Baby boy with two older boars?

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GarterSnake

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Hi

I female pig I adopted had 3 babies - 2 girls and a boy. The boy is white with pink eyes and possibly blind. I’m not sure if he’s a lethal because he was the biggest pup and has grown fast and fed well.

He’s now 3 weeks old and I’ve removed him from mum - she and the two girls have joined my female/husboar herd.

I’ve temporarily put Egg (born on Easter Sunday!) with my bonded boat bros. They are 2.5 years old and quite laid back. There is a fair bit of rumbling but Egg is holding his own and they are all eating together. They have a big space in our bedroom around an old dresser - it has a 120x60 litter-hay box at the back and various sleeping places plus big run area (9 grids wide).

My question is: how long can I leave Egg with his ‘uncles’? The space is big so enough room for 3 of everything. Can they babysit for as while or should I avert disaster and remove now?

The only thing I can think to do with this lone boy would be to keep on his own in caged off area next to herd (there is a top level L shaped he could have one side of) or partition of part of older boys cage.

Appreciate any advice!
Jules xx
 
He can stay with the two boars until he is around 12-16 weeks old. He will be in need of their guidance but from around 16 weeks onwards is when trouble is likely to occur and he then needs to be removed to prevent problems.

Once he is removed he will need to be kept side by side with other piggies for interaction through the bars, with the potential be neutered when old enough, have the six week post op wait and then be bonded back in with girls.
 
Piggies&buns said:
He can stay with the two boars until he is around 12-16 weeks old. He will be in need of their guidance but from around 16 weeks onwards is when trouble is likely to occur and he then needs to be removed to prevent problems.

Once he is removed he will need to be kept side by side with other piggies for interaction through the bars, with the potential be neutered when old enough, have the six week post op wait and then be bonded back in with girls.
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Ok thank you for that. That’s a relief because it gives me time to get the set up right and I didn’t want him to be ok his own even if side by side at such a early age. Three weeks always seems so young to remove from mum!
 
I agree with what @Piggies&buns has posted. You’ve got several weeks before things are likely to kick off with your bonded boars, so there’s plenty of time to be able to plan for his removal and separate set up.
 
GarterSnake said:
If they get on you wouldn’t risk leaving them together if space big enough?
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You can try it if you really want to but it’s not something we would recommend. It is highly likely to fail at some point or another - 90% of boar trios will fail. Failed boar trios are something we are contacted a lot about - some people get lucky with a trio but the majority won’t.
They would get on until the baby becomes a teen but as soon as he can challenge the hierarchy is usually when things start to go wrong. They would not be likely to make it until baby becomes an adult. If you are going to try it, then they require a minimum of a 32 sq ft enclosure to give them all enough territory each. Space is not the deciding factor though, it’s character compatibility and boars tend to find that difficult to achieve in a trio
There is also the ‘at worst’ risk it can also break the bond between the original pair as well so you could end up with all three of them falling out and then having three single boys. Something to bear in mind
 
Hi. Wanted to give an update and seek a bit more advice!
We are a few days in and I’m not sure it’s working. There is a lot if squeaking from Egg still and the two boars are constantly sniffing his bum and rumbling which I though would have settled down by now. He quite often hides in the hsy rack with both older boys lying by it.
There is some facing off going on between the brothers and a bit of chasing and sometimes even teeth chattering - and my worry is they may fall out - but I’m just not sure what the dynamics is.
Egg may be blind and does squeak a lot - it sounds like annoyed squeaking but maybe that’s different for him.
What it looks like is they are fighting over him - would that make sense? And if that’s true do I remove him or wait until it settles down?
Also can anyone help me identify whether Egg is a lethal? He was the biggest baby and grown fine so far.
 

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Dominance behaviours are normal and to be expected. It will take longer than a few a days to settle - in a normal bonding it takes two weeks. But if you think having him in there is causing the older two to fall out then it may be that it isn’t going to work.
 
Ok well I will keep a close eye on them - not hard as they are in the bay window of our bedroom!
 
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