Advice on new friend for 4 year old boar

[Sabrinova]

As some of you may remember, I lost my precious boy Gilbert in October. Until now I haven't been able to face the prospect of getting another piggy, but now I accept that I need to as poor little Milo is bored and lonely, regardless of what I do. He has never been alone before in his life.

Anyway, now I have made up my mind, I need advice please on what sort of companion to look for. Milo is nearly 4 years old and I don't want to have him neutered. I live in Tenerife and none of the animal rescues here have GPs, so the easiest thing to do would be to get a baby from a pet shop. Does this sound like the best way of bonding him?

I may be able to find an older boar for re-homing if I wait and maybe investigate the possibility of transporting one from another island or from mainland Spain - if advice is that he is likely to bond more easily with a boar closer to his age then it is worth the logistical problems. But if, as I suspect, a baby would make a more amenable companion then I shall take him to choose one this week.

Regarding size, Milo is about 1.5kg. Would it make a difference whether I get a young tiny baby, or a larger one that has been in the shop a while?

Thank you

 

[Jemima_p]

Hello Sabrinova, I had a similar problem late last year. My Victor had lost his cage mate of many years, I successfully teamed him up with my other lone boar who had lost his brother two months earlier, and they got on fine till the brother died suddenly in November.

Poor Vic looked so lost at being alone again, and I couldnt face the thought of teaming up single boars over and over again, so I had the idea of getting two babies for him. Now this doesnt always work, but lots of people have found it does, it all depends on the personalities of the boars. Vic is a terrific uncle to the youngsters, who were only 3 weeks when they arrived, which would normally be far too young for rehoming, but the rescue would normally put them with an Uncle boar for company and to look after them, and Vic performed perfectly.

I would suggest for Milo, though, that a single young boar, about 6-10 weeks if you can find one, would probably be best. Then go through all the normal procedures for introductions as listed in Wiebke's excellent thread. There may be some mounting, but 1.5kg would be ok, and the younger would be more likely to see him as an uncle than a competitor. You'd possibly get more mounting if you got one that had grown up a bit more.

There is always the possibility that there will be some falling out when the younger one reaches puberty, but we can both see that one through together!

Good luck.

 

[Jemima_p]

Hello Sabrinova, I had a similar problem late last year. My Victor had lost his cage mate of many years, I successfully teamed him up with my other lone boar who had lost his brother two months earlier, and they got on fine till the brother died suddenly in November.

Poor Vic looked so lost at being alone again, and I couldnt face the thought of teaming up single boars over and over again, so I had the idea of getting two babies for him. Now this doesnt always work, but lots of people have found it does, it all depends on the personalities of the boars. Vic is a terrific uncle to the youngsters, who were only 3 weeks when they arrived, which would normally be far too young for rehoming, but the rescue would normally put them with an Uncle boar for company and to look after them, and Vic performed perfectly.

I would suggest for Milo, though, that a single young boar, about 6-10 weeks if you can find one, would probably be best. Then go through all the normal procedures for introductions as listed in Wiebke's excellent thread. There may be some mounting, but 1.5kg would be ok, and the younger would be more likely to see him as an uncle than a competitor. You'd possibly get more mounting if you got one that had grown up a bit more.

There is always the possibility that there will be some falling out when the younger one reaches puberty, but we can both see that one through together!

Good luck.

 

[Wiebke]

In your situation, I would either go for a baby boar, preferably not a dominant one, so you are less likely to get problems during the hormonal months between 4-14 months of age. The age gap can also help to keep the dominance issue clear.

Or if you wish to give an unwanted adult boar a second chance at a happy, loving home, you could consider keeping both boars next to each other with interaction through the grids/bars. That way they have company, but still their own space. It keeps them from being bored. If you happen to have two rather laid back boars, they may even be able to share supervised run time (see how they behave next door to each other for some time first, please), although more often than not, they will be happy to return to their own territory!

Please be aware that a successful boar bond hinges on character compatibility and that by far not every boar pair will work out - not even under the supervision of an experienced rescue lady!

Here is more on boar options: http://www.susieandpigs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/optionsmenu.htm

You may find this blog about boar dating at a rescue helpful, as it also contains several bonding videos from failed and successful bondings. http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=59233

Wishing you the best of luck!

 

[Sabrinova]

Thank you so much for your advice

After reading it I went to the pet shop to see what they had and this is the result

It's looking good so far. They went under the sofa while I cleaned the piggy pen, then when I had finished and put some food in Milo came but the baby didn't. So the next thing, Milo went back under the sofa to fetch the baby and they ran across the floor from the sofa to the pen with the baby at his heel! They're now eating together with a lot of squeaking going on

 

[Julesie]

Aww thats so cute!

It's a shame you didn't get it on a camcorder <3