The truth about introducing baby to Boar?

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Sallypaws

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Hi Peeps.

As some of you know i have a boar called Bumble who is approx 14-16 weeks old now and love him to bits x)

I had planned to get him a wife once he's snipped in a few months but am starting to panic about the op and him not making it which i couldn't bear so am thinking about a baby boar again as a chum.

Thing is i am hearing such conflicting advise about it - i just don't know what to do as i secretly would like 2 boys (i just love boars!)

I understand to get a baby 6-8 weeker and introduce on neutral ground. That all sounds good and i am confident doing it.

I suppose the main thing i need to know is when the baby hits puberty will he then try and up his status or will he already 'respect' Bumble and things should be fine?

I am viewing a litter of 3 seven week old boars this Friday from a rescue situation and they said i can bring Bumble back on Saturday to introduce him to the poss baby there.
Is it fair to say if they get on o.k there and bond over the scary journey home together they should remain chums?
There's no other piggies in the house and i have a brand new cage waiting.

Please can you give me your experiences and what you think of Bumble's situation, thank you! :)
 
Boars usually have to go through dominance again when they change territory, so you have to brace yourself for a bit of a repeat of the first intro when you have them at home; but generally, they should be OK.

I am wishing you the best of luck.

Here are tips for introductions and boar behaviour. so you have a better idea what to expect and what is acceptable. I prefer to read through them every time I have an intro myself, just to freshen up my memory.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
 
Wiebke said:
Boars usually have to go through dominance again when they change territory, so you have to brace yourself for a bit of a repeat of the first intro when you have them at home; but generally, they should be OK.

I am wishing you the best of luck.

Here are tips for introductions and boar behaviour. so you have a better idea what to expect and what is acceptable. I prefer to read through them every time I have an intro myself, just to freshen up my memory.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
Click to expand...

Thank you Wiebke :)

So would you say once they get home if all is o.k they should stay o.k ?
I know there may be little squabbles but i mean o.k as in no fighting?

Are there ages o.k with Bumble being 14-16 weeks and :) baby 7?
 
I think the best successes come from having the widest age gap you can manage, so when you say 6 - 8 weeks, try to aim for 6 weeks or just under. This way, there seems to be an automatic boss, due to age and size. The little one just accepts this. Then when the little one's hormones kick in, the pecking order is established. There will still be the inevitable bum antics but hopefully all should be well. (Not a foolproof system of course, but many have worked for me in this way.) Good luck. xx
 
I got a young lad (Hamish) who was 15 weeks roughly (if I remember rightly) and was advised to get him an older boar. So I got Robin from a rescue and he's 2 years old. The introduction and everything went well - they got on super duper fine for a good month or so - but as soon as Hamish's hormones started going mental he became pretty dominant and Robin was bullied. I seperated them before blood was drawn but I knew my boys weren't happy.

However!

So many people have great success stories and their boys live happily together. Every pig is different and it might be a totally different situation having two young boys going through puberty together - unlike my pair where one was already past that stage and just living and enjoying life!

So I'd say go for it, and good luck! Wiebke gives great advise as well as Nutmeg. There are plenty people here to help and give advise when you need it ;)
 
Sallypaws said:
Thank you Wiebke :)

So would you say once they get home if all is o.k they should stay o.k ?
I know there may be little squabbles but i mean o.k as in no fighting?

Are there ages o.k with Bumble being 14-16 weeks and :) baby 7?
Click to expand...

know one can say all will be ok sorry ,,but there has been some incidents where ive had to split 2 boars up even when they were together from 8 wks old by the time they both got to 4 to 6 mths this is when problems started and they needed to be split,there was another occasion when i paired a baby of 8 wks to a 7 mth old all was well until the baby got to 5mths and the baby started to bite and fight with the older one( not the older one starting it)and then again i needed to split.
but i do have and have had many boy guineas in rescue who live happy together and have no real problems but they do need more space than sows and i normally have 2 of everything bowls, water bottles,houses , and maybe just have a cage handy incase the time comes if you do have to separate..hope all goes well xx
 
AS Bumble is just about to come up to hormonal puberty at about 4 months old, you may have a lively few months at first with the wee one not that far behind, but hopefully, things will calm down eventually.

With boars, apart from character comaptibility, space is another key factor - the more they have, the better the chance of getting them through puberty.

Make sure that you do not have any hides with only one exit and everything in two, so Bumble can't trap and bully the little one at first.
 
I introduced a baby to my older boar it was fine for 6 weeks then the baby decided he wanted to be boss and I had to separate. That is my ONLY experience I know loads of people with boar pairings which are successful, but mine unfortunately was not.

My baby boar was 10 weeks(Fred did not pick him)... and my male about 1 1/2.

It all depends on the pigs to be fair!

If for instance they fallout can you keep them side by side? I didn't think about them falling out I just believed it would be fine, when they did fallout I took the baby boar too a rescue(hardest thing I've ever done).

(I have only had 2 boys once and they were my first pigs, so no expert here just sharing my experience)
 
it depends on the piggies jake lost 2 cage mates last year 8...so he's now living with oliver jake is sooooooooo laid back while oliver is abit more out going oliver is just hitting the teenage part but all seems to be going ok oliver knows who's boss :)p
 
Thanks Guys - it's the reassurance that's invaluable. :)

I do have a spare cage so if it goes wrong at a later date i can always separate.

I suppose the next thing now is to view them on Friday and see what i think.
Even though my long term aim is for a chum for Bumble i want to connect with the little fella too. x)

These guys are all agouti i am led to believe, left in a shoebox outside a private shelter in the snow a few weeks back - it's taken a few weeks to get their weights back up. :0

The idea to have the big cage divided into 2 is a good option too for if things go wrong as at least each with still have chum even though it won't be a 'hug chum' - would that be enough to keep them both happy?

I just love my little Bumble so much x)x)x) - the thought of something going wrong with the castration surgery scares me senseless (even though i have a fab vet :(|) so it really would be a last resort he was totally miserable by himself.

Sorry, i'm starting to waffle now! :))
Thanks so much for all your experiences and advice - will keep you posted!
 
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