To swap or not to swap? That is the question.

[alexr]

Hmm, so I’m facing a bit of a dilemma. I think I’ve explained before about my unusual boar set up. I have two pairs and two singles. Hamish, my old boy is loved by all my pigs so he spends free range time with each pig in turn. He is a gentle alpha and seems to love keeping them in line! He normally lives with Herbert.
Hamish has been quite frail and has lost a lot of weight. I posted recently in the health section about a recent vet recommendation to consider euthanasia. Miraculously, Hamish has since improved a lot and is clearly not ready to go yet.

So here comes my dilemma...Rupert lives in a neighbouring cage with Claudio. They get on ok but Rupert hen pecks Claudio a lot and I think Claudio is quite fearful of him. He is not allowed near Rupert, gets chased and nipped if he steps out of line.
Rupert sits on his ledge watching Hamish most days and squeaks his head off when Hamish comes out of his cage. He absolutely adores Hamish and Rupert seems to be Hamish’s favourite playmate aside from Herbert.
Claudio and Herbert seem to really like each other and Claudio visibly relaxes around him and they play and popcorn around together.
The pig swaps normally happen outside but something was up with Rupert yesterday. At first I thought it was that he was grumpy at being caught in a rain shower. He hid away in his cage all evening, seemed scared, wouldn’t let Claudio near him and was very out of sorts. Rupert’s normally very feisty but he just wanted to snuggle on my shoulder all evening. I couldn’t detect anything else wrong with him.
This morning he was still acting strangely - refusing to come out of his bed.
Then I realised the issue as soon as I got Hamish out. Rupert came dashing out of his bed and started squeaking in excitement. He was pining for Hamish! They hadn’t played together yesterday as Hamish was spending time with my singles and then it rained so they had to come inside. I think Rupert was very depressed.
As it’s been raining again today, I’ve swapped the pairs over in their cages so Hamish and Rupert are together and Herbert and Claudio are together. Hamish has taken over command of Rupert’s house and Rupert seems overjoyed. Hamish also seems happy. Claudio and Herbert are fine although Algy chattering his teeth in disgust next door has led to a few nose offs.
I hadn’t planned to swap the pairs as I thought this might cause undue stress for Hamish. I also thought that it would be easier to find a friend for Herbert rather than feisty Rupert once Hamish goes to the bridge. However, they all seem happy. The only ones who aren’t pleased are Harry and Algy my singles who seem most displeased that Rupert is with their beloved Hamish!

So, with all this in mind...should I keep the pigs in their original duos or see how a swap goes?

 

[alexr]

After an afternoon together I decided to swap them back. Hamish seemed to be getting restless and was frustrated he is unable to climb up on the ledge. Herbie kept looking for him so, after a nice afternoon of being with Claudio, he was obviously starting to wonder where Hamish was. It’s perhaps best to maintain the status quo and just let them see each other for playtime. Claudio doesn’t seem very happy about being back with Rupert as he’s been berated for going awol. He keeps squealing in submission every time Rupert goes near him. It seems I can’t keep them all happy. Basically, Claudio wants to be with Herbie and all the others want to be with Hamish. I can’t win

 

[Siikibam]

Someone more knowledgable will answer soon but I don’t think it’s a good idea to be doing all these play dates. Piggies don’t really do play dates. Is there no chattering or chasing when Hamidah has floor time with the other piggies? Or any of the above behaviour between the paired piggies when the one is returned to the cage?

I would leave them as they are to be honest. Why upset the apple cart.

Claudio is just submissive I think, or Rupert is very dominant. Do they have a big enough cage, and two of everything? If Claudio isn’t losing weight etc and is eating fine then he should be ok.

 

[alexr]

When one of the other piggies is put with Hamish during floor/garden time, he makes it very clear from the outset that there will be no nonsense from them - either with a quick teeth chatter or a snap. I have some very dominant piggies (Rupert and Algy in particular). They instantly back down and then they settle into pottering around together, nibbling grass. They follow Hamish round like little servants. He is firm with them but has never had a fight with any of them.
Herbie sometimes shows off a bit when they are reunited by rumblestrutting but he does this a lot anyway. Again, Hamish lets him know there’ll be no nonsense and they’re instantly back to normal.
Upon reuniting Rupert and Claudio, Rupert normally dashed over and gives him a quick nip (he’s obviously picked this up from Hamish) and then they go back to normal. You’re right, Claudio is very submissive. A real sweetie actually which is why I sometimes worry he’s being bullied. When they’re outside together, Rupert often tries to chase him nastily or ostracises him. This is worse if Algy is on the other side of the bars. He’s a very aggressive piggy and his favourite hobby is racing up and down snapping at the piggies on the other side. Often this whips them up into a frenzy and Rupert starts hounding Claudio as if he’s showing off his strength to Algy.

