Boar Bonding Advice Needed

mackenziejanetaylor

mackenziejanetaylor

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

Yesterday evening, I introduced two boars in a neutral territory. One recently lost his cagemate, and the other is new to my household. I set up the space with clean towels to stop them slipping on my bathroom floor and placed a big pile of hay in the middle, as well as two water bowls.

There was a lot of rumble-strutting, attempts at mounting, and some mild teeth chattering. However, there were no fights or biting attempts. After a few hours of this, they began eating dinner together (romaine lettuce, cucumber, and bell pepper), napping near each other, and even grooming themselves in each other’s presence. While the odd rumble-strutting continues, nothing of major concern has happened.

I was confident enough to leave them overnight together, and they were fine this morning. They’ve been together all day today while I’ve been doing household chores on my day off, and there’s still no fighting. That said I can’t determine which of them is dominant, and I've bonded boars before. I have found it easy in the past as it either didn’t work (due to serious fighting) or settled quickly with an obvious dominant/submissive dynamic. These two are somewhere in the middle, and I’m not sure how to proceed. I don't want to pop them in their cage together in case their 'meeting' process isn't finished yet.

Does anyone have any advice on what is best to do next?

Thank you x
 
It sounds very promising to me. Occasionally there is a pairing with no obvious dominant especially with older pigs. From what I've heard either they know who's in charge or don't care.
 
They are fine to be moved to the cage - they’ve been together long enough that acceptance has certainly occurred and they will be into the next stages. Full process takes two weeks.

They know which one is dominant, so don’t worry! If you can’t tell which is dominant then it is because they are comfortable with things, nobody is feeling the need to go over the top
 
fluffysal said:
It sounds very promising to me. Occasionally there is a pairing with no obvious dominant especially with older pigs. From what I've heard either they know who's in charge or don't care.
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They are both similar ages... the one I recently adopted is 11 months old, and the other is a year and a few months. Thank you for your comment :) It is strange how the boar dynamic works, some are a lot more dominant than others.
 
Piggies&buns said:
They are fine to be moved to the cage - they’ve been together long enough that acceptance has certainly occurred and they will be into the next stages. Full process takes two weeks.

They know which one is dominant, so don’t worry! If you can’t tell which is dominant then it is because they are comfortable with things, nobody is feeling the need to go over the top
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Thank you for your reply. I am glad to hear this, it's good news! Do you think their behaviour is likely to change once they're in the cage?
 
It’s a new environment so yes there may be an increase in dominance once they move but that is why they are better to stay in neutral territory for a long time - the effect of the move is lessened because they are that little bit more settled together.
With that said, as they sound to be pretty content with each other you may not notice anything!

I bonded a boar pair back in June and there was not really any more dominance once moved to the cage then there was in neutral territory.
 
:agr: With everything @Piggies&buns has said above. I would be happy to move them into a completely clean cage with no place that either pig could get trapped and expect a rather lively couple of weeks as they complete the bonding and dominance process.
 
Sounds like they're bonding really well. I would put them in their cage now but leave it bare of houses & hideys etc for 2 or 3 days. Give them plenty of hay so they can hide under it if they want to.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It’s a new environment so yes there may be an increase in dominance once they move but that is why they are better to stay in neutral territory for a long time - the effect of the move is lessened because they are that little bit more settled together.
With that said, as they sound to be pretty content with each other you may not notice anything!

I bonded a boar pair back in June and there was not really any more dominance once moved to the cage then there was in neutral territory.
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Thank you, this is really helpful information! I have moved them to their c&c cage and they are doing well, the behaviour has certainly gotten abit more rowdy but no fights so I’m feeling really relieved and excited for them. All the best! X
 
VickiA said:
:agr: With everything @Piggies&buns has said above. I would be happy to move them into a completely clean cage with no place that either pig could get trapped and expect a rather lively couple of weeks as they complete the bonding and dominance process.
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Yes they have certainly gotten livelier since I moved them into their clean cage yesterday but no fights so I’m really happy overall, thank you for your helpful comment :)
 
Stewybus said:
Sounds like they're bonding really well. I would put them in their cage now but leave it bare of houses & hideys etc for 2 or 3 days. Give them plenty of hay so they can hide under it if they want to.
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Yes this is exactly what I’ve done! I’m very excited for them both and glad it has worked out first try for them. Thank you so much for your comment :)
 
fluffysal said:
Fantastic result for them and you. A nicely bonded boar pair is a wonderful thing.
I think we might need photographic evidence though.....🤣
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Here they are this evening having a munch together… I placed down two hay tubs, one on each side of their cage, in case they need their space but they always eat at the same one together 😆 They make me laugh x

Black one is called Percy, I’ve had him since he was a baby. The other one is my new lad, the poor baby was sitting in pets at home for over a month after being given away by two different owners. So he’s spent a good chunk of his life at pets at home. He won’t be going anywhere now he’s home for good now. 🙏🥰

IMG_6427.webpIMG_6418.webpIMG_6437.webp
 
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