That Boar Next Door - Advice Needed For Happy Neighbours

[Wilbur&Otis]

Hi I have a 2yo boar mini (above) who has been living alone since losing his older boar buddy in January. I took Mini boar dating soon after losing his friend but it wasn’t successful. (He was very full on and aggressive - think with hindsight he might not have been feeling well) Since then he has been poorly with chronic rhinitis and in and out of the vets on all sorts of meds - really not himself. Anyway the last few days he is much better - squeaking for veg and running round all over the place. Yay!

Meanwhile...

In Feb I ended up bringing home another boar pair from the rescue where I took Mini on a date (oops! Couldn’t resist!) So now I have new boys 2yo Cooper & Alf living upstairs from Mini.

Cooper with a leafy. Very jealous Alf in the background squeaking indignantly...


Alfs turn...


I’ve read all the guides about boar behaviour & bonding and am not planning to do a full introduction - I would rather keep the happily bonded pair separate and hope that having pigs to chat to will keep Mini happy. (Or try taking him dating to find his own cage mate later this year)

Anyway their current setup is that Cooper & Alf share my original DIY piggie home and Mini has a new C&C bachelor pad directly below. I open up one of the panels so he can come out when I’m home as he loves running round exploring!

To start with I built a wall down the original cage so that Mini was directly next door to the new boys and could see them but I wasn’t happy with the amount of space they all had. Cooper the dominant pig in my pair seemed v interested in his neighbour and was trying to chew through the wall when they briefly lived side by side. Alf wasnt remotely bothered (he’s very food oriented and just wants to eat & sleep!) Mini seemed to be both interested and nervous about his new neighbors - not his usual plucky self. He seemed v happy to be moved downstairs to his new pad after a couple of days.

They’ve now lived in the same room for 3 weeks and I’m greeted home to a chorus or squeaks each night demanding veg - it’s very cute.

The setup. Walls are now removed & Mini is downstairs...


Anyway today to give Cooper & Alf a bit of exercise I put them down for some floor time without thinking too much - they usually stay on one side of the room and do a piggie train darting up and down around the sofa. Today Cooper decided to explore a bit more and found himself outside Minis C&C and they were face to face through the bars. This is the first time they’ve seen each other up close. Both of them seemed quite excited by this and I watched closely as they spent 10 mins running side by side along the grids, sniffing each other and rumbling, soft chattering & chewing bars to try and get to each other.





Alf found something more interesting...


After 10 mins I put Cooper & Alf back as I got worried incase Mini was stressed by the impromptu meeting. Cooper proceeded to rumble and chase poor Alf for the next 20mins and was on high alert listening for noises from his new aquaintance. Mini did some scent marking in his cage and then started chewing the bars so I let him out and he’s done a complete lap of the house and then gone back home. All has calmed down and all 3 are napping now.

So to get to my Q... I am just wondering if it is okay to let the pigs meet through the bars like this daily during floor time or will it be upsetting to Mini being so close to his ‘turf’? Should I be letting them have longer to play it out each time and hope they settle down and move away from each other? Is it okay for the boys to alternate having the run of the house or will it cause problems that they will smell that the other pig has been there?

Thanks, Natalie xx

 

[Reenie]

The first time I let my new boys out for floor time, and they saw the other three through the bars, they all seemed very interested, and tried to get to each other, but it kicked off a major upset with the trio. I split the cage with a towel for a wee while until they calmed down. I think it was just Chicco doing his usual 'I'm the boss' stuff, and showing off to the new boys by chattering and lunging at Groucho - who gave him the same straight back. I let the new ones out again a few days later, and the same interaction through the bars happened, but it didn't cause the same upset this time. I now let them out most mornings, and they run straight to the bars, and they all chat away to each other (and steal the hay through the bars). So..what am I saying here? Probably that there is a chance that it could upset the established pair, potentially permanently, which is a risk you take, but, in my experience, once they all got used to each other, it was fine. Obviously, no guarantees though.

 

[Wiebke]

View attachment 81975 Hi I have a 2yo boar mini (above) who has been living alone since losing his older boar buddy in January. I took Mini boar dating soon after losing his friend but it wasn’t successful. (He was very full on and aggressive - think with hindsight he might not have been feeling well) Since then he has been poorly with chronic rhinitis and in and out of the vets on all sorts of meds - really not himself. Anyway the last few days he is much better - squeaking for veg and running round all over the place. Yay!

