Advice Needed - Boars Bickering.

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helloitsbecca

helloitsbecca

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Hello. My boys are about 7/8 months old. I got them in August and I believe they are litter mates so have been together all their lives.

I extended their cage to a 2x5 (previously 2x4) yesterday and this evening they have started bickering. William started lunging at Angus and after maybe 5 times, I was fed up and split the cage to give them some time to cool off. As far as I can see, neither boy has any injuries.

William is currently pulling at the dividing grids and Angus has burrowed under the fleece - typical Angus reaction to change!

They have been separated for about half an hour now. I don't know if it was the right thing to do, I just wanted to give them some time apart to calm down. When should I try and put them back together and should I put them in their playpen before trying them back in the cage?
 
Hey! I have two boys which were from the same parents also, when I first got them and moved them into their new cage they were fighting and one morning I had gone in and my piggy Dec has bit a quater of Ant's ear off. I think maybe it's because their in a new cage? My piggys haven't done anything like this since but I still hear them bickering when I put new food in
 
They've certainly been together a little while then! Congrats on no bickering before now! I would suggest trying again especially if no blood was drawn. It's possible the change just freaked them out a little. I wouldn't reintroduce then straight away if you fear they'll hurt one another but William might be trying to get back with Angus- either because he misses him or wants to eat him- haha. When you do put them back together put some distractions in like veg so they don't just start bickering again. :) @helloitsbecca
 
helloitsbecca said:
Hello. My boys are about 7/8 months old. I got them in August and I believe they are litter mates so have been together all their lives.

I extended their cage to a 2x5 (previously 2x4) yesterday and this evening they have started bickering. William started lunging at Angus and after maybe 5 times, I was fed up and split the cage to give them some time to cool off. As far as I can see, neither boy has any injuries.

William is currently pulling at the dividing grids and Angus has burrowed under the fleece - typical Angus reaction to change!

They have been separated for about half an hour now. I don't know if it was the right thing to do, I just wanted to give them some time apart to calm down. When should I try and put them back together and should I put them in their playpen before trying them back in the cage?
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Guinea pigs always need to re-establish their hierarchy in new surroundings, which lead to problems even for adult boars. Your two are right in the middle of the trickiest phase of the teenage months, so reaction can be bigger. Have you still got old, smelly stuff from their previous cage that you could wipe and dot around to make the new cage smell like their territory? Please remove any hideys when you move them into their cage again after re-intros on neutral ground tomorrow. Let tempers cool down again overnight. As there have been no full-on serious fights you are still in with a good chance.

More tips on re-intros and behaviours in these very detailed guides here:https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/boars-bullying-fighting-fall-outs-and-what-next.127295/
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
 
Hello, just an update on my bratty pigs!

I am currently in my bathroom - neutral ground - reintroducing the boys. All they have is hay and some veggies. When i first put them in, they made a beeline for the veggies and sat together eating them. They just kind of wandered about for a while and then the dominance behaviours kicked in again. Lots of teeth chattering and loud squeaking noises from both pigs. William was kind of following Angus around and then backed him into a corner - I had my towel at the ready to split up any fights - and then Angus just ran away. They then settled back at the veggies again and they have just been wandering about ever since. They are getting quite vocal again but no chattering or aggression, so perhaps they are just talking to each other. I am going to stay in here for a while longer with them - I am sat in the bath to give them space! - and see what happens.

Can anyone advise if this sounds positive?
 
helloitsbecca said:
Hello, just an update on my bratty pigs!

I am currently in my bathroom - neutral ground - reintroducing the boys. All they have is hay and some veggies. When i first put them in, they made a beeline for the veggies and sat together eating them. They just kind of wandered about for a while and then the dominance behaviours kicked in again. Lots of teeth chattering and loud squeaking noises from both pigs. William was kind of following Angus around and then backed him into a corner - I had my towel at the ready to split up any fights - and then Angus just ran away. They then settled back at the veggies again and they have just been wandering about ever since. They are Replygetting quite vocal again but no chattering or aggression, so perhaps they are just talking to each other. I am going to stay in here for a while longer with them - I am sat in the bath to give them space! - and see what happens.

Can anyone advise if this sounds positive?
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It sounds positive. I would recommend to wait with moving them back until they have had a nap together and are still fine after they have woken up again.
 
Wiebke said:
It sounds positive. I would recommend to wait with moving them back until they have had a nap together and are still fine after they have woken up again.
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Will do :D

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed. They are currently sitting (maybe napping, it's hard to tell with pigs sometimes with their creepy open eyed sleeping haha) together underneath my small bathroom cupboard thing. It has three points of entry/exit so I didn't block it off.
 
helloitsbecca said:
Will do :D

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed. They are currently sitting (maybe napping, it's hard to tell with pigs sometimes with their creepy open eyed sleeping haha) together underneath my small bathroom cupboard thing. It has three points of entry/exit so I didn't block it off.
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That is an excellent sign - it is definitely going in the right direction. Just wait with moving them once they have had their shared rest and things are stay on the milder dominance level, which is most likely.
 
Wiebke said:
That is an excellent sign - it is definitely going in the right direction. Just wait with moving them once they have had their shared rest and things are stay on the milder dominance level, which is most likely.
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Here's hoping they can just work it out!

Thanks for all your help, it has saved me from being a total crying wreck!
 
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They have woken up from their short little nap and are eating out of the hay tray together. No chattering or aggression. William has rumblestrutted and sniffed Angus's bum but that's nothing new :lol!: Angus is not retaliating this time, just going about his business and ignoring it. He's like 'I know you're the boss William, stop being overdramatic!'

Will be relocating them back to their cage shortly - will give them another half an hour to make sure.
 
Last update to this little drama - they have been back in their cage for hours now and are completely fine. They were even in the loft (1x2, so quite a small space) eating veggies together and sharing the hay tray again. There has been no more aggression from either pig.

Success!

Thanks again everyone for your help.
 
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