Boars Fighting, But Anxious When Separated?

[GraceL]

Hi! I have two boars, they are brothers and I adopted them when they were likely a year old. I've had them since January, and when I adopted them I was told that they occasionally get into little tiffs but nothing to worry about. Lately they've been fighting a LOT. At least two or three times a day, complete with mounting, teeth chattering, and sometimes even snapping at each other. It's really a toss up as to who starts the fight, and I'm guessing it's a power struggle. The problem is, whenever I separate them, the slightly less dominant one starts to panic. He squeals and runs around, searching for his brother and doesn't stop until I put them back together. I'm not sure how to stop them from fighting, but I'm also not sure what to do in the meantime. They have a plenty big enough cage, and it even has an upper level (that they love) that I got thinking it would help give them some separate space, but evidently not.


Any advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Grace L

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I have two boars, they are brothers and I adopted them when they were likely a year old. I've had them since January, and when I adopted them I was told that they occasionally get into little tiffs but nothing to worry about. Lately they've been fighting a LOT. At least two or three times a day, complete with mounting, teeth chattering, and sometimes even snapping at each other. It's really a toss up as to who starts the fight, and I'm guessing it's a power struggle. The problem is, whenever I separate them, the slightly less dominant one starts to panic. He squeals and runs around, searching for his brother and doesn't stop until I put them back together. I'm not sure how to stop them from fighting, but I'm also not sure what to do in the meantime. They have a plenty big enough cage, and it even has an upper level (that they love) that I got thinking it would help give them some separate space, but evidently not.


Any advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Grace L

Hi! While they are tiffs, they are still in the milder range of things and don't sound like they are close to a fight with full-on serious bites. Please leave them together. As long as the underboy has got plenty of space to get away from his brother, they will hopefully be fine and settle down again. Too many short-term separations can additionally burden a bond under stress.

Just make sure that they have got two of each, ideally well away from the other. Separate only if things get worse and really into the full-on aggression range. When you separate, it is not the boar that is causing the problems that you need to base your judgment on, but the one at the receiving end.
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