boars and sows?

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jay3ttp

jay3ttp

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Morning everyone, what another lovely summers day.....Not! Just anted to ask a s quick question. I currently only have boars and have been considering getting some sows. I know that if the boars can sense the sows it could cause problems but they would not be near each other. Can anyone tell me what are the main differences to expect with sows. I mean in terms of friendliness to each other and myself, eating, size, housing etc.
Thank you and i appreciate any advice x
 
Well it depends on the pig, but generally speaking boars are more laid back and cuddly than sows, but i have a sow who is as cuddly as my boar, one of my sows hates being handled, she is really irritable when ot of her cage and wont sit still.

Generally speaking sows do get along, there isn't as much of a risk of them falling out as there is with boars and they don't need as much space as boars, but obviously the more space you can give them the better.

Sows shouldn't stink like boars can, but in my experience they eat more than boars!

xx
 
The big difference is that sows come into season about every two weeks, which is the main reason for any grumpiness; not every season is noticeable though. You may find the sow behaviour sticky thread at the top of this section helpful.

Sows are wired to live in hierarchical small groups, whereas with boars you always have a latent rivalry to fight for a place - and the right to father the next generation - with a sow group (which is the reason why boars should not be kept within line of sight and sniff of pheromones of sows).
Fall outs and fights amongst sows are therefore rare, once a new member has been accepted right at the beginning. That doesn't necessarily mean that every sow bonding runs smoothly, though, or that all sows are always happy to live together - especially not, if you get two dominant girls!

Generally, there seem to be more laid back boars than sows.

There are no dietary differences, unless you are dealing with a pregnant sow.

If at all possible, please consider rehoming an already bonded pair from one of our recommended rescues and help making space for yet more piggies in urgent need of experienced care.
 
Our boars are definately more laid back and cuddlier that our sows although Millie our latest edition is turning out to be a lovely friendly girl :)

Boars are very easy going but I find our sows more entertaining!

When we bring our boys in for a cuddle (they live outside) it's in the same room as the girls and it's not a problem. They can hear each other squeaking too.

I can honestly say though, I love them all. x)
 
Thank you everyone, like I say we currently have 5 boars in the house, we have 2 8 week old boars living together and seem to get on great, they are brothers but i know it still early days. We have them in a large homemade cage. We also have 2 boars who are about 12 weeks old now, they were bought from P@H (sorry we found out about rescues after we found this site), they are supposed to be from the same litter but one is now 420g and the other 580g, both were getting on fine but unfortunaltely they had a falling out and attacked each other and despite reading all the info on the stickies above we had to seperate. We have tried to introduce them back but they just put their hackles up and chatter loudly until one jumps on the other. We now have them in a large penn side by side and they seem to like this, when one is not the the other wheeks, so i guess it is a case of cant live with and cant live without. They both seem very happy with this setup and regularly popcorn and zoom round the cage. One of them actually wheeks to be brought out the penn and cuddled which I am very jelous of as they are my daughters and my own dont do this lol. We then have Mr T and he is alone for now but we are looking to find him a friend when one becomes available. Being the guinea pig mad person I am I have a empty cage waiting for residents and was considering sows, but part of me thinks we are better off sticking with boars. Whatever we decide it will be from a rescue now I know they exist. Thank you for all your thoughts x
 
Well if you have a spare cage, the funds and time for 2 more then go for it, there are plenty of girlies in rescues wanting loving homes :))
 
I love my boars sooo much, we have five and they are sooo much more friendlier than girls I think :))
We started with four boys in two pens then had a little sow and adopted another as a companion...it all snowballed from there really because if you have the space etc. can easily add more girls hence we have 13 now x)
They all live in our lounge and have never had an issue - we are just really careful with handling the boys before the girls, good handwashing etc.
All the boys bedding is washed separately from the girls and dishes marked with names so nothing gets mixed up :x
 
Hi, 13 in your lounge! I reckon we will end up like that lol. We have looked into boar dating for Mr T, someone on this forum told me about Little brambles which is who I am waiting to hear from. Hopefully he will have a friend very soon x
 
I have 18 in my lounge... Two groups of sows with a neutered boar each! I only have boars as temporary boarders for the piggy bank. :))
 
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