advice on introducing a couple of sows to an exsisting 3 sows...

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jenniferanneharris

jenniferanneharris

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I currently have 3 sows, but latley have been thinking i would like a couple more sows. I just wondered how easy it would be to introduce a sow to two to my 3 girls.

How easy would this be? my girls are 3/4, 2 years and 1.5 years old and have lived together with me for a year quite happily.. i wouldnt want to upset the group... but would like a couple more in the future possibly.

Thanks

Jenny
 
I always read that trio's were the trickiest of bondings as you can end up with a 2+1 situation - this obviously hasn't happened in your case - so adding more girls shouldn't alter the dynamics too much.

There are plenty of members on here with large groups of girls that will be able to advise better than i can regarding the actual bonding process - however if it were me (and going by the ages of your girls) i'd look for a pair (or even a trio) of younger girls to integrate to your current herd :)

Ooh i do love seeing large groups of piggies x)x)
 
Groups of girls tend to work rather well depending on the temperaments of the current and new piggies. Once you go over 4 and form a proper little group you don't see the outsider problem so much because there will be other piggies to interact with.

I've added 7 pigs so far to my original pair without incident (with another 6 to be added in a few weeks time). One of the original ones has always been the boss with her sister as her right hand man (so to speak). New ones have been quite submissive, or at least not as dominant as Munchie so they have just slipped in. I've only had problems with one sow so far and she was sow-aggressive. That's not been repeated since and the new ones have had no issues. They sort out their dominance quite quickly and settle down. You can usually tell in the first 15-30 mins as to how it's going. My girls have always had a little rumble, maybe some nose offs then they settle down quite quickly.

Always use veggies as a 'behave yourself' bribe; works a treat. The girls forget about newbies and just spend time eating together.

As you only have three at the moment, you can ask the rescue you choose (if you go down that route) if you can take your girls along for supervised bonding to find the best fits for your current girls. :)
 
thanks for the quick reponses. Yeh my 3 current girls are all lovely, the 3 of them get along great. Just didnt want to add a couple of girls to the group and mess things up for my current 3. I was also wondering what the best housing for 5 piggys would be. what would be the size requiremnet for 5 piggys?

I was thinking the rspca or somthing, but my local one dosnt do the mixing there (they used to when i get my first few rabbits from there.. but i know a few years back they said they didnt do it anymore) ... anyway thanks.

also would my girls more likely accept a couple of baby piggys,,.... or would it be fine a pair of adult sows? sorry for all the questions.

thanks
 
I would add 2 if possible and then you have a proper little group (with group behaviour) after which you shouldn't have an outsider problem anymore.

The minimum requirement for 5 sows is 2x7 ft, but more would be better; with bigger groups you can get away with a smaller foot print of the cage by splitting the cage onto tow or more levels, as long as each level offers substantial space (2x4 ft and more) and the total exceeds the minimum. My double level 2x4 grid C&C cage was perfectly acceptable for 5 piggies (especially if you can offer roaming or run time).
 
Wiebke said:
I would add 2 if possible and then you have a proper little group (with group behaviour) after which you shouldn't have an outsider problem anymore.

The minimum requirement for 5 sows is 2x7 ft, but more would be better; with bigger groups you can get away with a smaller foot print of the cage by splitting the cage onto tow or more levels, as long as each level offers substantial space (2x4 ft and more) and the total exceeds the minimum. My double level 2x4 grid C&C cage was perfectly acceptable for 5 piggies (especially if you can offer roaming or run time).
Click to expand...

Thanks :) thats cleared things up nicely for me :)...Sounds good.. so would this hutch be suitable for 5 girls?

http://www.rehutches.com/double-rabbit-hutch-6-foot-whopper.php
 
Thanks everyone. Am rather excited now.. Think I will get this hutch and hopeully a couple of extra girls in near future :)
 
You may even think about introducing a neutered boar - provided you can date arrange one or two to see whether your top girls will accept one!

Boars are very good at keeping the squabbling and grumpiness of sows in season down and glue them together because they have to get on with every girl.

You have certainly comfortably space for six piggies in that huge hutch of yours!
 
Wiebke said:
You may even think about introducing a neutered boar - provided you can date arrange one or two to see whether your top girls will accept one!

Boars are very good at keeping the squabbling and grumpiness of sows in season down and glue them together because they have to get on with every girl.

You have certainly comfortably space for six piggies in that huge hutch of yours!
Click to expand...

You know I was thinking the same thing.. *** keep a look out :) thanks.
 
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