Meanwhile...

In Feb I ended up bringing home another boar pair from the rescue where I took Mini on a date (oops! Couldn’t resist!) So now I have new boys 2yo Cooper & Alf living upstairs from Mini.

Cooper with a leafy. Very jealous Alf in the background squeaking indignantly...
View attachment 81976

Alfs turn...
View attachment 81979

I’ve read all the guides about boar behaviour & bonding and am not planning to do a full introduction - I would rather keep the happily bonded pair separate and hope that having pigs to chat to will keep Mini happy. (Or try taking him dating to find his own cage mate later this year)

Anyway their current setup is that Cooper & Alf share my original DIY piggie home and Mini has a new C&C bachelor pad directly below. I open up one of the panels so he can come out when I’m home as he loves running round exploring!

To start with I built a wall down the original cage so that Mini was directly next door to the new boys and could see them but I wasn’t happy with the amount of space they all had. Cooper the dominant pig in my pair seemed v interested in his neighbour and was trying to chew through the wall when they briefly lived side by side. Alf wasnt remotely bothered (he’s very food oriented and just wants to eat & sleep!) Mini seemed to be both interested and nervous about his new neighbors - not his usual plucky self. He seemed v happy to be moved downstairs to his new pad after a couple of days.

They’ve now lived in the same room for 3 weeks and I’m greeted home to a chorus or squeaks each night demanding veg - it’s very cute.

The setup. Walls are now removed & Mini is downstairs...
View attachment 81977

Anyway today to give Cooper & Alf a bit of exercise I put them down for some floor time without thinking too much - they usually stay on one side of the room and do a piggie train darting up and down around the sofa. Today Cooper decided to explore a bit more and found himself outside Minis C&C and they were face to face through the bars. This is the first time they’ve seen each other up close. Both of them seemed quite excited by this and I watched closely as they spent 10 mins running side by side along the grids, sniffing each other and rumbling, soft chattering & chewing bars to try and get to each other.

View attachment 81978

View attachment 81980

Alf found something more interesting...
View attachment 81981

After 10 mins I put Cooper & Alf back as I got worried incase Mini was stressed by the impromptu meeting. Cooper proceeded to rumble and chase poor Alf for the next 20mins and was on high alert listening for noises from his new aquaintance. Mini did some scent marking in his cage and then started chewing the bars so I let him out and he’s done a complete lap of the house and then gone back home. All has calmed down and all 3 are napping now.

So to get to my Q... I am just wondering if it is okay to let the pigs meet through the bars like this daily during floor time or will it be upsetting to Mini being so close to his ‘turf’? Should I be letting them have longer to play it out each time and hope they settle down and move away from each other? Is it okay for the boys to alternate having the run of the house or will it cause problems that they will smell that the other pig has been there?

Thanks, Natalie xx

It is OK letting them meet up through the bars during run time; brace for some 'boar hakas' (territory marking) between the dominant bars and Cooper working off any overexcitement on Alf at first - cancel only if this actually leads to fights and a potential risk of a fall-out (much more likely when you have bonded teenagers).
Over time, this behaviour is likely going to settle down and just become a daily ritual; I call it a 'boar haka'.

I get the same every time I introduce a new boar into my piggy room (I have got 6 neutered 'husboars' living with each with a harem of 1-4 sows) and a boar pair (neutered, because I can't risk any accidents in case there is an unplanned meeting with any sows). Neutering doesn't make any difference in boar behaviour.

Here are a couple of videos of 'boar hakas' between neighbouring and roaming new boars.
(Hywel was a very dominant boar - the reason why he had been neutered after he ended up bullying all boys he'd been introduced to at his previous home and at the rescue - and had been the only boar before I had to split up my big group; he didn't like rivals...)
(PS: the video works despite the black starter pic)

 

[piggieminder]

I have two pairs of boars, one pair living above the other. When the upstairs boars have floor time they meet through the bars. The first few times this happended there was a frenzy of bar biting and rumble strutting and I used to let them have a couple of minutes and then cover the bars up so they'd all go back to their own business. Now the floor time pair will wander over and say hello to the neighbours, have a good look and sniff then wander around the room occasionally going back for another look. There is no longer any over excitement and I don't have to cover the bars up they just enjoy having a quick visit.

