Reducing Boar Aggression/Testosterone Flare Ups?

[Dystopoly]

So, my two boys are incredibly typical boars, they’re housed together and get along swimmingly with the usual rumbles and dominance reasserting about 90% of the time. However, it seems about once every few months, my smaller boy Apollo will get into a “mood” where he endlessly chases his brother around trying to hump him with very few breaks. For the most part, Eros handles this very well and will run for a while before just hunkering down and letting Apollo do what he wants, whimpering in discontent but otherwise not showing aggression signs.

Sometimes, they’ll work it out on their own and I’ll find them later in the day both acting like nothing happened, but I have had to separate them for a day twice before (once because it was getting to the point where Eros was rearing and baring his teeth in discontent, and once because I had to leave for the day and I was worried it wouldn’t stop while I was gone.) Both times I have successfully re-bonded them and they’re happier than anything to be back together.

Is there anything that I can do when this behavior happens to try and snap Apollo out of it? I think it’s likely just testosterone flare ups as he’s only a little over a year old and is still a very..... hormonal boy. I was wondering if removing both of them from their cage for some floor time when this happens would help, or maybe just removing Apollo for an hour or two to see if he calms down in that time? I was also wondering if neutering him would have ANY effect on these random hormone spikes, or if he’s likely just going to be like that until he’s grown out of it.

Any suggestions or ideas would be very welcome!


(Here’s both of them celebrating their 1st Birthday!)

 

[Wiebke]

So, my two boys are incredibly typical boars, they’re housed together and get along swimmingly with the usual rumbles and dominance reasserting about 90% of the time. However, it seems about once every few months, my smaller boy Apollo will get into a “mood” where he endlessly chases his brother around trying to hump him with very few breaks. For the most part, Eros handles this very well and will run for a while before just hunkering down and letting Apollo do what he wants, whimpering in discontent but otherwise not showing aggression signs.

Sometimes, they’ll work it out on their own and I’ll find them later in the day both acting like nothing happened, but I have had to separate them for a day twice before (once because it was getting to the point where Eros was rearing and baring his teeth in discontent, and once because I had to leave for the day and I was worried it wouldn’t stop while I was gone.) Both times I have successfully re-bonded them and they’re happier than anything to be back together.

Is there anything that I can do when this behavior happens to try and snap Apollo out of it? I think it’s likely just testosterone flare ups as he’s only a little over a year old and is still a very..... hormonal boy. I was wondering if removing both of them from their cage for some floor time when this happens would help, or maybe just removing Apollo for an hour or two to see if he calms down in that time? I was also wondering if neutering him would have ANY effect on these random hormone spikes, or if he’s likely just going to be like that until he’s grown out of it.

Any suggestions or ideas would be very welcome!

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(Here’s both of them celebrating their 1st Birthday!)

Hi!

Put a divider in their cage for a couple of days and wait for hormone spike to die down if it gets too much and they are getting close to full-on fighting. Then reintroduce on neutral ground again afterwards. Sudden short hormone spikes can last into adulthood.

Please do not introduce any added stress factors like a different territory while they are already on edge.

More information in these two very informative and detailed links:
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next? (includes tips on dos and don'ts to avoid fights)
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (includes advice on the different ages and boar needs)

 

[Swissgreys]

I have a very hormonal female and I find distraction is the key.
Paper bags filled with delicious forage or food treats, a handful of 'special' hay placed around the cage, new toys (willow balls stuffed with hay are a favorite here), scatter feeding pellets for a few days, new boxes with multiple entrances to explore, etc.