Best Way to Split

[Holden89]

So after intending to get 3 females, I now have 10 pigs and I'm now in a dilemma about what to do with them...

I have my original 3, two females and one male, who is currently on his own. Then we have the 7 babies, who appear to be 5 males and 2 females. I have been hoping to keep them all but 6 males is a lot I know someone who would provide a fantastic home and recently lost a male, leaving her boar alone. So I said if I had an odd number of males, she could have one.

The prospect of 4 enclosures is a lot, possible and I would make it work, but still, it is a lot... so I'm now considering whether to let her have a male, leaving me with 5. I could neuter dad, so he could go in with the females, then have two separate enclosures for 2 pairs of boars. I don't know if it is fair to put dad through neutering for that reason though? Or is it best to just deal with the 4 enclosures? Any advice/opinions would be much appreciated.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Hi. Neutering male piggies is usually a safe procedure, so long as your vet and the practice has good piggy knowledge and experience. The in-house post op care/nursing care is important as well as the surgery its self but of course there are always risks. I have had lot of boars neutered over the years and think they enjoy living with their ladies. I expect your boy would like being reunited with his girls who he was bonded with.
Also you need to consider how much space you have. A group of 5 piggies (neutered boars plus 4 sows) will need a minimum cage size of 14 square feet (but bigger is always better) and each pair of boars will require a minimum size of 60cm x 150 cm, again bigger is always better. My pairs of boys live in 60 x 180.
Also the pairs of boys will need to be kept away from the mixed group to minimise the risk of fallouts due to the scent of sows. Many on the forum advise to keep them in separate rooms altogether but in my experience so long as they are at the other side of the room and raised higher than the girls, so no sow scented debris, fur, bedding or stray hay can get into their accommodation they are fine. In my piggy shed I have 5 pairs of boys and 2 sow herds who live in this arrangement without any problems.

 

[Piggies&buns]

As the boars will grow up around the sows then they will be used to sow pheromones so it can make it easier to keep them in the same room. It isn’t a zero risk - they may still be ‘upset’ by sows when the sows are in season etc, but the real problem comes when you introduce sows into a room which has only ever been home to boar pairs - for those boars suddenly smelling sows can be a real problem.
It would still be advisable to ensure the boar pairs are away from the sows (or above them) and that you always handle the boars first so you don’t inadvertently transfer sow smells onto them

If you’re using c&c cages, then the cage needed for five will be a 7x2 c&c. Boar pairs need a 5x2 c&c.

 

[Holden89]

Hi. Neutering male piggies is usually a safe procedure, so long as your vet and the practice has good piggy knowledge and experience. The in-house post op care/nursing care is important as well as the surgery its self but of course there are always risks. I have had lot of boars neutered over the years and think they enjoy living with their ladies. I expect your boy would like being reunited with his girls who he was bonded with.
Also you need to consider how much space you have. A group of 5 piggies (neutered boars plus 4 sows) will need a minimum cage size of 14 square feet (but bigger is always better) and each pair of boars will require a minimum size of 60cm x 150 cm, again bigger is always better. My pairs of boys live in 60 x 180.
Also the pairs of boys will need to be kept away from the mixed group to minimise the risk of fallouts due to the scent of sows. Many on the forum advise to keep them in separate rooms altogether but in my experience so long as they are at the other side of the room and raised higher than the girls, so no sow scented debris, fur, bedding or stray hay can get into their accommodation they are fine. In my piggy shed I have 5 pairs of boys and 2 sow herds who live in this arrangement without any problems.

Thank you. My sows, and babies, are currently in a 4x5 c&c cage so that's where the 5 would live. I want them all to have the most room I can provide which is why I think having 3 cages of boars might stretch space a bit...

That's good to know about neutering, never experienced it with pigs. I have with rabbits and rats though so good to know it is typcially successful.

 

[Holden89]

As the boars will grow up around the sows then they will be used to sow pheromones so it can make it easier to keep them in the same room. It isn’t a zero risk - they may still be ‘upset’ by sows when the sows are in season etc, but the real problem comes when you introduce sows into a room which has only ever been home to boar pairs - for those boars suddenly smelling sows can be a real problem.
It would still be advisable to ensure the boar pairs are away from the sows (or above them) and that you always handle the boars first so you don’t inadvertently transfer sow smells onto them

If you’re using c&c cages, then the cage needed for five will be a 7x2 c&c. Boar pairs need a 5x2 c&c.

Thank you, that's good to know about keeping them in the same room.

The sows, and babies, are currently in a 4x5 c&c. I would like to give the boars as much as possible which is why I think that having 3 pairs will stretch space a bit whereas if I only had two pairs, I could give them more space...

 

[Siikibam]

The other thing to consider is stacked cages, if that would work for you. You still have some time (just short of 2 weeks) to figure out how to group or pair them off.