Boar bonding

[lucifermp3]

Hi everyone!

I recently brought home a new piggy, Cyrus (age 3) as a friend for Trevor (age 2.5). They’ve been getting along super well since Cyrus came home on Sunday; they share food with no issue, they groom each other, they even sleep curled up next to each other and cuddle all the time.

Tonight, I heard some teeth chattering for the first time. They had a couple of scuffles after that, which sounded quite dramatic because they were running and the chloroplast was quite loud. Both times, it was Cyrus (who has been very submissive up to this point) getting annoyed and lunging at or nipping/chasing Trevor. They haven’t drawn blood, Trevor didn’t escalate, and they calm down after ~20 seconds.

This was all about an hour ago, up until 5 minutes ago when this happened again, they were both cuddled up in the same bed. I’m having a lot of trouble with trying to judge if this crosses the threshold of dominance struggles into aggression… Is this normal boy bonding behavior?

Thanks!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Sounds normal.
I know the bonding went well but they will still be in a two week period of establishing their hierarchy. You will see dominance during this time.
Lunging and nipping is not aggression, its defensive behaviour.

 

[lucifermp3]

Sounds normal.
I know the bonding went well but they will still be in a two week period of establishing their hierarchy. You will see dominance during this time.
Lunging and nipping is not aggression, its defensive behaviour.

Thanks for your message! This just started about 3 or so hours ago, and has happened once since I posted. They’re (again) sleeping pressed against each other.

Hopefully they work things out! If not, I’m happy to have them be friends through the bars; that’s how my last boars ended up (medical separation broke their bond ).

 

[Swissgreys]

How big is their cage, do they have 2 of everything, and do all of their houses have 2 exits?
This is particularly important during the early days while they establish their relationship.

 

[lucifermp3]

How big is their cage, do they have 2 of everything, and do all of their houses have 2 exits?
This is particularly important during the early days while they establish their relationship.

They’re in a 2x5 C&C cage— two water bottles, two large hay piles at each end. I have one bowl for pellets, but can add a second or switch to scatter feeds if necessary. I don’t have any houses in the cage right now as most of the ones I own have 1 exit, but there is one fleece forest, one cuddle cup (which they share/sleep on together), and three 12”x12” pee pads that they lay on. I do have another fleece forest that I can add in if necessary as well as a tunnel.

 

[Piggies&buns]

They’re in a 2x5 C&C cage— two water bottles, two large hay piles at each end. I have one bowl for pellets, but can add a second or switch to scatter feeds if necessary. I don’t have any houses in the cage right now as most of the ones I own have 1 exit, but there is one fleece forest, one cuddle cup (which they share/sleep on together), and three 12”x12” pee pads that they lay on. I do have another fleece forest that I can add in if necessary as well as a tunnel.

I would definitely switch to scatter feeding - it’s enrichment as well as ensuring they can’t bicker over the one bowl.
I would make getting some two exit hides a priority. They need the security of being able to go into a hide.
Have you got two cardboard boxes you can cut holes in in the meantime?
I would also get another cuddle cup

 

[lucifermp3]

I would definitely switch to scatter feeding - it’s enrichment as well as ensuring they can’t bicker over the one bowl.
I would make getting some two exit hides a priority. They need the security of being able to go into a hide.
Have you got two cardboard boxes you can cut holes in in the meantime?
I would also get another cuddle cup

I have another cuddle cup, so I can definitely add that into the mix. I’ve not got any cardboard boxes that are the right size unfortunately, all of the ones I have around the house are very large. I do have one two exit hide, which is similar to this: FRISCO Geometric Plush Small Pet House - Chewy.com

Should I add it into the mix, or hold off until I have two?

 

[Piggies&buns]

You always want two of every thing for boars, particularly newly bonded boars, as if one takes a particular shine to one item, the other won’t get a look in

 

[lucifermp3]

You always want two of every thing for boars, particularly newly bonded boars, as if one takes a particular shine to one item, the other won’t get a look in

Got it. I’ll get the hides figured out in the morning... Should I put the second cuddle cup on the opposite side of the cage to the existing one?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Got it. I’ll get the hides figured out in the morning... Should I put the second cuddle cup on the opposite side of the cage to the existing one?

Yea I would spread them around the cage. If they still choose to lay in the same one, then they obviously want to!

 

[lucifermp3]

Yea I would spread them around the cage. If they still choose to lay in the same one, then they obviously want to!

Assumed that was the case!

It does seem as though they’ve calmed down a fair bit in the past few hours since this started, and hopefully the change to scatter feeding and adding in a couple hides will help shift things back into normal dominance behavior with nothing escalating.

Thank you!

