggies will never share a hide with their cagemate, mine certainly don’t.

Do all your hides have two exits?
Is Astrid’s weight stable?

It is the dominant‘s right to have the pick to hides etc but it’s if normal dominance spills over into bullying that it becomes a problem. Unfortunately if there is an issue between them, then there is little you can do to fix it - the piggies need to want to be together and if they don’t then unfortunately it will ultimately end in separation.

Ive added some guides below which may help

Bonds In Trouble
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Moody Guinea Pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

 

[Swissgreys]

Your cage is a great size and what you describe does sound like normal behaviour, even if Astrid does sound like quite a strong personality.
I would remove all current hides and just use boxes with 2 doors cut into them, and things like bendy bridges for a while. Maybe a more open cage plan will help Astrid be a little less possessive.
Also sometimes behaviours like this will flare up for a day or two when a sow is in season - just something to bear in mind.

 

[dhill_cb7]

Hello there. My boys exhibit the same behavior as your girls. I stressed myself out when I first got them thinking they hated each other.
However, I catch them every so often sleeping ‘close’ to each other.

My dominant make grumbles (rumble struts) whenever mocha is near him. Sometimes cappy gets into mocha’s face and looks like he is biting him while mocha screams bloody murder. However, come to find out this is all normal dominance. Mocha is ‘fat’ per the vet and both boys are a steady weight since I rescued them.

Not all pigs wil share a hidey or even play together. Cappy does zoomies. Mocha popcorns a bit. Cappy will rumble at mocha, pop corn and then do a zoomy.

You have to see if the dominance is affecting the submissive pigs weight and ability to eat or drink.

Cappy kicks mocha out of wherever he pleases but mocha, if he has enough, will nip cappy in the bum. Never biting him or drawing blood.

I did a trial separation when this behavior started when I got the boys and if you see the submissive pig biting the bars and depressed without his mate you’ll know they want to be with each other.

Good luck and I hope the girls figure it out !

 

[ratatellie]

Thank you all for the replies! The links were very helpful - this behaviour does seem to flare up every so often so I'm trying to think back and see if there's a pattern that might suggest it's hormonal! The way she acts certainly matches up with what I read about them being in season. Gloria would NOT leave Astrid alone since typing this message so eventually I brought her out for a cuddle so that Astrid could enjoy some peace and quiet for a bit! She was extra affectionate and when I returned her to the cage she seems to have calmed down a bit (which in turn has calmed me down, lol!)

I'll definitely keep an eye on it, and I'll track how often it's happening too to see if it is just linked to Gloria being a little extra hormonal!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Sows are in season about every 17 days, so you could use a hormone diary for Gloria and see if you see a pattern. I dominant sow Posh is more dominate when she is in season, not horrible but you can tell by her behaviour

 

[ratatellie]

I just wanted to come back to this thread and say thank you to everyone who replied! I'm fairly certain that everybody who said it was hormones had the right idea. What's more, I think I underestimated how long it takes for pigs to truly settle down into a new home. I've had them nearly four months now and they both seem happier and happier, and Astrid is much more confident and better at standing up for herself now too! There are still the odd days when Gloria will be extra stroppy and bossy, but this fits with the pattern of her being in season. They're not best friends, but they tolerate each other happily most of the time now! I've also recently added a loft to their cage and, as luck would have it, Gloria is completely terrified of going up there. This means Astrid has somewhere to escape for a bit of peace and quiet, and I can pop a bit of food up there too to make sure Astrid still gets something even if Gloria is hoarding everything else.

I've attached a photo of a rare moment of them happily sharing a bed and snacks!