The piglets have fallen out!

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2280CLAIRE

2280CLAIRE

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Completely out of the blue, about half an hour ago, Jeff and Ed had an almighty fight that resulted in blood being drawn. I am totally shocked, as not only are they brothers, but they have always gotten on very well. I heard them squabbling for about 15mins (they do squabble sometimes, but it's always just verbal, nothing physical), when all of a sudden, there was a thump and I went over to see them rolling around on the cage. I threw a towel over them, and managed to grab Ed who had blood and fur around his mouth. He is currently sat on a blanket on the floor. I have checked Jeff, and he has a little cut by the side of his mouth. I've cleaned it, and it doesn't look like any major damage was done.
I gave them about 20mins break to calm down, and then thought they may have forgotten, so tried to sit Ed back in the cage. I know there are theories to say that once blood is drawn, there is no going back, but I thought I'd try my luck. As soon as I put Ed back in, the teeth chattering started again, so I took him out...
What do I do? They have a 120cm cage which is the biggest that I can fit in my flat, and I don't have room for two cages.
Has anyone had experience of blood being drawn and then reintroducing successfully? I am so shocked, as like I said, they always got on really well.
 
You can try giving them a time out from each other - keep them in different rooms if poss for the next day or two and then give them as much space as you can, no hideys just lots of space hay and veggies and see how they go.

If it doesn't work you can try again after another week or two (if they are very aggressive after the short timeout leave them apart for longer). If it doesn't work after the long time out then I'm afraid it's unlikely to ever work again. The 120 cages can often be stacked so not take up any more floor space if they need to be housed separately from now on.

Suzy x
 
Wallace and Mr M had occasional bust-ups that resulted in large teeth sized holes but they always made up after a cooling off period so I wouldn't say never re-introduce them, it may work ( I never left it too long though, just a few hours, they may need more space as well if they're annoying each other). As fickle as they were, Wallace became really close to Mr M when he was ill and snuggled up to him ( never bothered before) and he seriously missed him when he passed away ( started wasting away until we got Rocket ) so there was a definite connection with them despite their differences of opinion and occasional spats. Hope that helps. x
 
Thanks for the advice, Suzie. The trouble is that I already have their cage sitting on an old table, and then use the underneath for storage. I am not sure how stable another cage on top of their current one, would be.
I am so shocked. Even my cat, Oliver is confused. He just went and sat on the blanket and he and Ed sniffed each other, then Oliver went and sat by the cage looking at Jeff, as if to say "why aren't you together?". It really is totally out of the blue!
 
AndreaJane said:
Wallace and Mr M had occasional bust-ups that resulted in large teeth sized holes but they always made up after a cooling off period so I wouldn't say never re-introduce them, it may work ( I never left it too long though, just a few hours, they may need more space as well if they're annoying each other). As fickle as they were, Wallace became really close to Mr M when he was ill and snuggled up to him ( never bothered before) and he seriously missed him when he passed away ( started wasting away until we got Rocket ) so there was a definite connection with them despite their differences of opinion and occasional spats. Hope that helps. x
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That is such a relief to hear, as they are such close friends. If they are separated, they normally squeak for each other. I hope they can work it out!
 
Everyone's going to have different advice btw, you're just going to have to find something that works for you. You could try the Vicks trick ( tiny dot on bums and noses so that they both smell identical or a bath - nothing like shared trauma ( mine HATE baths) to bring people/pigs together!
 
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