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New Sow To A Pair Of Sows

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Florrieberry

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Hi,
We've had our pair of piggies since oct, they are now almost 6 months old. The pet shop had one sow, 4 months old , left behind when somebody insisted they didn't want the pair. So we bought her. We were advised to put her in the playpen by herself to get the smell of the other two, them take her out, put the other two in (while she sniffed out the cage , then put her back in work them. One sow is on heat so they're was a bit odd sniffing and argey bargey, but no more than would go on between the pair of sows. They seemed quite settled and were out in the pen about 2 hours. When we put them to bed in the cage they were peaceful at first but have had a few episodes of them suddenly confronting each other and running around each other in right circles. Then it goes quiet again. We don't have another cage so will have to leave them overnight. No teeth, nips or bites I don't think, so is it hopeful.? Every now and then the three of them start squeaking together like a flock of birds then it goes quiet again. Feeling quite nervous of anyone being upset.
 
T just not used to seeing this hanks, I had found two of these threads but not the other. The new one put my mind at ease a bit as it said don't split them up unless there are serious fights. I'm just not used to seeing this! The power struggle is between the new one and one of the pair,(Berry) last night it looked like the new one was bullying Berry, now it seems reversed. I slept on the couch last night just to be on the safe side. I'm feeling a bit guilty at upsetting the status quo
 
Your girls are in the middle of establishing the hierarchy. It very much depends on where your new girl is fitting in. In a group, the newbie is passed down the ranks until she finds a place where she can hold her own against a lower ranked sow. The worst of the dominance usually happens from the sow directly ranked above to make sure that the newbie will stay below her. A bonding can fail when the newbie is punching on top sow level and neither girls wants to step down or if there is a lot of fear-aggression or aggression with the new arrival or if one of the group sows has got attitude issues.
 
That makes sense with what's going on at the moment. Last night the newbie was trying to boss Berry, but this morning Berry seems to (more) gently have the upper hand. Newbie and the other piggy, Florrie seem to be on with each other.
 
Things seem much more friendly now, can't figure out who is boss, but the three of them can stand next to each other without any major episodes! The odd gentle challenge, but no more than would go on between the regular pair. If the photo uploads, the new one is the big brown one, according to data received today, she is 2 weeks younger than others.
Thank you for your help, it was invaluable in n helping ease my mind!
 

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Sounds like the ranking has been settled, so the girls can start becoming friends.
 
Sounds par for the course with sows. Sounds like it's going well. It's we humans who seem more anxious about it than they do at times.
 
Sounds par for the course with sows. Sounds like it's going well. It's we humans who seem more anxious about it than they do at times.
You can say that again! Never having experienced it before I could hardly sleep for fear of them tearing each other to shreds, yet now they are mostly trundling around like they've known each other for years! Funny piggies
 
The first time I did a bonding I was a nervous wreck, and my husband had to give me a stern talking to. Sows are easier to bond than boars but even now mine have days when the underpig shrieks so loudly you'd think there was a real problem. It takes them a while to settle down but it's so much better for them to be a bonded group than solo that it's worth sticking it out.
 
The first time I did a bonding I was a nervous wreck, and my husband had to give me a stern talking to. Sows are easier to bond than boars but even now mine have days when the underpig shrieks so loudly you'd think there was a real problem. It takes them a while to settle down but it's so much better for them to be a bonded group than solo that it's worth sticking it out.
I fully get the nervous wreck thing! Such a surprise when you normally see them pottering about being sweet and cute!
 
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