Bonding

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I have a boar, I think he's almost 2 but that's a guess as he's a rescue. He's been with us for just over a year now. The RSPCA failed to bond him with another boar & they have a policy of not neutering them.

I am seriously considering getting Harry neutered so I can get him a girlfriend or two. We have enough room for 6 piggies (according to the RSPCA) so 2 more would be easy to accommodate. The hutch is on 2 floors so if necessary they can be kept apart. At the moment Harry just lives on the ground floor.

How easy would it be to bond him with females? Is it always successful? How long after the op before Harry can be introduced to a girlfriend/s?

I hate to see him on his own, he's our only pig although we do have rabbits but for obvious reasons they kept apart from Harry
 
You are very good in wanting to give Harry the best of homes!

It really pays finding an experienced and piggy savvy vet to better Harry's chances of making it through the op and the recovery as smoothly as possible!

After the operation, he will have to wait for 4-6 weeks until he can join his ladies. At four weeks after the op, you will be about 95% safe, by 6 weeks, 100%. That is why rescues which neuter prefer to do the long wait.

I have built my group around my neutered boar Llewelyn and am just in the process of introducing sow #9. The ages have varied from 10 weeks to 4 years old.

I would recommend starting with a pair of youngish girls that are between 4-6 months and 18 months old; they will be most accepting of a boar. If you get the bug like me and ever want to add further, concentrate on rehoming sows that have either lived in a bigger group and/or are not dominant - that is the recipe of my own success! Age is not relevant. It has kept my group very stable despite all the new additions every few months! I must admit that watching group dynamics is ever so fascinating!

We have some great rescues active on here; if you post in the rescue wanted section (please state your area), I'm sure that something can be organised.

Best of luck for Harry!
 
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Thank you. I'm lucky to have a vet who is really good with Rabbits & pigs. I did chat to him about it last time I saw him for the vaccinations for rabbit. He said he'd never lost a pig as a result of neutering & said as long as it's done by someone who knows what they are doing it's a safe procedure. He feels strongly that pigs & rabbits are looked after well as they all too often end up forgotten at the end of the garden, he even put together his own information sheets about them to hand out to owners. I think we get on so well because my pets are rescues :) So from the surgery point of view I feel quite happy, although I'll still worry.

How often does it not work, as in bonding a male & some females? If we go for young females does that improve our chances of it working out?

Many thanks
 
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