 

[Wilbur&Otis]

@Reenie @Wiebke thanks it’s great to hear about your experiences with neighbouring boars.

Aren’t they funny! Definitely very Haka-esque! My boys behaved similar to yours in the last vid Wiekbe - Cooper is very bossy and seemed to be torn between meeting Mini and mounting Alf.

I’ll let them out again tomorrow and see what happens. If I let them run round longer and put some boxes and tunnels out hopefully Cooper will spend some of his energy on those and not take it all out on poor Alf. I’ll film them if I can and add it this thread.

I love the idea that one day they might happily sit and chat through the bars once they’ve got over ‘there’s a boar next door’ excitement

Have either of you ever let neighboars meet through the bars one on one? I was just thinking poor Alf might like to say hello to mini without being chased off and humped by Cooper. Or do you think that could rock the boat even more?

 

[Wilbur&Otis]

Thanks @piggieminder yes I tried to cover the bars after a few minutes incase Mini was upset but Cooper found his way under the fleece and I could just see a big rumbling lump moving between the grids and fleece

I think tomorrow I’ll cover more of Minis cage before they visit and leave a couple of grids to ‘meet and greet’ so he doesn’t feel forced to be sociable.

 

[Wiebke]

@Reenie @Wiebke thanks it’s great to hear about your experiences with neighbouring boars.

Aren’t they funny! Definitely very Haka-esque! My boys behaved similar to yours in the last vid Wiekbe - Cooper is very bossy and seemed to be torn between meeting Mini and mounting Alf.

I’ll let them out again tomorrow and see what happens. If I let them run round longer and put some boxes and tunnels out hopefully Cooper will spend some of his energy on those and not take it all out on poor Alf. I’ll film them if I can and add it this thread.

I love the idea that one day they might happily sit and chat through the bars once they’ve got over ‘there’s a boar next door’ excitement

Have either of you ever let neighboars meet through the bars one on one? I was just thinking poor Alf might like to say hello to mini without being chased off and humped by Cooper. Or do you think that could rock the boat even more?

You can always put Alf down later on and Cooper back sooner; that would give Cooper time to calm down a bit anyway. The first few meeting are usually the most dramatic with bar rattling, chewing and all the shenanigans. Get past it and they will get used to each others' presence and it is more in the way of a 'Hello! I am still here and not to be dismissed!'

Hopefully Mini is easier to bond once he is past his teenage hormones or you could think about neutering in the longer term so he can live with a sow (but will require strict separation from your other boar pair then).

 

[Wilbur&Otis]

You can always put Alf down later on and Cooper back sooner; that would give Cooper time to calm down a bit anyway. The first few meeting are usually the most dramatic with bar rattling, chewing and all the shenanigans. Get past it and they will get used to each others' presence and it is more in the way of a 'Hello! I am still here and not to be dismissed!'

Hopefully Mini is easier to bond once he is past his teenage hormones or you could think about neutering in the longer term so he can live with a sow (but will require strict separation from your other boar pair then).

Yes I will relax a bit tomorrow knowing it’s okay behaviour i wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing today. I’ll try giving them a few minutes alone time to meet the neighbour hehe

Mini is >2.5 so should be past the hormones by now - I didn’t want to risk neutering. I’ve had him from a baby and he was the less dominant one in his last pairing so not sure where the agro came from at our last bonding attempt! Think he must’ve felt poorly. I will keep an ear on the pigvine for any older submissive boars that need a home and try to bond him again once he’s back up to his usual weight & spirit.

 

[Wilbur&Otis]

Ps look at their unimpressed faces when they all lived upstairs next door to each other briefly.

 

[flowerfairy]

What a wonderful looking set ups. Such cuties!

 

[Wilbur&Otis]

Day 2 meeting the neighbours went okay. Much calmer with less rumbling and they all settled down for a snooze much quicker afterwards. I let Cooper and Alf have a good play first to use up some energy. I also added a tunnel to a hay loft onto Minis C&C so he has somewhere to escape to. Not sure how to post videos hope this works...

Here’s Cooper meeting Mini - day 2.

A little later on. Launching life boat Mini!...

Alfs turn to say hello...

The aftermath. Time to patrol the borders (luckily his new friends aren’t around to witness the fleece tunnel fail!)