Uh-oh -- aggression?

[Autonerd]

Hi all -- Newbie owner with two boars adopted from a family that didn't want them.

They are settling in nicely but the last couple of days we've had one pig mounting the other. I know from dogs this is dominance behavior. Is it something to worry about? The last owners got the pigs around 6-7 months ago so they may be teenagers, we really don't know.

Still building my C&C cage (going as fast as I can!) so there's still time to put a divider down the middle if I need to!

Thanks
Aaron

 

[avafaghani]

Hi all -- Newbie owner with two boars adopted from a family that didn't want them.

They are settling in nicely but the last couple of days we've had one pig mounting the other. I know from dogs this is dominance behavior. Is it something to worry about? The last owners got the pigs around 6-7 months ago so they may be teenagers, we really don't know.

Still building my C&C cage (going as fast as I can!) so there's still time to put a divider down the middle if I need to!

Thanks
Aaron

This is normal dominance behavior. But, keep an eye out for any ear nipping, one chewing on the others fur, etc.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all -- Newbie owner with two boars adopted from a family that didn't want them.

They are settling in nicely but the last couple of days we've had one pig mounting the other. I know from dogs this is dominance behavior. Is it something to worry about? The last owners got the pigs around 6-7 months ago so they may be teenagers, we really don't know.

Still building my C&C cage (going as fast as I can!) so there's still time to put a divider down the middle if I need to!

Thanks
Aaron

Hi!

It sounds like a typical teenage hormone spike.

Please take the time to read our boar information. For the move to the new cage, I strongly recommend to read chapter 3 of the boar guide in order to avoid another hierarchy sort-out with lots of dominance.
- A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (including dos and don'ts in chapter 3)
- Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next? (all you need to know about teenage boars, including how to avoid fighting flashpoints and what to do when a hormone spike gets close to a fight or has resulted in a fall-out)
- Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths How to check and service those boar bits, including common boar problems in those areas

 

[VickiA]

I agree that this just sounds like boar hormones, however, please do read the guides @Wiebke has linked in as they give very detailed information on how to recognise anything other than normal boarish behaviour.
Any change in environment can cause a need for re establishing dominance so it’s worth bearing that in mind when you do move them to the new c and c cage. You might see an escalation at first.