Questions about bonding with help from a rescue

peppermintSmoothie

peppermintSmoothie

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I'm in the process of finding a companion for my single piggie, male, neutered, 4(?) years old.

I'm doing the bonding process with the rescues, I'm sure they will answer all my questions but I wanted to clarify a few things since most guides only talk about bonding them yourself at home.

* when I take them home should they be in the same carrier or separate facing each other? My carriers are ferplast cat ones (journey will be about 30m for one rescue and 45min-1hour for the other potential)
- If same carrier should I switch over to a 'new' carrier than the one I brought my pig in so the scent is neutral - new fleece etc

* when we get home should I put them into the main cage or setup a neutral area separately?
- if main cage how is best to clean/descent it - I use fleece and correx base

* I have previously had the two boys in the hallway during floor time - will that area be suitable for bonding them - should I be cleaning that area as well to avoid arguments?

* I guess it will be clear from the first few hours of them getting together if they will get on or not - but when I take them home how long should I watch them to avoid any drama is one afternoon/evening enough or should I be setting aside a whole day?
 
If they’re being bonded at the rescue, then by the time they should be ok to go together. So same carrier and same cage as well. Just thoroughly clean the cage and carrier so no scent of the lone piggy is present. I’m sure the rescue will answer all questions.
 
apricot13 said:
I'm in the process of finding a companion for my single piggie, male, neutered, 4(?) years old.

I'm doing the bonding process with the rescues, I'm sure they will answer all my questions but I wanted to clarify a few things since most guides only talk about bonding them yourself at home.

* when I take them home should they be in the same carrier or separate facing each other? My carriers are ferplast cat ones (journey will be about 30m for one rescue and 45min-1hour for the other potential)
- If same carrier should I switch over to a 'new' carrier than the one I brought my pig in so the scent is neutral - new fleece etc

* when we get home should I put them into the main cage or setup a neutral area separately?
- if main cage how is best to clean/descent it - I use fleece and correx base

* I have previously had the two boys in the hallway during floor time - will that area be suitable for bonding them - should I be cleaning that area as well to avoid arguments?

* I guess it will be clear from the first few hours of them getting together if they will get on or not - but when I take them home how long should I watch them to avoid any drama is one afternoon/evening enough or should I be setting aside a whole day?
Click to expand...

Hi!

There are two different ways of rescue bonding, and that has an impact on what you ideally when bringing home.

- 'Speed dating': This is a relatively short meeting ofr 30-60 minutes to ensure that acceptance has happened and that there are no major hostilities, i.e. that the first biggest hurdles in a bond have been taken. But there is still the rest of the bonding process to do.
In this case, it is better to bring both parties home in different carriers and to put them in a neutral bonding pen to give them time to work through the main bit of the bonding; if necessary overnight to make sure that the bond is stably in place before you put them in surroundings where one party can feel invaded. The post-bonding ca. 2 weeks dominance phase, in which the hierarchy is fully established should be done in the permanent living quarters. But it is in my experience better to give the piggies plenty of time to sort themselves out in a neutral space and not rush the process for the sake of human convenience.

- Residential or full bonding: This kind of bonding is done by boarding your over the the course of several days at the rescue. It means that your piggy will meet up to three different candidates but not on the same day to allow them to calm down and to meet the next prospect through the bars overnight first. Once an introduction is successful and stable overnight, the bond is then stress tested for another day or two to make sure that it survives the move to a new home. In this case, the whole bonding process with the exception of the dominance phase is done. You can travel with the two in the same carrier and transfer directly to the cage at home.
This way of bonding is of course much more time and labour intensive, so not many rescues can afford to offer it and there are usually waiting lists. But it is the Rolls Royce of bondings because even an a resulting boar bond is as stable as a sow bond.
In your area, East Peckham GPR is the rescue that offers this service.

- A neutral area is any area that is not seen as part of the normal territory. If in doubt, use an outdoors run or the bathtub/shower floor with a large towel for grip as a neutral area for any further bonding after speed dating to make sure that your boy cannot feel invaded and the outsider feel as an invader, which can lead to fear-aggressive reactions.
In the case of residental bonding, the normal roaming area is not a problem for a fully bonded pair.

I hope that this is answering your questions?
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

There are two different ways of rescue bonding, and that has an impact on what you ideally when bringing home.

- 'Speed dating': This is a relatively short meeting ofr 30-60 minutes to ensure that acceptance has happened and that there are no major hostilities, i.e. that the first biggest hurdles in a bond have been taken. But there is still the rest of the bonding process to do.
In this case, it is better to bring both parties home in different carriers and to put them in a neutral bonding pen to give them time to work through the main bit of the bonding; if necessary overnight to make sure that the bond is stably in place before you put them in surroundings where one party can feel invaded. The post-bonding ca. 2 weeks dominance phase, in which the hierarchy is fully established should be done in the permanent living quarters. But it is in my experience better to give the piggies plenty of time to sort themselves out in a neutral space and not rush the process for the sake of human convenience.

- Residential or full bonding: This kind of bonding is done by boarding your over the the course of several days at the rescue. It means that your piggy will meet up to three different candidates but not on the same day to allow them to calm down and to meet the next prospect through the bars overnight first. Once an introduction is successful and stable overnight, the bond is then stress tested for another day or two to make sure that it survives the move to a new home. In this case, the whole bonding process with the exception of the dominance phase is done. You can travel with the two in the same carrier and transfer directly to the cage at home.
This way of bonding is of course much more time and labour intensive, so not many rescues can afford to offer it and there are usually waiting lists. But it is the Rolls Royce of bondings because even an a resulting boar bond is as stable as a sow bond.
In your area, East Peckham GPR is the rescue that offers this service.

- A neutral area is any area that is not seen as part of the normal territory. If in doubt, use an outdoors run or the bathtub/shower floor with a large towel for grip as a neutral area for any further bonding after speed dating to make sure that your boy cannot feel invaded and the outsider feel as an invader, which can lead to fear-aggressive reactions.
In the case of residental bonding, the normal roaming area is not a problem for a fully bonded pair.

I hope that this is answering your questions?
Click to expand...



Thank you yes! Theres two rescues who have singles looking for companions - one is taking him in for 24 hours and the other is speed dating style. He's meeting the speed dating boar first hence all my worries since I'm for the most part on my own with it (though they are obviously going to be in contact with me if I have questions etc)

I don't have access to an outside space - is a bath suitable for longer than a few hours when they first come home? ie - an afternoon and an evening?
Then I guess I can move them to the hallway where we do floor time, its quite big but the pigs have spent time there :/ - I also have the old cage (3x2 c&c and correx base) I could use as well if cleaned out? (white vinegar and water?)

We're meeting the potential boar on Saturday, if all goes well he'll come home with us in a separate carrier I'm now thinking - though some people have said the trauma of being in a car would strengthen their new bond!?

Sorry to ask so many questions, we're ridiculously attached to our boy, even if he's a nut job.
 
:agr: 3x2 isn’t big enough for boars. The recommended minimum is 2x5. Could you use the hallway as the neutral place? It’s fine that other piggies have been there.
 
Quick update!

We may have a potential new friend! First match didn't go so well but the second pig we tried him with they seem to be getting on quite well. The new pig is much younger 1yr but very chilled out. My pig almost immediately defaults to submissiveness when meeting another pig but he seems to have realised that this new chap isn't going to bully him as much as his old companion (or the first guy we had him meet).

i think (and I don't want to call it too soon!) that he may have a nice quiet retirement!
 
That is great news!

Dating can really make such a difference when finding a new friend!
 
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