Teenaged Angst?

[TinyBubbles]

Hey all, it's been awhile since I've been able to sit and spend time on the forum but I'm so grateful for your guidance tonight. I've been reading the bonding & bullying sections again and would love to hear if I'm doing this right...

I've had my boys for about 3 month and it was assumed that they were about 8 months old at the time so they are just under a year old. They are in a 2x5 C&C and have lived in the expected amount of harmony until tonight. Tom has been the dominant pig since the day we got them and we have seen the dominant behaviors that we expect. Jerry has been the good subpig and gave his cry's when needed to let Tom know that his position is secure. Tonight Jerry got tired of it all and decided he was not going to back down and wasn't going to give his favorite spot up to Tom. There was not a fight, although we offered plenty of distractions so who knows what would have happened. After almost two hours of Tom humping and chasing Jerry we decided that no was would sleep in our house if we didn't separate them overnight.

There is not space in the room the C&C is in to put the midwest (that came with the pigs), so Tom has come downstairs and Jerry is still in their C&C.

Since they didn't get to the point of fighting are we okay to put them back together in the morning? Do we need to go through the bonding process in full or can we just serve up breakfast on the kitchen floor (pig proofed kitchen, of course) and then put them both back in the C&C if all goes well?

 

[Swissgreys]

I am not an expert (I am sure one will be along soon), but as they couldn't stay in the same cage with a grid divider in between I would start them off in a totally neutral area and treat it like a rebounding.
Because Jerry has spent the night alone in the C&C he may now be thinking of it as his space, and be resentful when Tom is put back in.
So I would create a large bonding area for them for today, clean and reorganise their cage keeping it very simple, and then put them back together.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

It is not unusal for boars of this age to start to quarrel. They are either able to settle their differences and find their place in hierarchy - or they will start fighting sooner or later and then their bond will be severely damaged or broken.
I would be very watchful when introducing them again and make sure there is enough space.

 

[Wiebke]

Hey all, it's been awhile since I've been able to sit and spend time on the forum but I'm so grateful for your guidance tonight. I've been reading the bonding & bullying sections again and would love to hear if I'm doing this right...

I've had my boys for about 3 month and it was assumed that they were about 8 months old at the time so they are just under a year old. They are in a 2x5 C&C and have lived in the expected amount of harmony until tonight. Tom has been the dominant pig since the day we got them and we have seen the dominant behaviors that we expect. Jerry has been the good subpig and gave his cry's when needed to let Tom know that his position is secure. Tonight Jerry got tired of it all and decided he was not going to back down and wasn't going to give his favorite spot up to Tom. There was not a fight, although we offered plenty of distractions so who knows what would have happened. After almost two hours of Tom humping and chasing Jerry we decided that no was would sleep in our house if we didn't separate them overnight.

There is not space in the room the C&C is in to put the midwest (that came with the pigs), so Tom has come downstairs and Jerry is still in their C&C.

Since they didn't get to the point of fighting are we okay to put them back together in the morning? Do we need to go through the bonding process in full or can we just serve up breakfast on the kitchen floor (pig proofed kitchen, of course) and then put them both back in the C&C if all goes well?

Hi

Please re-introduce any short-term separated teenage boars after 2 days (to allow the hormone spike to die down) on neutral ground outside their cages.

You will find the information and practical advice about all things teenage boars helpful; including how to handle short-term separations and re-introductions: Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?