Piggies have started fighting after never fighting at all!

[hbanham]

Hi there,

I've had my two boys for a long time and they've lived together with no issues. (of course, a little bickering over who has what veggie piece every now and again) but yesterday the dominant pig, jellybean, attacked mercury, and pulled out his fur. we separated them and had the cages so they could both see each other, but jellybean just chattered his teeth at mercury constantly. i'm completely baffled. it made me quite teary seeing my beautiful boys fight like this, particularly as mercury was hiding in a corner most of the night.....
they have two bottles, two bowls, about 10 hideys and a huge indoor hutch. does anyone have any idea what could have triggered this and how I can fix this? I really don't want to separate my boys

 

[Piggies&buns]

Sadly it can happen, if there is an underlying issue which has now come to the surface, or a takeover of dominance was attempted by the submissive. How old are they?

If the fight was a full on fight then I am afraid they are not going to want to live together and permanent separation will be necessary. You can’t do anything to fix it once it has gone as far as a fight. It’s so very sad but if they can’t get on now, then they will be happier living apart. I didn’t know this until recently but if two piggies lay next to each other along the divider of their separate cages, then it does not mean they want to be together, it’s a marking of territory and not a good thing.

To live separately the cages need to be side by side (not stacked on top of each other) to enable through the bar interaction for company.

The guides below provides information.

Bonds In Trouble
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[hbanham]

Sadly it can happen, if there is an underlying issue which has now come to the surface, or a takeover of dominance was attempted by the submissive. How old are they?

If the fight was a full on fight then I am afraid they are not going to want to live together and permanent separation will be necessary. You can’t do anything to fix it once it has gone as far as a fight. It’s so very sad but if they can’t get on now, then they will be happier living apart. I didn’t know this until recently but if two piggies lay next to each other along the divider of their separate cages, then it does not mean they want to be together, it’s a marking of territory and not a good thing.

To live separately the cages need to be side by side (not stacked on top of each other) to enable through the bar interaction for company.

The guides below provides information.

Bonds In Trouble
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

They're about a year old. Mercury hasn't done anything to upset Jellybean as far as I can see. He loves this one box to sleep in, so maybe Jellybean wants that box now and is getting annoyed about it. We have another large hutch so we can use that to place next to the other cage for interaction. Thank you for the links, really appreciate it.

 

[Piggies&buns]

If they are under 18 months then they are still just within their teens, and sadly some boars just don’t make it out of their teens together.

How big is the hutch which they shared?

 

[hbanham]

If they are under 18 months then they are still just within their teens, and sadly some boars just don’t make it out of their teens together.

How big is the hutch which they shared?

i couldn't give you an exact width/length as i'm working atm, but there's a large upstairs where they have a big bed, and a hidey area with their hay and an extra hidey space, and the bottom area, which has additional boxes, wooden stick hideys, etc.... big enough for them to have the zoomies and popcorn at the same time. it's so large i've had to lay on my stomach to reach the back sometimes.

 

[Piggies&buns]

For boars they need a cage measuring 6ft x 2ft on one level (upper levels don’t count towards the cage size - ie having a double storey hutch does not double their cage size). Character compatibility comes first in a successful bond, but lack of space can contribute to problem - it doesn’t sound like that is an issue though. As I’ve said though, if a fight has occurred then I am afraid they won’t be able to stay together

 

[hbanham]

For boars they need a cage measuring 6ft x 2ft on one level (upper levels don’t count towards the cage size - ie having a double storey hutch does not double their cage size). Character compatibility comes first in a successful bond, but lack of space can contribute to problem - it doesn’t sound like that is an issue though. As I’ve said though, if a fight has occurred then I am afraid they won’t be able to stay together

yeah it sounds like it. so very sad. i love my babies so much and it isn't something i'd want to do at all- but whatever is best for them <3 thank you so much for you help

 

[eileen]

I have a boar pair that get into russels,not too often.i think the undercoat gets hormone spikes.he is ,18 months old and his mate is ,2.i separate for two days to let them calm down,they go back together as if nothing happened.There is no mistaking if boars have a full on fight,they lock on to each other and swirling ball of two guinea pigs.usually bite marks ,usually that is the end of the road for them living together in the same territory.,

 

[hbanham]

ok this is also helpful. Mercury just runs away, it's not like a huge fight. It's really sad. They get on so well normally.

 

[Piggies&buns]

If you can see that there are now clear problems between them and Mercury is unhappy, then it is still time to separate. You don’t have to wait until a major fights breaks out if there is a clear problem.
It’s incredibly sad.
As long as there hasn’t been a fight - you said he was attacked in your original post, and an attack warrants immediate separation - then you can try a trial separation and reintroduction, but you do need to be very clear about the behaviour you are seeing.