Hi everyone, so I feel like I come on here everyday but its just so nice to have my questions answered. So I have 2 boars that have been sweet brothers to eachother since I got them. I was told that a little fighting and chasing and humping is normal especially since one is an adolescent and hormonal. Last night they were fighting and my adolescent Pumpkin kept yelping out. I went to bed thinking they would settle down but was woken up multiple times by Pumpkin crying out and even had crazy dreams about them making noises all night. I woke up to them still doing this and was quite alarmed, thinking maybe they had been at this for hours. I know bonding and dominance is a necessary process, but this seems to be on a new level for them. The oldest sometimes gets very stressed-he is a rescue that has had a few homes before me, maybe even more I don’t know of and was given up for various reasons not related to him. I watched their behavior this morning and Nutmeg (my oldest) was literally chasing Pumpkin and wouldn’t let him get to hay or anything or even when he layed down at the other end of the cage, Nutmeg followed to harass and hump him to the point when he screamed. I feared they had both not eaten or slept or relaxed in hours so I separated them and took the baby out into a pen right next to their cage. They have been there all day and Pumpkin has been sleeping and eating as if he hadn’t in awhile. Nutmeg has been sleeping and standing at the end of the cage to stare longingly after Pumpkin. I will most likely keep them there tonight since it seems ridiculous to put them back together right at bed. Just wondering if I’m overreacting or not. I feel like neither of them will back down and be the submissive one. I feel like they have both just been coexisting this whole time I have had them (1 year), every time I watch them fight it seems like neither backs down. Sometimes they can be a little intense and loud with their fighting. It just seems like dominance hasn’t been established in the year I have had them... I would hate to separate them but last night was a little scary for me thinking of how stressed both of them must have been
Normal Boar Behavior
- Thread starter kate4001
- Start date
Hi!
Boars can suffer from sudden hormone spikes into young adulthood. Teenage ends at ca. 14-15 months. Please put a divider into the cage for 2 days to give the spike time to die down, then re-introduce on neutral ground outside the cage. If the bond is viable, they will go back together as if nothing much had happened. If not, things are bound to blow up very quickly. If you feel that the under-boar is bullied (the screaming is submission screaming), then watch whether he is perking up noticeably when away from his mate. It is not the dominant boar that you need to take your cues from because they will always want to be with the other, but the under-piggy that will give you the crucial answers.
Please take the time to read these guide links here for more practical advice on the issue I have just roughed out. Keep in mind that it is after midnight here and that I can't repeat in every post what is taking me days in some cases when writing the guides.
Bonds In Trouble
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Perfect thanks for the advice. I will most certainly read up on the article I just find that a lot of articles don’t give me specific answers and tend to just come straight to asking it. What you are saying makes a lot of sense with my situation and I thank you for taking the time to write out the answer. I wonder if this is actually your paid job to write these articles and questions? I was thinking it was just people who liked responding and wanted to offer advice just when they felt like coming on. I would love to know since I would feel embarrassed for asking so many questions if that was the case! Thank you again for your answer and cute piggies.
Also I just wanted to say I read the Bonds In Trouble Article and found it immensely helpful, my youngest is even biting himself out of stress as the article said and I just hadn’t realized until now that that was what he was doing. Now I feel better like maybe one is dominant since Nutmeg seems to be showing normal dominance behavior and Pumpkin normal submissive behavior. I had put them back together before your response but now I know how to handle this. I will follow the steps in this article from now on! They have been peacefully eating together until I just heard some unrest a minute ago. I am also happy to say that when I cam to check on them the under-pig was hanging out of his pen, eager to get back in the cage with Nutmeg. Have a great night.