Best personality combinations?

[Bettyb26]

Hi everyone,

I seem to have the worst luck with boars staying friends and would like a bit of advice. Our original 2 boys had to be separated a couple of weeks after we got them, one was a true lone wolf until he passed away and the other (Eddie) is the sweetest most gentle boy who I know would love to snuggle with another piggy. We later tried to bond him with a baby but the baby (Hank) ended up being the dominant one and after blood was drawn, they have since lived separately but next to each other.
We now have 2 more boys (Spider and Gene) who are about 5 months old, and spider is starting to chase Eugene around and is just generally quite boisterous while gene is quieter. I’m really hoping it doesn’t get to this point but if we did have to separate them down the line, does anyone have an opinion on which combination would be better as future potential bonds? I.e:

Eddie with Gene (both quieter)
and spider with Hank (both the aggressor in current/past pairings)
Or
Eddie with spider and Hank with gene (one quieter, one more likely to be dominant)

Just to add, we have a double level 6x2 c&c and they have 2 of everything so I don’t think it’s a space issue or fighting over tubes, bowls etc. luckily this also means we have the space to try and re-bond if we do have to separate the little ones.

I really want to be prepared in case spider and gene have to be separated so if anyone has any ideas I’d be really grateful!

Thank you

 

[fluffysal]

All I can do is tell you that my boys are total opposites personality wise but their bond is generally pretty chilled.
Dignified Sir George is about 16 months old, he surprised us by becoming the dominant. He is very calm, laid back and, well.... dignified!
His boisterous companion Mischievous Master Boris is 3 months younger. He is very loud, chaotic and demanding. Sir George is very tolerant with him and only really displays his dominance on the days when he's being a bit of a brat.
Sir George was the submissive in his previous pairing so it isn't always obvious who will be top pig. All you can do is try the different pairs with bonding sessions. Unfortunately you have three boys who are stroppy teenagers. I don't know how old Eddie is. It would be great if bonding works and you can have 2 pairs.
Any pictures of the new boys?
Good luck

 

[Piggies&buns]

With any luck the chasing is just teen hormones and won’t amount to a full bond break.

What will never work is two dominant piggies together, so you always need to have one submissive and one dominant in each pairing.
Therefore if both spider and hank are dominant, a pairing between them is unlikely to work out but all you can ever do is try a bonding and see what happens.

We actually don’t recommend the use of food bowls and instead scatter feeding veg and pellets is the preferred method. This is because it stops the dominant piggy being able to food hog but moreso because scatter feeding encourages foraging which provides mental stimulation and enrichment

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone,

I seem to have the worst luck with boars staying friends and would like a bit of advice. Our original 2 boys had to be separated a couple of weeks after we got them, one was a true lone wolf until he passed away and the other (Eddie) is the sweetest most gentle boy who I know would love to snuggle with another piggy. We later tried to bond him with a baby but the baby (Hank) ended up being the dominant one and after blood was drawn, they have since lived separately but next to each other.
We now have 2 more boys (Spider and Gene) who are about 5 months old, and spider is starting to chase Eugene around and is just generally quite boisterous while gene is quieter. I’m really hoping it doesn’t get to this point but if we did have to separate them down the line, does anyone have an opinion on which combination would be better as future potential bonds? I.e:

Eddie with Gene (both quieter)
and spider with Hank (both the aggressor in current/past pairings)
Or
Eddie with spider and Hank with gene (one quieter, one more likely to be dominant)

Just to add, we have a double level 6x2 c&c and they have 2 of everything so I don’t think it’s a space issue or fighting over tubes, bowls etc. luckily this also means we have the space to try and re-bond if we do have to separate the little ones.

I really want to be prepared in case spider and gene have to be separated so if anyone has any ideas I’d be really grateful!

Thank you

Hi

It is always better to start with the most difficult to bond boar and a quieter one. Take it from there but don't try to bond the two pair leaders - neither will want to step down.

Unfortunately, it very much comes down to how the personalities mesh (or not) and the dynamics that develop between them. This you can never predict.

So many perfect matches on paper have been an instant fail whereas piggies that should have been a mismatch have sometimes bonded over having a shared outlook on life. All you can do is keeping an open mind and give them a chance.

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

All the best.