Any Tips On Bonding My 3 Pairs So They Can Have Floor Time Together?

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MushiiPeas

MushiiPeas

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Hey guys,

I've always put the pigs in the playpen in their pairs but this week i thought i would try putting all six in together but this has been disastrous there was piggie disagreements all over the place which ended up in all of them being scared and hiding from each other!

I have a tunnel for each pig, food, hay and water in the pen and the toys and tunnels in the pen they don't get unless they have floor time so it all exciting and new...

Do you have any tips on how i could make this successful so that all the pigs could get a longer exercise time or should i carry on letting them have paired floor time( what I'm doing tonight so they actually get some exercise this week)?

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi, are they pairs of boars or pairs of sows? If boars they will most likely not bond.Also how big is the playpen?
 
You cannot put piggies together to play. They have to live together or apart. If you put them together for a period of time they have to sort out a hierarchy and this takes time. I would stick to your pairs to prevent a huge fall out.
 
piggyfan said:
You cannot put piggies together to play. They have to live together or apart. If you put them together for a period of time they have to sort out a hierarchy and this takes time. I would stick to your pairs to prevent a huge fall out.
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Thank piggyfan, I'll stick to them having floor time in pairs. I didn't realize they'd have to sort out hierarchy in such a sort space of time but i guess an hour is a long time for a piggie, it makes sense now.

I feel like such an idiot for trying it now! :mal:
 
MushiiPeas said:
Thank piggyfan, I'll stick to them having floor time in pairs. I didn't realize they'd have to sort out hierarchy in such a sort space of time but i guess an hour is a long time for a piggie, it makes sense now.

I feel like such an idiot for trying it now! :mal:
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Hey we all have to learn. You are not an idiot at all so please do not think that.
 
It is a very normal desire to wish that all your piggies are getting on.

Sometimes, laidback mostly adult/older boars will share lawn time, provided there is plenty of space and they are not very bothered about dominance - but by far not all boars will; it very much depends on the character mix and it is not something you want to try with hormonal teenagers.

Dominance, especially with subadults, is central to piggy life. Boars always have to start back in square one, so you will have exactly the same again dominance protocol the next time!
 
I've got 5 girls and a neutered boar but it looks like they are just as dominant!

I just thought it would be better so they could have longer in the pen but it doesn't matter as long as their happy! :)

Thank you for the all the advice guys! :)
 
It could be possible to bond a group like yours but it would have to be done in stages. Try the boar with a pair of females & see if they get on. This is how I got 4 females who wouldn't bond as a group finally bonded with my boar. He seemed to be always there when trouble was brewing & it worked well. I had to change the grouping when I adopted another neutered boar & then had 2 trios of boar & 2 sows. Then I got a pair of sows & One of my original sows died so changed again. I now got 2 really happy groups of 3 & 4. My real wish is to have these as one big group with 2 boars. I've seen this at Bunny Burrows were they have a stable group of 5 boars & 19 sows.
 
Stewybus said:
It could be possible to bond a group like yours but it would have to be done in stages. Try the boar with a pair of females & see if they get on. This is how I got 4 females who wouldn't bond as a group finally bonded with my boar. He seemed to be always there when trouble was brewing & it worked well. I had to change the grouping when I adopted another neutered boar & then had 2 trios of boar & 2 sows. Then I got a pair of sows & One of my original sows died so changed again. I now got 2 really happy groups of 3 & 4. My real wish is to have these as one big group with 2 boars. I've seen this at Bunny Burrows were they have a stable group of 5 boars & 19 sows.
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Thanks for the advice stewybus, I think I'll let them stay as they are as all three pairs are really happy...

But if i ever have the room to build a pig enough pen so i could have two trios I might give that a try! :)
 
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