boars still at war. advice needed

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halso

halso

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so it's nearly 6 months down the line and my two boars are still living between a divider. any time i have tried putting them together again they have continued to fight. puffing, biting and lunging at each other.
i feel as though they will never get along, and was hoping for some advice from you guys on what i ought to do? there are the options i have considered so far:

re-homing one: one pig in particular (badger) seems so miserable much of the time. he never enjoys company, and we haven't bonded in the same way i have to his brother pumba. i often wonder if it is selfish for me to keep him here, and if he would be happier elsewhere, perhaps to be bonded with another pig.

getting them neutered: though i am unsure if this would change their behaviour much at all?

any advice would be really appreciated. i'm at a loss for what to do now. thanks everybody x
 
Hi,
Unfortunately neutering won't alter their behaviour.. I'm guessing you don't have the room to pair them both up with a different piggy?
 
bubble&squeak4ever said:
Hi,
Unfortunately neutering won't alter their behaviour.. I'm guessing you don't have the room to pair them both up with a different piggy?
Click to expand...

sadly i don't have the space in my flat to expand the cage any further, or the spare money to feed four piggies. they currently live in a 2x6 with a divider in the middle and this is the best i can do with the space i have :( as a responsible owner two is the maximum i can have
 
As already mentioned neutering won’t alter behaviour in guinea pigs unfortunately and can often be not only costly but risky too.

However, having two piggies the way you do in a side by side living arrangement is often considered as an option for boars who are a trouble to bond as it still gives them the company of another guinea pig. If you can continue doing what your doing, i’d say leave it as it is, i think it offers the best of both worlds for you and the pigs, a 2x3 space for each pig is the minimum for a single guinea so there would be no need for any extensions either.
 
I agree neutering will not change them so in your case its not a worth while option to consider. I agree with twiams regards the living arrangements the other option is to see if anyone on here is looking for a lone boar and rehome one and take the other boar dating. Are they litter mates?
 
I think if its been 6 months and they're still showing signs of severe agression then it's best to quit whilst you're ahead and accept that these two just don't want to be friends. Just like people, not everyone gets along with one another. So it just comes down to either leaving them as they are or rehoming one and taking the remaining one boar dating to find his own friend also.
It may be that that Badger appears unhappy as he longs for another pig to get along with, cosy up to and generally speak piggy to.
If you let us know where you are we may be able to help suggest somewhere that will offer boar dating :)
 
I think you're first idea about re homing Badger would be your best bet. I feel for you, we're having problems with one of our pairs too and currently they are separated. Dougal nipped Ringo and now he has a nasty abscess, the vet wanted them separated whilst it heals. But I suspect Dougal won't accept him back as the relationship has been rocky. We might have to consider something similar as we already have 6 and can't take any more! The thought breaks my heart but we have to think of whats best for them. To save having the same thing happen again I would suggest boar dating. We did this with one of our stroppy boys who fell out with his pal, he went to stay at a local rescue to try out a few different males and choose a friend. Let us know how you get on and good luck xxxxxxx
 
thank you for the advice everyone. i'm thinking things over and generally keeping a close eye on them both to try and determine how happy they really are. they are both brothers and when i collected them both i truly did not imagine this ever happening.
i am considering boar dating for badger as an option. i don't know very much about it, but if it could mean he would be a happier pig then it seems the right thing to do.
it's such a shame as they appear to be fine with each other so long as the divider is there, but as soon as i take it down they would be fighting in seconds.
 
oh, and i'm currently based in cheltenham, but have connections in oxford :)
 
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