A Bonding Question

Micah just needs to learn that they will still be there when he wakes up again, and that he will need to conserve his energy if he’s to keep 3 demanding wives happy!
I hope they have a relatively peaceful night. But I’m betting that by morning that beautiful cage will look like there’s been a rave going on in it.
 
Did someone mention a rave ?

All is well this morning.
With great relief Priscilla has retreated to her favourite tunnel to rest.
She even allowed Ruth to lie with her head in the same tunnel.
No blood, no pulled fur and an exhausted boar.

Thanks for the support everyone - bonding is stressful but knowing you were all here helped a lot 🥰

All further updates will now be on the Merab’s Herd thread.
 
One week in and Naomi seems to be bullying Priscilla.
Looking for advice please @Wiebke @VickiA @PigglePuggle

For the past 3 days Naomi has taken to chasing Priscilla out of whichever tunnel or hidey she’s in, this has included fur pulling but I don’t think there’s any nipping.
So far as I can tell Priscilla isn’t vying for top pig position .
It’s a very big cage and there’s nowhere any pig can get trapped.
Food and hay are scattered all over the cage so no pig can be deprived.

My concern is that Priscilla is more subdued than normal but she’s over 5 years old and a bit of a grumpy pig anyway.
She’s lost about 100g so I’m offering her a bit extra via a syringe feed.

I’m not sure if I’m worrying unnecessarily yet, as it’s only been a week.
At what point does this behaviour stop being normal dominance in a new bond and become a real concern.
I have a Plan B which is to split the cage by adding a barrier between Priscilla and Micah, and Ruth and Naomi which will still give both pairs a large cage and they will be side by side.

I’m hoping I’m just being over anxious.
Thanks
 
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Its a tough call, especially as there are 3 out of 4 who it seems to be working for!
The gut feeling I know is always to favour your original and oldest piggy, and want to protect them, but calling out genuine bullying and distress is different to wanting to call out, my favourite old lady just got deposed by a younger girl who being a bit new is throwing her weight around nervously...
I think if there isnt obvious harassment and chasing, you should stick it out- you have a huge cage, monitor constantly, can always take Priscilla out for a short cuddle-and-snack break- and also alternately take Naomi out for a piggy-whispering-ear-pull and snack break, so it doesnt look to the piggies like there is any winner or loser when you get involved.
Easy to say I'm sure lol, I will most likely be here myself in a few wheeks trying to make a herd of 7 out of a trio and a quartet! Adding 1 pig isnt too hard I've found, merging equal numbers is... like making salad dressing from hyenas :)
But if you've decided to merge them and no pig got hurt or is being prevented from eating or sleeping, and there are moments of calm, I'd wait it out. I think we forget, when we havent done it for a while, how feaught bonding is for hooman nerves- probably the worst is over and separating would confuse them, it just doesnt always look like that to us! X
 
I would normally say give it the two weeks to settle down and them all to sort out the hierarchy. But as Priscilla had lost 100g already shes obviously not happy. Keep a close eye on them but I wouldn’t want her losing too much more.
 
Priscilla has gained a bit of weight today but enjoyed another syringe feed.
Thanks for the suggestion of taking Naomi out for a cuddle and snack as well.
I really don’t want to separate them and I know deep down it’s too early to make that call.
It’s been 5 years since I did any bond, Micah joining the girls wasn’t like bonding at all in some ways - he just moved in and went into overdrive.

This is a bit like ‘ what goes around, comes around ‘ as Priscilla was a shocker when she and Jemimah first met. She was the one doing the chasing, the fur pulling, the tussling and nipping. We had some real drama then until they suddenly started to be best friends.

I’m hoping things will settle and it will turn out that I’m just being a stressed human!

The support is appreciated.
You are all better than coffee & chocolate :D
 
I found when introducing Lavender (and Luna, but Luna was never any trouble) to the main herd, then Hatty to nervy-hostile Lavender, was all a bit shocking until we sat down and remembered how combining Piggle (and Puggle, but mostly Piggle- she was a gorgeous sociopath, in her worst teenage months!) with Clover and Jezzy 4 years ago had worked at the start, and I think we forget how these cute little furry people have their own instincts- especially new piggies, who aren't used to herd living, can be quite fear aggressive or nervous and over compensate throwing their weight about!
Most well adjusted elders will take it on the chin and understand it's nerves and insecurity and may grumble a bit, but if they seriously wanted to retaliate and repel the invaders there would be blood and fur flying- old lady pigs, like old ladies if any species, have surprising reserves of feisty attitude if seriously provoked!
You know Priscilla best, and although we all want to jump in and rescue our most familiar piggy, she may not need rescuing just yet- that would undermine her status, she might yet come out on top once all the posturing and chasing dies down, that's all insecurity- the boss pig doesnt chase, she just has... a look. Remember Jemimah's Look? The Queen Pig look, no chasing required!
 
PigglePuggle said:
I found when introducing Lavender (and Luna, but Luna was never any trouble) to the main herd, then Hatty to nervy-hostile Lavender, was all a bit shocking until we sat down and remembered how combining Piggle (and Puggle, but mostly Piggle- she was a gorgeous sociopath, in her worst teenage months!) with Clover and Jezzy 4 years ago had worked at the start, and I think we forget how these cute little furry people have their own instincts- especially new piggies, who aren't used to herd living, can be quite fear aggressive or nervous and over compensate throwing their weight about!
Most well adjusted elders will take it on the chin and understand it's nerves and insecurity and may grumble a bit, but if they seriously wanted to retaliate and repel the invaders there would be blood and fur flying- old lady pigs, like old ladies if any species, have surprising reserves of feisty attitude if seriously provoked!
You know Priscilla best, and although we all want to jump in and rescue our most familiar piggy, she may not need rescuing just yet- that would undermine her status, she might yet come out on top once all the posturing and chasing dies down, that's all insecurity- the boss pig doesnt chase, she just has... a look. Remember Jemimah's Look? The Queen Pig look, no chasing required!
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This is true but I am deliberately trying not to jump in and rescue Priscilla.
As my husband reminded me, she’s always been a bit of a diva!

I think she’s playing the Drama Queen card for all it’s worth and Naomi is still trying to find her paws in a herd. She’s quite a character too.
3 adult sows - all with well developed characters is aging me fast
 
Carefully watching the herd over the past couple of days we are coming to the conclusion that Priscilla is alternating between sulk or drama queen as she adapts to new company.
Naomi doesn’t really do anything except come near then reacts if Priscilla does a runner!

They could be friends if they tried but we’ll see how it goes.

I felt calmer with all your advice so thank you one and all.
 
Priscilla still spending a lot of time in the hay house but this afternoon when I went in with veggies she was at the bars with the others.
Half an hour later she was back in the hay house with Ruth lying just outside , her head in the house.
Ruth really wants to be friends.

Hopefully things are settling down but Priscilla doesn’t want to give up a good sulk just yet!
 
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