Scrubby
New Born Pup
Hey there!
Sorry in advanced for the long post, having some bonding trouble and not sure what to do.
Last week we adopted Almond (1.5yr sow), and Acorn (8 months recovering-neutered boar).
We already have 2 sows, Peanut and Waffles (both 9 months).
Our set up is 3 separate C&C cages sharing walls. See attached; 1 being Almond's section, 2 is Acorn, 3 is Waffles and Peanut.
Acorn has a double wall because he tends to bite/try get through the cages to get to the girls.
Last week Saturday (adoption day) we tried putting Almond in a neutral space with Peanut and Waffles. Peanut and Waffles initially were sniffing Almond, even grooming her, but soon there was a lot of teeth chattering. Almond and Peanut nipped at each other quite a lot. This wasn't de-escalating so we got worried and separated them into their respective cages (they were together for maybe 20 minutes).
During the week we saw them interacting with each other through the cage wall, smelling etc, and there's no aggression or teeth chattering at all.
In the middle of the week we tried the scent swapping with a couple items form each sow in each others cage areas. We tried the neutral area again but the same happened as before. Again around 20 mins.
Today (Sunday) we set up the neutral area again (hay, toys, vegetables etc.). There was some teeth chattering and nipping at first but it wasn't too bad, our 2 tended to stay away from Almond. They were in there for about 2 hours. We then moved them closer to the cages to the usual play area, not sure what happened but suddenly Waffles and Peanut were terrified of Almond. When ever she came close or approached, they run away from her. She often (7/10 times) chases after them and nips some of their hair off. We tried leaving them to sort themselves out for about an hour but it didn't stop. Almost like relentless bullying from Almond to the two other girls.
We separated them for a couple minutes, then thought we'd try putting the 3 in the main cage where Peanut and Waffles stay. The same happened. Almond is walking around exploring the cage and there's now minimal teeth chattering, but whenever she gets close to the others, they run away from her, and she chases them briefly, nipping off hair from their butts in the process.
We've now put Almond back in her cage section. Peanut and Waffles remain skittish and jumpy, even with each other (it's only been about 30 mins but they seem traumatized).
We're not sure what to do at this point. Were we wrong for separating them? Our 2 girls seemed terrified and and we couldn't take them being chased around anymore.
Should we try again later?
We were also considering waiting for the neutered male to be recovered (12th of March), bonding him with the 2 sows, then trying to introduce Almond again after. Not sure if this is a good idea or not?
We read through the guide lines and Almonds behaviour hasn't been very aggressive perse, but the constant chasing and nipping off fur has us worried.
Sorry in advanced for the long post, having some bonding trouble and not sure what to do.
Last week we adopted Almond (1.5yr sow), and Acorn (8 months recovering-neutered boar).
We already have 2 sows, Peanut and Waffles (both 9 months).
Our set up is 3 separate C&C cages sharing walls. See attached; 1 being Almond's section, 2 is Acorn, 3 is Waffles and Peanut.
Acorn has a double wall because he tends to bite/try get through the cages to get to the girls.
Last week Saturday (adoption day) we tried putting Almond in a neutral space with Peanut and Waffles. Peanut and Waffles initially were sniffing Almond, even grooming her, but soon there was a lot of teeth chattering. Almond and Peanut nipped at each other quite a lot. This wasn't de-escalating so we got worried and separated them into their respective cages (they were together for maybe 20 minutes).
During the week we saw them interacting with each other through the cage wall, smelling etc, and there's no aggression or teeth chattering at all.
In the middle of the week we tried the scent swapping with a couple items form each sow in each others cage areas. We tried the neutral area again but the same happened as before. Again around 20 mins.
Today (Sunday) we set up the neutral area again (hay, toys, vegetables etc.). There was some teeth chattering and nipping at first but it wasn't too bad, our 2 tended to stay away from Almond. They were in there for about 2 hours. We then moved them closer to the cages to the usual play area, not sure what happened but suddenly Waffles and Peanut were terrified of Almond. When ever she came close or approached, they run away from her. She often (7/10 times) chases after them and nips some of their hair off. We tried leaving them to sort themselves out for about an hour but it didn't stop. Almost like relentless bullying from Almond to the two other girls.
We separated them for a couple minutes, then thought we'd try putting the 3 in the main cage where Peanut and Waffles stay. The same happened. Almond is walking around exploring the cage and there's now minimal teeth chattering, but whenever she gets close to the others, they run away from her, and she chases them briefly, nipping off hair from their butts in the process.
We've now put Almond back in her cage section. Peanut and Waffles remain skittish and jumpy, even with each other (it's only been about 30 mins but they seem traumatized).
We're not sure what to do at this point. Were we wrong for separating them? Our 2 girls seemed terrified and and we couldn't take them being chased around anymore.
Should we try again later?
We were also considering waiting for the neutered male to be recovered (12th of March), bonding him with the 2 sows, then trying to introduce Almond again after. Not sure if this is a good idea or not?
We read through the guide lines and Almonds behaviour hasn't been very aggressive perse, but the constant chasing and nipping off fur has us worried.
(picture attached)