 

[lucifermp3]

Of course, I say that, and they just got into a tiff where Cyrus’ lip got bit and was bleeding a bit. No fur flying, but they wouldn’t disengage & I needed to take him out to make sure he had no other bites. It’s not too bad now, but ugh.

I’ve put up the divider & I guess we’ll see how the next few days go, and potentially attempt a re-intro.

 

[Swissgreys]

It sounds like you have done everything right.
Their cage is a good size, 2 hay piles, no hides they can get trapped in, etc.
The bite could just be a badly judged warning, but if they do fight, and blood is drawn and neither backs down this this sadly may be the end of the road for them living together.
At the end of the day it all comes down to personalities.
Fingers crossed it was an unfortunate accident, but do be prepared that despite your best efforts it may not work out.

 

[lucifermp3]

It sounds like you have done everything right.
Their cage is a good size, 2 hay piles, no hides they can get trapped in, etc.
The bite could just be a badly judged warning, but if they do fight, and blood is drawn and neither backs down this this sadly may be the end of the road for them living together.
At the end of the day it all comes down to personalities.
Fingers crossed it was an unfortunate accident, but do be prepared that despite your best efforts it may not work out.

Thank you! We’ll see how they do & if they’re ultimately not cut out to live together, we will figure it out.

 

[Ness Stephanie]

Make sure not to clean everything at once, that can be a trigger for dominance battles.
I've had a rescue who was clingy but also territorial, it was confusing but at the end he wanted to be the boss above all. I think when they're in a great new environment, they want to make sure they can stay there safely and sometimes prefer to take charge.

 

[lucifermp3]

Make sure not to clean everything at once, that can be a trigger for dominance battles.
I've had a rescue who was clingy but also territorial, it was confusing but at the end he wanted to be the boss above all. I think when they're in a great new environment, they want to make sure they can stay there safely and sometimes prefer to take charge.

That makes a good deal of sense; what seems to be happening with my boys is that Cyrus (new pig) is feeling more comfortable now, and is feeling confident enough to retaliate at Trevor (resident pig)’s relentless dominance assertion.

 

[lucifermp3]

Would anyone possibly have some advice on when to attempt re-introduction? My partner and I unfortunately work long hours during the week, so we wouldn’t do it until the weekend (unless that would be detrimental, in which case I’d just do another sleepless night).

The plan would be to put them in the bonding pen and then completely sanitizing the cage again/putting them back if they are doing well.

 

[Piggies&buns]

A separation in these circumstances usually needs to last a few days, so the weekend would be absolutely fine.
Yes, the plan of neutral territory and sanitised cage is what we would advise.

 

[lucifermp3]

Let’s see how this goes! There’s been a lot of rumble strutting from Trevor, but Cyrus is the only one mounting one instance of mutual staring and chattering, but it happened after they both woke up from their nap & someone got too close.

 

[lucifermp3]

Things are going well so far! Added 2 paper bag tunnels and a water bottle; likely will keep these boys in here for another few hours before they go back into the cage.

 

[lucifermp3]

In the cage after 6 hours in the bonding pen! 2 cardboard hides, 2 paper bag tunnels, 2 corner forests, 2 water bottles, 1 big hay pile & 1 hay rack, scatter feeding… let’s hope their reintroduction continues to go well!

 

[Julie M]

Things are going well so far! Added 2 paper bag tunnels and a water bottle; likely will keep these boys in here for another few hours before they go back into the cage.

Good luck wishes for a successful bonding

 

[lucifermp3]

They did well today, but in the past couple hours have had a couple chin offs w/ chattering and one instance of lunging/chasing. No one’s gotten up on their hind legs or escalated, it just is super loud because they’re running and knocking over the hides! Much more dramatic than anything that happened yesterday.

Is it anyone’s experience that the second day is worse re: dominance behavior?

 

[Julie M]

They did well today, but in the past couple hours have had a couple chin offs w/ chattering and one instance of lunging/chasing. No one’s gotten up on their hind legs or escalated, it just is super loud because they’re running and knocking over the hides! Much more dramatic than anything that happened yesterday.

Is it anyone’s experience that the second day is worse re: dominance behavior?

Yes sometimes they can be a bit scared the first day so they dont always behave as they normally would. Hopefully they will calm down.

 

[lucifermp3]

The boys have been back together for almost 2 weeks; there’s still quite a lot of chattering and stare-offs, but it’s often when they’ve just finished their food. I’ve found through observation that Cyrus has adjusted well, but Trevor is quite nervous/jumpy, and will start chattering when Cyrus moves too quickly near him. It’s always quite loud, but there’s been no escalation at this point. Trev does love Cyrus’ company most of the time, they nap together and eat together well. All is well for now!