Question about keeping boars.

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Hi , just been looking through some threads and I'm a bit worried about having 2 boars together. They are still young.
?/ But is there a high chance they are not going to get along when they become adolescent. I'm really worried, as i couldnt stand it if they were to fight and hurt eachother :(
What are peoples opinions ?
 
I'm not very clued up on boars as i have never owned them but I think that there is a slight chance that they can fall out but if they have been brought up together, that chance is minimal. Sows can fall out too but I just think it is more likely for boars. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you x
 
Are they your only pigs? Are they brothers?

Boars in pairs are usually fine... especially if they are introduced when very young or are litter mates. They might fall out when they become teenagers - but you can minimise the risks -if you have other pigs, don't let them smell the girly pigs!

The best thing you can do is give them lots of space when they're going through their humpy phase, and if necessary (if squabbling) give them two of everything - hidey-holes, bowls etc. so they can't fight over them.

There's a sticky thread on the 'behaviour' section here about boar behaviour - read that, it will give you a really good idea of what's 'normal' behaviour for boars!

Don't worry!

Sophie
x
 
I am not over sure on normal practice of bonding gunieas, but up until yesterday i have had two boars brothers living together since birth. They never had any problems some days i noticed they were a bit distance but they never had a fight or anything. I hope they bond ok together. Are they brothers? I would be interested to find out more about boar bonding. Fingers crossed it works out.
 
AH thanx for the info. Yes they are my only piggies so cant smell any females. They are not brothers but are litter mates. So hopefully will be ok. I have read the sticky which is brill. I think i might get a 6ft hutch to provide lots of space. Either that or a wendy house. Fingers crossed.
Thanx xx>>
 
as shopie siad they may get a bit iffy when they get to teenagers or around the 4-6 month age as they are as I like to say "hitting puberty" and may just challange a little for domanace and one might just turn around to the other and say I'm the boss but genrally they sort it out and lots of pairs of boars live very happily together
 
I have Garry and Minty who have been together forever with no problems - they have a definite dominant pig and a laid back pig in that pair!

I recently found one of my other pair Ben with a burst abscess on him from what appears to have been a bite from his cagemate Dave. They have been together since May last year with no problems other than the dominance thing and a bit of sniping during their puberty stages. However, Ben is quite a dominant pig and Dave isn't far behind him. Ben does like to wind Dave up which is why I think he may have snapped back at him, causing the bite. Ben is being treated for his infection at the moment, but the two of them are still sharing space, albeit the run which is much larger than their cage. Fortunately, they seem to still be getting on well with no trouble so hopefully they will get over their little argument!

Boys will be boys!
 
I don't think you need to worry just yet. If they are getting on fine then let them be! I have heard many stories of sucessful boar couples and only a few of them falling out! I think petshops advise against two boars just to cover themselves should they fall out!

My two boys fell out but it wasn't the end of the world Tiger got a nip unfortuntely, but a vet trip and some antibiotics and he was back to normal within a week if not 5 days!
 
there are alot of people that have problems with boars but usually you will find that they have another pair or even a few pairs that have never fallen out,so its not as bad as what it seems,i have Smokey and Bandit who cry if ever split up and have barely rumbled at eachother they are best friends i wouldnt worry to much x
 
It can depend on the natures of the pigs as well as the conditions, sometimes you can do everything you possibly can to avoid any altercations, and they still decide they cannot stand each other all of a sudden!

The important thing is to not panic if you see them communicating in certain ways which may seem aggressive, as a lot of people think they are fighting when chasing and mounting for example, which is natural boar behaviour and quite normal unless it's constant and goes on non-stop in an established pair for more than a day or so. Our Pepe and Leo are happily bonded but will have little phases where one will hassle the other for a while and if they are getting fed up, we just seperate their run with a mesh divider for just a few hours and this has always calmed them down.

A lot of the gossip about boys not being able to live with each other is mainly down to humans not understanding their pigs' behaviour and mistaking normal dominance behaviour for fighting.

If you are worried about a particular type of behaviour, just type a thread on here or go through the existing ones in the Behaviour board and we will all do our best to help!
 
Well i have 4 boys living togther there livd togther from the day there was born

there all got on fine most of the time untill there decided to make babies with each other then i have to have words and there have time out
 
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