Bonding Advice Needed

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happybunny

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Hi,

We have recently lost 3 of our piggies leaving 2 lone piggies that we could bond together. Shandy is female and about 3 years old and Dougal is a neutered male about 5 and a half years old.

We also have a group of 4 girls who are all around 2 years old.

Would it be a silly idea to try and bond them into a group of 6? Should we just stick to 2 groups?

Thanks
 
I do not think it is silly to try to bond them together. It is worth a go. You have to ensure you do it on neutral ground. I advice to have food out as a distraction. You will have squabbles and teeth chattering but that is only because they have to determine who is the dominant piggy. Good luck.
 
Thank you. We have bonded piggies before (hate it but know its in their best interest). I might try and get the courage together this weekend. ;)
 
I have recently bonded my 5 girls and am due to try to integrate our newly netuered boar now his 6 weeks post neuter wait is over. I always find it both stressful and fascinating bonding piggies but I do love having a "gang". Good luck.
 
Thank you. Good luck to you too!

The biggest "gang" I have had before is 5 so 6 will be a new record for me (if it goes well).

:))
 
Hi,

I have successfully bonded my pigs in the past. I actually board gpigs and rabbits and I'm a vet nurse so excuse me if this seems like the stupidest question in the world but I would always bow down to a more experienced pig person and I'm normally good with behavior! mallethead

We have had 2 females left with us to rehome (they are actually posted on here). I would keep them myself if I could integrate them into my little herd of 2 females and 1 neutered blind male. However Chilli (1 year old female new pig) goes straight in with the teeth chatter, side on and then chases and nips my pigs, Pepper (1yr female new pig) chatters but doesn't chase.

I've tried it on neutral ground (a 2 meter run with lots of tunnels and housing), I've tried one to one, all of them together and it always ends with a scuffle (normally chilli) at which point I intervene. Is this a lost cause and should I concentrate my efforts more on rehoming rather than trying to integrate them as I think if I can't integrate both it would be pointless as there would be a lonely pig left.

Any snippet of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
 
Unless the fighting is really nasty or one piggie is getting very stressed then I think there is always a possibility it will work.

If there is some unsettled behaviour I usually try daily bonding for as long as I can (or as long as the piggies can take it).

Sometimes bonding is immediate (particularly if its 2 singles) and sometimes it can take time.

I like to refer to the following website for help:

http://cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm

I hope you are able to keep the 2 girls and bond them with your current group.
 
I've placed them in separate large runs that are butted up to each other, each day I've noticed that they interact more at the wall. They will now nose greet but then it turns to chatter and then calms down and they graze on the grass. The underdog of both groups isn't as confident but I hope with patience it will pay off - even if I have to do this for months I will keep going if there is a chance it will work, won't rush them. My own hutch is big enough to accommodate them with ease. Fingers crossed!
 
I have a neutered boar and Sow pair Maramduke and Prissie, and about a year ago took on two elderly girls now 6, Stella and Guiness. Because both Prissie and Guiness are very dominant girls I failed in my attempts to integrate the 4 of them. But they went out together in a big garden run all last summer and this year as well. We have got to the point now where there's very little bickering when out together - but only if there's no boxes to argue over, but they still live in separate pairs indoors. I think the larger herd is nice when they are out as it gives them more confidence.

Paula
 
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