Piggies arguing?

LondonLady

LondonLady

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A strange thing happened today. I heard a lot of squeaking and squealing and when I looked, Toffee and Biscuit were nose to nose and looked like they were arguing or fighting. Then Toffee started chasing Biscuit around the cage and she was squealing loudly and running away. This went on for about a minute, and then they went into their separate hideys and it went quiet for a while. I've been with them most of the day (they live in the room where I work) and for a while Biscuit was squeaking loudly whenever Toffee went near her, but this evening she seems to have calmed down and everything seems normal again. They came out for their evening veg and were happy to eat together. Right now they're sitting together munching hay as if nothing happened.

I've had them for 15 months and I've never seen this before. Can anyone explain? Is it something I need to worry about?
 
Please can you explain (or link me to something where it's explained) exactly what a 'strong season' means? Sorry, I'm confused and suddelny realised I'm more ignorant than I thought I was about piggy behaviour.
If it helps, Toffee is a neutered boar aged a bit over 2 years and Biscuit a sow aged approx 3.5
 
Seeing dominance behaviours (chasing etc) is entirely normal and as long as things have settled down now, then I wouldn’t be concerned. It may be something as simple as he may have just tried to mount her and she may not have welcomed it at the time - we can only speculate.

Sows come into season every 15-17 days and you see hormonal behaviour during those times. A strong season simply means the hormones are greater than normal during that time.
 
LondonLady said:
Please can you explain (or link me to something where it's explained) exactly what a 'strong season' means? Sorry, I'm confused and suddelny realised I'm more ignorant than I thought I was about piggy behaviour.
If it helps, Toffee is a neutered boar aged a bit over 2 years and Biscuit a sow aged approx 3.5
Click to expand...
These links may help you. They explain sow behaviour and demonstrate a strong season.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
When Sows Experience A Strong Season (videos)
 
Ah okay. Sorry I assumed Toffee was a sow! But in any case, she seems to be okay with the hierarchy. Boars do still have hormone spikes past their teenage years. They may also chance their arm if he sow is in season. Have a read of the links posted above.
 
There could still be a season involved and a bit of dominance behaviour. When Hazel is in season all hell breaks loose in her cage as Ralphie will not leave her alone. There’s almost always a lot of noise as she tells him off and he rumbles back at her.
 
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