Separated boars

[Dan10]

Hi all,

After some advice , had two boar skinny pigs Eddie and Jason for around 2 years now. They’ve had one fairly big dust up a while ago and seemed to have got on the straight and narrow but recently the behaviour has stepped back up again.

The dominant piggy used to be Eddie but more recently it’s been Jason. Jason follows Eddie around a lot and even kisses/licks him but Eddie is quite a reserved lad. So now it got to the point Jason was chasing Eddie and when Eddie didn’t play ball it results in usual rumble strutting and teeth chatter. Over the last few weeks we feel as though Eddie can’t get any peace from Jason even with Jason climbing on top of hides Eddie is still in almost squashing him. Eddie is eating plenty veg and hay and is 100% the bigger pig

Myself and Mrs after reading multiple posts on here have decided to try a temporary (maybe permanent) separation. We bought extension girds for our 5x2 and now have two 3x2 attached to each other as recommended. We will keep an eye on the pigs over the next week or so and may weigh up a “rebonding” on neutral ground with plenty of veg and hay. I know we’ve probably got only one shot at this. But we also aware permanent separation could be best. Jason seems quite anxious in his solo home and paces and T-Rex’s a lot. Eddie seems to be his usual reclusive self and hides most of the time.

Advice required …

I’ve strolled through posts on here that spans many years and some advice has changed. Any new advice around re bonding?

And with pigs living side by side as neighbours any advice on best way to do this? Solo/shared floor time? Solo/shared cuddles? I’m conscious about pigs becoming depressed etc.

Thanks for reading my essay

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

If Jason is the dominant piggy then you must ignore his reaction to separation. He is going to be upset but he is not the gauge here.
Eddie is the one you watch. If he relaxes and seems happier then that is a clear sign that he does not want to be with Jason any more.

You can definitely try the neutral reintroduction but as you are aware this could be a permanent separation.
Put them into a neutral pen with hay and water (no hides). It’ll become clear relatively quickly whether Eddie wants to be wirh Jason or not

If they do need to be permanently separated then that means no physical interaction ever again - so no shared floor time and no shared cuddles. Everything has to be done separately.

They won’t become depressed if they can still interact with the bars between them. In fact they can become happier not having to share a cage with somebody they can’t get on with!

With that said, some piggies don’t cope being in a cage by themselves so it can sometimes be a consideration that either one or both needs their own new friend down the line.

 

[fluffysal]

My boys have been separated for a year or so now. They both have plenty of space (as do yours). They took some time initially to settle into the new arrangement, this involved gallons of weeing next to the divider! They did thankfully get over this and interact constantly now. Dignified Sir George even posts especially good bits of hay, veg and forage through the bars to share with Mischievous Master Boris. They can go together for a few minutes for photo but otherwise remain separate as Master Boris has fear aggression issues.

 

[AidaB]

We have had a couple of piggies living side by side. I feel sad they can’t be together, but it’s the next best option for them.
Our boys have managed well in this way.
As the others have said, there can be no more interactions between piggies who live side by side, just the ones they have with the grids between them.
Floortime has to be separate & so does any time spent with us humans. Our boys quickly adapted and will wait their turn at the favourite pick up point. Staring at us until it’s their turn!

Loki giving me THE look, hurry up hooman!

 

[Dan10]

Update on set up!

They’ve been separated for nearly 2 months now. Initially Jason wasn’t happy about it and was wondering what was going on. However we feel both pigs are far more happier separated and we haven’t tried a re bonding. They have separate floor time and they are kept separate during cuddle time with us humans. They still have plenty of interactions through the bars with some rumbling but not much and quite a lot of the time they seem good mates!

Overall our anxiety about separation is now completely gone and they are clearly happier as neighbours!

Thanks everyone for your advice it’s been greatly appreciated

 

[AidaB]

Lovely to read your update. Glad your boys are settling into being good neighbours to each other.