Boars Fighting.... Again

[Cavyhappy]

Hi guys,

My two boars have been at it again, fighting, mounting, bum-sniffing, chasing and chattering and bearing teeth. I've heard that this means that they're in season and are 'establishing dominance', is this true? Last night it was very bad, no blood drawn but the oldest one, Leo was chasing, mounting and being extremely nasty to Milo, the younger one. I have never ever had to do this before in over 1 year (since I got them), but I had to separate them like this (they could still see each other):


Is this ok? When I did it Leo was very annoyed and sulky, but Milo was enjoying getting away from the harassment. Tonight they were fighting a bit but seem at peace now. They do it on and off, but I somehow get the feeling that they haven't fallen out because they still snuggle up to eachother quite happily every night. Anyone have ideas?

Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[Wiebke]

Boars don't come into season like sows, but during the first year they suffer from occasional hormonal spikes, which can cause the behaviour you have seen.

You have done the right thing in separating overnight. If necessary, give them a bath and wash down the cage (plus furniture) to remove the testosterone stink before you introduce them on neutral ground. Boar pee is laden with it when they go overboard and it is liberally sprayed everywhere (including the other piggy), not just themselves! As your boys haven't had a bloody fight with bites, you have still all to play for to get them through the difficult months until they reach hormonally more settled adulthood at about 15 months old. It won't be an easy time for you, though!

You can separate for a short while from time to time when things become really tricky, but please only do it when absolutely necessary, or it can become counterproductive!

 

[Cavyhappy]

Thanks Wiebke,

They are due for a wash tomorrow and I also am out of wood shavings so will buy a new packet and wash their toys/beds.
What is weird though, is they seem to be very mature for a month or two, then they'll fight and Leo is 22 months old and Milo is 17 months old so does that mean that Milo is normal and Leo is just a late maturer?