Bonding sows and neutered boar - would you separate?

[majasofia]

Hi!

I tried bonding my neutered boar with my two sows yesterday, but sadly there’s been some drama and I’m not sure how to proceed.

The three of them have been living with bars between them for about a month, so they’re used to each other. I introduced them in a neutral space and my boar, Theo, immediately got along with the more submissive sow, Ruth.

However, there’s been a lot of dominance behaviour (rumble strutting, chasing, teeth chattering, lunging) between the more dominant sow, Harriet, and Theo. But they’ve been fine eating and napping together and seemed to gradually calm down. I noticed Harriet seemed very stressed in the bonding pen, so I decided to move them back into a freshly cleaned cage after about 12 hours.

Overall they seem to get along in their cage, but as soon as Harriet gets scared of something she’ll go after Theo. He backs off but is clearly annoyed with her. I think it’s more fear aggression than Harriet actually disliking him, as she’s a very nervous piggie.

All three seemed calm last night, so I hoped they would settle more overnight. But this morning I found a tussle of fur in their cage and three very stressed piggies. Poor Theo also has a small scratch on his lip, it looks a bit swollen but no blood. I’ve put him into a separate cage for now, but I’m at a loss of what to do next

Is it unlikely they’ll ever get along? Or should I try and put Theo back with the girls so they can sort out their hierarchy?

Would it make any difference if I waited a while and started the bonding process over again?
Theo’s currently being treated for some bladder issues, so I’m wondering if Harriet notices he’s not entirely healthy and if this can affect their bond?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

I tried bonding my neutered boar with my two sows yesterday, but sadly there’s been some drama and I’m not sure how to proceed.

The three of them have been living with bars between them for about a month, so they’re used to each other. I introduced them in a neutral space and my boar, Theo, immediately got along with the more submissive sow, Ruth.

However, there’s been a lot of dominance behaviour (rumble strutting, chasing, teeth chattering, lunging) between the more dominant sow, Harriet, and Theo. But they’ve been fine eating and napping together and seemed to gradually calm down. I noticed Harriet seemed very stressed in the bonding pen, so I decided to move them back into a freshly cleaned cage after about 12 hours.

Overall they seem to get along in their cage, but as soon as Harriet gets scared of something she’ll go after Theo. He backs off but is clearly annoyed with her. I think it’s more fear aggression than Harriet actually disliking him, as she’s a very nervous piggie.

All three seemed calm last night, so I hoped they would settle more overnight. But this morning I found a tussle of fur in their cage and three very stressed piggies. Poor Theo also has a small scratch on his lip, it looks a bit swollen but no blood. I’ve put him into a separate cage for now, but I’m at a loss of what to do next

Is it unlikely they’ll ever get along? Or should I try and put Theo back with the girls so they can sort out their hierarchy?

Would it make any difference if I waited a while and started the bonding process over again?
Theo’s currently being treated for some bladder issues, so I’m wondering if Harriet notices he’s not entirely healthy and if this can affect their bond?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi

Unfortuntely, it looks like there was a confrontation overnight and the bonding has failed. Please separate and do not continue. A failed bonding is always very gutting but it is important to acknowledge that we cannot force piggies to behave like we want them to. Once they get to this stage, they will never go together; their minds are made up for the rest of their lives.

 

[majasofia]

Hi

Unfortuntely, it looks like there was a confrontation overnight and the bonding has failed. Please separate and do not continue. A failed bonding is always very gutting but it is important to acknowledge that we cannot force piggies to behave like we want them to. Once they get to this stage, they will never go together; their minds are made up for the rest of their lives.

Thank you, this is what I feared… I’m heartbroken their bond hasn’t worked out, but of course they’ll stay separated now.

Currently the girls are together and Theo can interact with them through the cage bars. The girls don’t have the greatest bond either though, no fights between them but there’s always been a lot of chasing and shrieking from the less dominant sow. As Ruth and Theo got along fine yesterday I’m wondering if they would be a calmer pairing. Would you say there’s any risks in trying to reintroduce just Ruth and Theo? Could it be difficult to put her back with Harriet if things didn’t work out?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, this is what I feared… I’m heartbroken their bond hasn’t worked out, but of course they’ll stay separated now.

Currently the girls are together and Theo can interact with them through the cage bars. The girls don’t have the greatest bond either though, no fights between them but there’s always been a lot of chasing and shrieking from the less dominant sow. As Ruth and Theo got along fine yesterday I’m wondering if they would be a calmer pairing. Would you say there’s any risks in trying to reintroduce just Ruth and Theo? Could it be difficult to put her back with Harriet if things didn’t work out?

Give them at least couple of days to settle down before you see whether Ruth and Theo are OK on their own. You should know fairly quickly whether they do or whether the body language is tense and hostile. Keep in mind that the full group establishment takes about 2 weeks but that your two hve already worked a good deal into a possible bond. It just depends on whether Ruth is OK with Theo on his own or not but that won't take long to find out.