Hunt76
New Born Pup
Some backstory, to fully explain the situation in which I find myself:
On July 28th, we lost our “new” boar, Spike, after a battle with an abscess under the jaw - we’d had Spike for less than two months and he was only a year and a half old, but he was such a special boy who bonded well with our senior boar, Piglet, and became extremely comfortable with and trusting of us in the short time we had together. I suspect his abscess was caused by a possible bite during initial bonding, and I feel extremely guilty that his precious life was cut short.
Piglet, the senior boar, has led a life full of troubles. He was attacked by his original cage mate, requiring stitches and turning him into a very anxious pig, before being surrendered to a “rescue” due to the owner’s medical issue. While at this “rescue,” he was initially placed in a communal boar cage where he was alleged to have bitten another boar, ultimately causing an infection that killed the other boar months later. Because of this, he was labeled aggressive and I was told he must be a solo pig. While he absolutely displayed signs of fear aggression in initial bonding (LOTS of teeth chattering, lunging), he’s actually not a very dominant pig and got humped into oblivion the first time he met Spike, squealing in submission the entire time. After a brief period of separation through bars, though, the dynamic completely flipped Piglet seemed to be the boss man - he never humped, but he was no longer humped either - and was generally cool with Spike. That is, unless Spike sniffed his butt, got too close to his face, got in his way, or otherwise annoyed him. This would often be met by lunging in place and teeth chattering, which Spike knew not to mess with. Watching them interact, I don’t think Piglet’s teeth chattering and lunging is a severe reaction of his - rather, it seems like his “piggy language” is a bit out of wack, and that the first thing he does when he gets annoyed is chatter and lunge. Little Spike definitely did instigate, though, and knew exactly how to push Piglet’s buttons just for fun - that much was obvious. They grew into a solid pair, despite Piglet’s curmudgeonly nature, and I know he needs a new cage mate to ride out his golden years alongside - which is, heartbreakingly, the role our beloved Spike was destined to fill and did so admirably while he was here.
Unfortunately, boar dating is not a service offered anywhere within a 5-hour drive from where I live. I want to get Piglet a pup to live with, as I feel he’s much more likely to accept a baby and, growing up with Piglet and his weird body language, a baby is more apt to get accustomed to dealing with Piglet and his communicative troubles. There are no babies under the age of 12 weeks anywhere near me, but I don’t want to get a baby right before they go into their first hormonal stage - I’d like them to be well-bonded by the time any of those shenanigans kick off.
There is a seemingly nice private home in my county that’s dealing with an accidental breeding problem, and has a sow who’s a month pregnant - I would love to let Piglet choose his own companion from this litter, if there are any boars, but I’m honestly terrified of adopting from a private home. These people seem clean and well-intentioned, truly wanting the best for these cavies, but I can’t stand the thought of losing Piglet to a disease he could catch from this other family. However, quarantining a baby is not an option and I’d like him to meet and, ideally, choose his own cage mate before bringing them into his home.
Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been in continual contact with the owner of the pregnant sow, and have been providing advice and suggestions where I can - including a solid handful of links to guides from this forum! I feel this is an opportunity to ensure at least one of these babies gets to go to a loving home with a relatively well-versed owner, but I can’t stomach the thought of endangering my boy Piglet in adopting one of these babies.
I suggested taking mom and babies to the local small animal vet as soon as they’re able to go - are there any other precautions that should be taken in adopting a baby? Quarantine would be great, but I know it’s cruel and unwise to separate a baby from companionship.
Thank you, and sorry for being long-winded - I just want to be as thorough as possible when it comes to my boys and their health and well-being.
On July 28th, we lost our “new” boar, Spike, after a battle with an abscess under the jaw - we’d had Spike for less than two months and he was only a year and a half old, but he was such a special boy who bonded well with our senior boar, Piglet, and became extremely comfortable with and trusting of us in the short time we had together. I suspect his abscess was caused by a possible bite during initial bonding, and I feel extremely guilty that his precious life was cut short.
Piglet, the senior boar, has led a life full of troubles. He was attacked by his original cage mate, requiring stitches and turning him into a very anxious pig, before being surrendered to a “rescue” due to the owner’s medical issue. While at this “rescue,” he was initially placed in a communal boar cage where he was alleged to have bitten another boar, ultimately causing an infection that killed the other boar months later. Because of this, he was labeled aggressive and I was told he must be a solo pig. While he absolutely displayed signs of fear aggression in initial bonding (LOTS of teeth chattering, lunging), he’s actually not a very dominant pig and got humped into oblivion the first time he met Spike, squealing in submission the entire time. After a brief period of separation through bars, though, the dynamic completely flipped Piglet seemed to be the boss man - he never humped, but he was no longer humped either - and was generally cool with Spike. That is, unless Spike sniffed his butt, got too close to his face, got in his way, or otherwise annoyed him. This would often be met by lunging in place and teeth chattering, which Spike knew not to mess with. Watching them interact, I don’t think Piglet’s teeth chattering and lunging is a severe reaction of his - rather, it seems like his “piggy language” is a bit out of wack, and that the first thing he does when he gets annoyed is chatter and lunge. Little Spike definitely did instigate, though, and knew exactly how to push Piglet’s buttons just for fun - that much was obvious. They grew into a solid pair, despite Piglet’s curmudgeonly nature, and I know he needs a new cage mate to ride out his golden years alongside - which is, heartbreakingly, the role our beloved Spike was destined to fill and did so admirably while he was here.
Unfortunately, boar dating is not a service offered anywhere within a 5-hour drive from where I live. I want to get Piglet a pup to live with, as I feel he’s much more likely to accept a baby and, growing up with Piglet and his weird body language, a baby is more apt to get accustomed to dealing with Piglet and his communicative troubles. There are no babies under the age of 12 weeks anywhere near me, but I don’t want to get a baby right before they go into their first hormonal stage - I’d like them to be well-bonded by the time any of those shenanigans kick off.
There is a seemingly nice private home in my county that’s dealing with an accidental breeding problem, and has a sow who’s a month pregnant - I would love to let Piglet choose his own companion from this litter, if there are any boars, but I’m honestly terrified of adopting from a private home. These people seem clean and well-intentioned, truly wanting the best for these cavies, but I can’t stand the thought of losing Piglet to a disease he could catch from this other family. However, quarantining a baby is not an option and I’d like him to meet and, ideally, choose his own cage mate before bringing them into his home.
Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been in continual contact with the owner of the pregnant sow, and have been providing advice and suggestions where I can - including a solid handful of links to guides from this forum! I feel this is an opportunity to ensure at least one of these babies gets to go to a loving home with a relatively well-versed owner, but I can’t stomach the thought of endangering my boy Piglet in adopting one of these babies.
I suggested taking mom and babies to the local small animal vet as soon as they’re able to go - are there any other precautions that should be taken in adopting a baby? Quarantine would be great, but I know it’s cruel and unwise to separate a baby from companionship.
Thank you, and sorry for being long-winded - I just want to be as thorough as possible when it comes to my boys and their health and well-being.