 

[Siikibam]

Why don’t you put some sort of opaque divider between Algy and the other pigs? During floor time and their cages? It’s not good that he causes arguments.

 

[alexr]

Why don’t you put some sort of opaque divider between Algy and the other pigs? During floor time and their cages? It’s not good that he causes arguments.

Well, Algy is a single boar so I figure it’s important he at least sees other pigs. He has had two failed pairings and is so aggressive now that I don’t hold out much hope of finding him a match. The only pig he likes is Hamish . They all like him!

 

[Siikibam]

Would you consider having him neutered and getting him a girlfriend (or two)? If there’s a rescue nearby that does dating he could go there, or you could see if there’s any pig he takes a liking to - boar dating?

 

[alexr]

Would you consider having him neutered and getting him a girlfriend (or two)? If there’s a rescue nearby that does dating he could go there, or you could see if there’s any pig he takes a liking to - boar dating?

I would prefer not to have any sows due to having all boys and it may upsets the others. He did go boar dating at a rescue and after taking an instant dislike to most options, he chose an older boar called Harry. Unfortunately, after two months of Harry being constantly humped and bossed around by Algy, Harry finally had enough and snapped one day. They had an almighty fight. Algy got his face cut open and Harry got his paw bitten through. There was blood everywhere. Because of the severity of the fight, they were instantly separated and have lived as singles ever since. I’m reluctant to re-introduce as the scrap was a horrible experience.

 

[The3LittlePigs]

The dominance between the two boars is probably being caused by the introduction of Hamish. With the single boars, if Hamish is the leader, they will have learnt to accept their position below him. However, with your other pair, as they keep being split and put with Hamish, when they are put back with one another they have to keep re-establishing their dominance, which is likely why Rupert is so firm with his companion. He will have to keep telling him he is the boss, not Hamish, even if he accepts Hamish as the leader when he is with Hamish, if this makes sense. I would suggest not putting Hamish back with your pair. Rather than keep swapping Hamish's partner between the two singles, why not put him with your most aggressive boar if they get on, and find submissive partners for your other two; Hamish's current companion and your other single?

 

[Siikibam]

The dominance between the two boars is probably being caused by the introduction of Hamish. With the single boars, if Hamish is the leader, they will have learnt to accept their position below him. However, with your other pair, as they keep being split and put with Hamish, when they are put back with one another they have to keep re-establishing their dominance, which is likely why Rupert is so firm with his companion. He will have to keep telling him he is the boss, not Hamish, even if he accepts Hamish as the leader when he is with Hamish, if this makes sense. I would suggest not putting Hamish back with your pair. Rather than keep swapping Hamish's partner between the two singles, why not put him with your most aggressive boar if they get on, and find submissive partners for your other two; Hamish's current companion and your other single?

But Hamish’s current cage mate pines for him. I agree with not putting them with Hamish for floor time, it messes things up when they go back to their cage mate. It can actually be quite stressful for them.

Don’t bother trying to pair the singles again. They drew blood.

 

[VickiA]

Play dates are not kind for piggies. They confuse them terribly as they have to sort the hierarchy each time.

 

[alexr]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and input on this. I appreciate “play dates” are not the norm. I am very fortunate that Hamish is a very special piggy who relishes his role as Grandad to several boys. I’ve never encountered this before. He has a calm and nurturing spirit that they all respect and respond to positively.

Whilst Hamish is still with us, and it’s been made clear to me he’s living on borrowed time, I am happy to continue with his pig sitting duties. It means my singles all get regular interaction. I do not think it would be fair to stop this at this late stage and I do not think it’s fair to stop Rupert (his paired neighbour) from seeing him when he pines for him so much. This behaviour of bar biting, loud squeaking and attempting to get into Hamish’s house have not stopped since the arrival of Claudio. Rupert has been a challenging piggy since his arrival and he seems to have mellowed significantly under the mentorship of Hamish. It seems he likes someone to look up to and someone to boss around.

Obviously, when the day arrives that interacting with other animals seems too much for Hamish, this will stop. Once he goes to the bridge, I will have to reassess the situation and look to find friends for the remaining 3 singles. I think Hamish is very happy with his current “tribe” and the introduction of more piggies to his room would be very stressful. It will be a very sad day for all of us and I think all the boys will feel the loss greatly. Until then, we’re all going to make the most of our happy times in the sunshine with him.