Should I get a 2nd piggy?

[cfields98]

Hello! Sorry to bother you all, but I'm stuck on what to do for a little 2 month old piggy we just adopted (Bucky). We actually did have two boars (Bucky and Alfalfa), but Alfie ended up attacking Bucky to the point where we had to separate them and find a new home for Alfie. So now we just have the one, and my partner and I are worried about him! He doesn't make sounds any more, bites the cage bars nonstop, and is very skittish ever since being alone. We've consulted two different places about whether to get another piggy, but they said he might be traumatized from the attack, and not want a companion. However, it just doesn't seem right leaving him alone considering the way he's been acting ever since we had to separate them, and we are both worried about piggy depression. We give him plenty of hay, a variety of food, and endless toys, love, and attention, but things just don't seem to have changed. We are just worried about getting another piggy and then having it not work out again

A few notes:
- He has a submissive personality
- He is not neutered (although we have considered doing so, since neutered male/female pairs seem to have the best results that we've seen
- We don't have access to any boar dating sites (I wish we did!)

 

[Piggies&buns]

A successful bond comes entirely down to character compatibility, so finding the right friend is important. If you don’t have boar dating available, then it does make it trickier as you can’t be sure they will like each other before committing to another piggy. Bringing home a piggy on spec always carries the risk of failed bonding. If a bonding does fail then you can keep two piggies side by side but in separate cages. That way they will have interaction through the bars.

To be neutered, he would need to be older (usually neutered around 4-6 months of age) and then needs to be kept away from sows for six weeks post neuter to become infertile. Sow/boar pairings do tend to be more stable though but it still comes down to character compatibility.

However, if is important that he has a friend, just because he didn’t get one with one piggy does not mean he is destined to be alone. He is very young and really needs company

 

[cfields98]

A successful bond comes entirely down to character compatibility, so finding the right friend is important. If you don’t have boar dating available, then it does make it trickier as you can’t be sure they will like each other before committing to another piggy. Bringing home a piggy on spec always carries the risk of failed bonding. If a bonding does fail then you can keep two piggies side by side but in separate cages. That way they will have interaction through the bars.

To be neutered, he would need to be older (usually neutered around 4-6 months of age) and then needs to be kept away from sows for six weeks post neuter to become infertile. Sow/boar pairings do tend to be more stable though but it still comes down to character compatibility.

However, if is important that he has a friend, just because he didn’t get one with one piggy does not mean he is destined to be alone. He is very young and really needs company

Thank you so much for your advice! It means a lot, we want the best for our piggy

 

[Chickenpies]

Hi!
I actually am in the same situation. My piggies, Teddy and Berty, were very aggressive towards each other and had full on fights, blood was drawn and hair was ripped out. Last week, I gave Berty back to the rescue (very upsetting) and I’m getting Teddy neutered this month. I’m hopefully going to get him a wife, which may work or not. But there will always be a friend out there for your piggie! It may take many tries to get him the perfect match. Berty and Teddy were a pair when I rescued them, but they suddenly turned on eachother because they were in a new environment (plus hormones kicked in). Your piggie will hit teenage months soon, so do be aware of that aswell! Sorry for going on about me so much haha! But were they bonded when you got them? I hope things work out!

 

[cfields98]

I'm sorry to hear about Berty and Teddy having to be separated! It broke my heart to give Alfie away but we didn't have the space to devote to another sizable cage. They weren't bonded when we got them (still a lot of dominance struggles), but they were raised in the same "cage" as well as with one other piggy that someone else had adopted by the time we got ours, so we were hoping that would help the bonding process. Unfortunately Alfie was sick when we adopted him (which we didn't know at the time), and when the vet had us isolate them for two weeks while we treated Alfie with antibiotics, they couldn't stand each other once we reintroduced him back into the same environment.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm sorry to hear about Berty and Teddy having to be separated! It broke my heart to give Alfie away but we didn't have the space to devote to another sizable cage. They weren't bonded when we got them (still a lot of dominance struggles), but they were raised in the same "cage" as well as with one other piggy that someone else had adopted by the time we got ours, so we were hoping that would help the bonding process. Unfortunately Alfie was sick when we adopted him (which we didn't know at the time), and when the vet had us isolate them for two weeks while we treated Alfie with antibiotics, they couldn't stand each other once we reintroduced him back into the same environment.

I’m sorry to hear that.

For future information, this is why we don’t recommend separating piggies on medical grounds but sadly some vets still recommend it. If one piggy is poorly and is on antibiotics, there is generally no reason to separate them as whatever one piggy has the other has already been exposed to (it doesn’t mean the other piggy will catch it though). All separating them does is cause stress and, as has happened, potentially break relationships.

 

[Chickenpies]

I'm sorry to hear about Berty and Teddy having to be separated! It broke my heart to give Alfie away but we didn't have the space to devote to another sizable cage. They weren't bonded when we got them (still a lot of dominance struggles), but they were raised in the same "cage" as well as with one other piggy that someone else had adopted by the time we got ours, so we were hoping that would help the bonding process. Unfortunately Alfie was sick when we adopted him (which we didn't know at the time), and when the vet had us isolate them for two weeks while we treated Alfie with antibiotics, they couldn't stand each other once we reintroduced him back into the same environment.

I’m so sorry Did you get them from a rescue center? Would they have known he was sick? It’s best not to seperate them though!

 

[cfields98]

I’m sorry to hear that.

For future information, this is why we don’t recommend separating piggies on medical grounds but sadly some vets still recommend it. If one piggy is poorly and is on antibiotics, there is generally no reason to separate them as whatever one piggy has the other has already been exposed to (it doesn’t mean the other piggy will catch it though). All separating them does is cause stress and, as has happened, potentially break relationships.

Yeah, we were both very wary about it (we didn't want to separate them but figured the vet knew best), but we have certainly learned our lesson in that respect!

 

[cfields98]

I’m so sorry Did you get them from a rescue center? Would they have known he was sick? It’s best not to seperate them though!

Apparently he had just recently gotten sick, so they had no idea since he didn't start showing symptoms until the morning of the day we got him. Just in the car ride home he sneezed six times, so we knew immediately!