Advice needed again - sows not getting on.

[BumbleBea]

So I posted on here about a month ago as I had recently gotten 4 young sow sisters. I had them in a 6x2 with plans to expand when they got bigger. However that has not happened as after posting on here about one of my pigs bullying another, I made the decision to split them into pairs. So I split the 6x2 in half and ordered another 6x2 which I thought would take about a week to come. However it ended up getting stuck in customs and only came this week, so my pigs were in the split cage for just shy of a month. During this time things seemed pretty great, I was getting each pair out in the evening for a run around and they all seemed to be happier. However this last week (just before moving them into the new cage) I noticed some fights breaking out between the previous bully and her sister (although the one who was the bully before was now seemingly the victim) I assumed this was mostly down to the small cage and since there were no injuries I wasn't too worried. As soon as the new cage came I built it (Tuesday) and got it set up with two bottles, hay feeding areas and food bowls, and 3-4 hides with more than one exit since they were arguing. I assumed this would stop the bullying - however it is seemingly worse now and after noticing some wounds on Egg's rump I have had to seperate their cage now. I'm really at a loss for what to do at this point. I feel like I've done everything right yet everything is going wrong and I'm incredibly stressed by this whole situation. I did my research before getting pigs and was under the understanding that fighting in sows isn't common - especially in those already bonded so since I got 4 sisters I did not see this coming. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I really am at a loss for what to do next. I really do not want to rehome any of my girls but am fearing I have no choice. I have thought about trying to bond all of them again since they were showing interest in each other before (they could see eachother when in split cage) but I really don't know.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Piggies&buns]

When moving them to a new cage/territory; or new environment it means their territories are disrupted and it will cause them to go into a period of reestablishing their relationship and hierarchy. So after changing such environment you can often initially see an increase in dominance.

Any bond comes down to compatibility and while sows are wires to live in herds even sisters will fall out if there are character clashes.

You say bullying - is it actually bullying or dominance?
Sows will nip as a gesture of power but it does not break the skin so finding would suggest deeper issues.

 

[BumbleBea]

When moving them to a new cage/territory; or new environment it means their territories are disrupted and it will cause them to go into a period of reestablishing their relationship and hierarchy. So after changing such environment you can often initially see an increase in dominance.

Any bond comes down to compatibility and while sows are wires to live in herds even sisters will fall out if there are character clashes.

You say bullying - is it actually bullying or dominance?
Sows will nip as a gesture of power but it does not break the skin so finding would suggest deeper issues.

Thanks for your reply. I believe the behaviour is bullying, Bean will chase Egg to no end - very fast around the whole cage and Egg struggles to get away from her. She gets chased away from food dishes and hay boxes and she has a scab on her rump now. I've also seen them circling and a fight break out which is why I separated them in the end. I'm just at a loss for why this is happening and what I can do.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It does sound like deeper seated issues.
Its happening because of incompatibilities, perhaps an insecure sow who is not sure of her position but if two piggies are not compatible there is nothing you can do. If the bullied piggy appears to perk up and appears happier to be away from her sister then that is a very clear sign that they cant be together going forward. Sadly you cannot make them get on.

Trying to rebond them all if there are incompatibilities will mean it still won’t work - they don’t tend to change their minds about each other once they’ve decided they dont like each other. Showing interest between the bars is not necessarily a sign they want to be together. Laying at the divider, for example, is actually a territorial behaviour not a positive one.

Bonds In Trouble