Bonding Older Pigs

[CharleyWiggles]

To start from the beginning I used to have a group of 5 girls. They all got along fairly well and with the exception of the occasional disagreement they were fine.

2 years ago I unfortunately lost two of them. The remaining three continued to get along well. There was a bit more tension but nothing to be concerned about.

Around 3-4 weeks ago I lost another one. She was the main girl of the group, my original pig and a big character.

I was left with 2:
- Charley (the 'baby' of the group, much prefers to be running around and socialising)
- Marmite (prefers to sit in the nice comfort of her house and wait for carrots)

As you can probably tell 2 very different characters. After their loss they both became very sedate and quiet and Marmite started barbering quite a lot which was making Charley miserable too. Around 4 days ago I made the decision to split them up temporarily so they could recover and grieve on their own. They both seem a lot more happy and lively now.

I though that the best option would be to get them another friend. Mostly so that Charley has someone to socialise with. After a week or two of searching I found a breeder with two older girls. One of the girls seemed alot calmer, whereas the other seemed more active. Believing the more active one was the right fit for my group I bought her home.

I introduced her and Charley straight away on the floor (mutual territory) and with the exception of some mounting/grooming etc all went well. I put three pigs into their three separate enclosures for now. With only bars separating Chaley/new pig.

The next evening I introduced a three on the floor again. For the most part everything was good except some squabbling/teeth chattering. After about 30 mins together I could see they were getting a bit fed up so they went to their separate homes, this time with marmite next to the new pig. Marmite was incessantly biting at the bars that separated her and the new pig, as was the new pig. They weren't trying to hit each other though, they had more than enough chances to.

This morning I put all three on the floor again. The atmosphere seemed a lot more tense now, a lot of chattering and some standoff behaviour. After around 5 minutes they went back to their separate cages.

My concern is that my presence and handling them to put them on the floor is causing the tension between them.

I think my next step will potentially be to bathe them together so they all smell the same. Fully clean and disinfect their permanent single home and put them all in together. I will remove any houses etc at first to ensure no cornering etc.

As its been a long time since I've bonded pigs I was after some opinions about how this process was going?

Thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

To start from the beginning I used to have a group of 5 girls. They all got along fairly well and with the exception of the occasional disagreement they were fine.

2 years ago I unfortunately lost two of them. The remaining three continued to get along well. There was a bit more tension but nothing to be concerned about.

Around 3-4 weeks ago I lost another one. She was the main girl of the group, my original pig and a big character.

I was left with 2:
- Charley (the 'baby' of the group, much prefers to be running around and socialising)
- Marmite (prefers to sit in the nice comfort of her house and wait for carrots)

As you can probably tell 2 very different characters. After their loss they both became very sedate and quiet and Marmite started barbering quite a lot which was making Charley miserable too. Around 4 days ago I made the decision to split them up temporarily so they could recover and grieve on their own. They both seem a lot more happy and lively now.

I though that the best option would be to get them another friend. Mostly so that Charley has someone to socialise with. After a week or two of searching I found a breeder with two older girls. One of the girls seemed alot calmer, whereas the other seemed more active. Believing the more active one was the right fit for my group I bought her home.

I introduced her and Charley straight away on the floor (mutual territory) and with the exception of some mounting/grooming etc all went well. I put three pigs into their three separate enclosures for now. With only bars separating Chaley/new pig.

The next evening I introduced a three on the floor again. For the most part everything was good except some squabbling/teeth chattering. After about 30 mins together I could see they were getting a bit fed up so they went to their separate homes, this time with marmite next to the new pig. Marmite was incessantly biting at the bars that separated her and the new pig, as was the new pig. They weren't trying to hit each other though, they had more than enough chances to.

This morning I put all three on the floor again. The atmosphere seemed a lot more tense now, a lot of chattering and some standoff behaviour. After around 5 minutes they went back to their separate cages.

My concern is that my presence and handling them to put them on the floor is causing the tension between them.

I think my next step will potentially be to bathe them together so they all smell the same. Fully clean and disinfect their permanent single home and put them all in together. I will remove any houses etc at first to ensure no cornering etc.

As its been a long time since I've bonded pigs I was after some opinions about how this process was going?

Thanks!

Hi! Please read the tips in this guide here carefully to understand what exactly is going on.
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics

Unfortunately, you will have to sit through the phase where they decide the dominance. If you break off bonding before they can sort out the important stuff, it is not helping proceedings at all. As hard as it is, you have to let the piggies work out whether they will get on and whether the sow who loses out on dominance is still willing to be with the group peacefully; it can go right to up the wire, but with sow bonding that is often where it stays without crossing the line into fighting. I have tried to explain the different bonding dynamics as best and detailed as possible.

 

[Swissgreys]

I agree with all that @Wiebke said above.
It was actually this bonding guide that got me through my latest bonding.

My one piece of advice would be that once you decide to 'go for it' set aside a LOT of time - seriously 5 - 6 hours.
Put them all in a large area, and sit down and wait.
Provide hay and grass and no hideys, and accept that it will take a while.

Hopefully they will sort things out much more quickly, and when my lot were bonding after about 3 hours I did feel I could leave the room, but still needed to be withing hearing distance.
They did settle (it wasn't perfect, but it was ok) and after about 5 hours I put them into the newly cleaned cage together.

So my top tip would be to choose a time when you won't be stressed about having to rush off somewhere half way through.
They will get there, but in their own sweet tie.

 

[CharleyWiggles]

Thanks both for your advice.

I decided that today was the day and so this morning their home got completely cleaned and they all had a bath together. Once they were dried and ready I put them all in together and watched while they sorted out who was who. At first the enclosure was empty except hay, food and bits to forage in. After 2 hours I added 2 houses for them to rest in.

There has been alot of chasing by Marmite of the other pigs. I think time will tell and I will have to keep an eye on them to see if things calm down and make sure they all remain happy.

Marmite is best described as a fierce pig, I'm sure if she had the chance she would happily live alone. The question i do have though is that pigs that are naturally fierce, is there usually something causing it or is it just how they are?

 

[Freela]

As others have said, once introduced you just have to let them work through it. Hopefully they will work out the hierarchy and all be content with their position there.

By 'fierce,' do you mean dominant? Forceful? A bit of a tyrant with the other pigs? One of my prior pigs, Linney, was like that. She was just a natural alpha. She didn't seem distressed alone (she was on her own for a brief period between the death of a companion and the introduction of another) but she did prefer to be around other pigs who didn't challenge her authority! We had her paired with two pigs who did not mind being bossed around and she lived a happy 6 years with them, clearly in charge right up until her dying day!

 

[CharleyWiggles]

Your Linney sounds like my Marmite. She comes across as a bit mean sometimes, potentially boisterous/forceful. The bit that I can't get my head around is the fact that the other pigs will be happily muching hay not bothering her and she will just suddenly decide to assert her dominance and cause some chaos (by chasing only).

It's always hard though when you love them so much. All I want for them is happiness and peace!