Bullying? - new bond

I'm sorry it didn't work out. I'm having a bad time with boars and their bonds too. All sweetness and light for a couple of years then bang fur and blood flying.
 
Thanks everyone for the support and advice. I really appreciate it. My other boars in the past have all been smooth sailing, really. But these 3 are causing me some trouble, I’m a bit out of my depth! Here’s hoping we can work it out.
 
We decided to bond them again today as we need to figure out the situation for BB as he’s feeling quite lonely.
I put Little and Digby in the bonding pen at 20 past 10. It was going better than before, but Digby still humping relentlessly. It seems more of an insecurity thing to me though, as he will read the signals from Little, walk away then turn right back around to start humping him again. There were also points where he’d lay down and then after a second, get back up to hump Little again. He’s also eager to lay beside Little but can only do it for a couple of minutes before trying to hump him again. He’ll also rumble every 5 seconds or so when he’s asleep next to Little.
Even though it’s been a bit chaotic, I think persisting is the better thing to do as it seems to me like he’s just insecure and nervous to let his guard down.
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i do hope they can work things out and Digby settles down. I think youre right, he’s not used to piggy interaction and is just going overboard trying to work out what to do.
 
Really hope Digby gives up the humping and they can live in their retirement home together! Looks like he’s very keen to be Little’s friend there, just sounds a bit confused! Fingers and paws crossed for you all! x
 
How long do you all reckon I should leave it before splitting?
No one has eaten or drank yet, veg included. Little wants to but can’t because Digby is humping or trying to at least every 10 seconds. Little stopped wanting to be humped about an hour ago so started fighting back. Little is getting very upset with Digby now.
Its difficult because it seems to me like Digby wants a friend but doesn’t have any trust so he’s being relentless to Little. They both were laid beside each other at one bit but Digby woke up and went straight on Little. It’s been 2 hours now, I’m just concerned for Little.
I know it’s a bit of an exceptional case that we’re dealing with given Digby’s solo past, but when should I call it quits?
 
It’s a bit of a tough one given Digby’s behaviour. Have they eaten any hay at all? Is the humping every time Little so much as moves? How is he fighting back?
 
Siikibam said:
It’s a bit of a tough one given Digby’s behaviour. Have they eaten any hay at all? Is the humping every time Little so much as moves? How is he fighting back?
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As of whilst I wrote my previous comment, so about 15 minutes ago, they’ve both begun eating strands. Not properly sitting and eating it, but grabbing the odd pieces between their interactions.
The humping is constant, so it happens whether Little is moving or not. Usually Little is sat in place until Digby tries to hump him. Little is trying to guard his back, so they’ll kind of run in circles beside each other, with Little trying to keep Digby’s face in front of his face, if you get me. If Digby manages to get on, Little will squeal really loudly or try to walk Digby off him - or both.
No matter what, Digby will walk away for about 4 seconds then turn right back and go to Little. The only time Little really gets a break is when Digby will lay down, then there will be about a minute or two before Digby goes back to him. Pretty much every interaction between them is Digby either trying to hump Little or Digby barbering Little’s back
 
Right now they’re both laying down.
I added a soft toy to see if Digby would put some of his humping on that but it didn’t help either.
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I think the issue is Digby not knowing how to behave around other piggies. He’s excited but doesn’t know that incessant humping isn’t the way to go...I’ll tag @PigglePuggle @Piggies&buns

How long have they been together now? I think if the humping is every minute with only very short breaks it could become too much. But then you wonder if there’s potential for Digby to calm down...you could leave them in the play pen overnight...
 
Siikibam said:
I think the issue is Digby not knowing how to behave around other piggies. He’s excited but doesn’t know that incessant humping isn’t the way to go...I’ll tag @PigglePuggle @Piggies&buns

How long have they been together now? I think if the humping is every minute with only very short breaks it could become too much. But then you wonder if there’s potential for Digby to calm down...you could leave them in the play pen overnight...
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Thank you so much.
Things have slightly mellowed since my last post. Right now they’re both eating hay beside each other :yikes:
There’s some humping from Digby still but now it’s maybe every 5 minutes rather than every 10 seconds. I’m glad it’s cooled off. It’s been about 3 and a half hours nearly since they went in. I’m relieved they’ve actually began to eat now too. Digby is also drinking a lot from the water bottle. He just went to drink from it right then and then went to eat back beside Little, he rumbled as he got close, Little did a small squeal and they both resumed eating. No other dominance. I’m going to leave them in there as long as possible if this ends up seeming to be working out.
I’m not sure if overnight would be possible though, the pen is set up in the living room. Our cat isn’t overly fussed of the piggies but I’d be cautious to leave them there all night as he goes through the living room to use his litter box. I can leave until 10 preferably but I can also do until midnight if it’s needed!
 
That sounds promising. Fingers crossed Digby realises Little likes him and the humping calms down. Just be aware when you move them to the cage he may start again in their new environment.
 
if he is calming down then definitely try to hold on, and as you suggest, keep them in the bonding pen for as long as absolutely possible. I do agree that he just needs to realise he isn’t doing himself any favours!
 
Thank you guys for the support, it’s really helpful. I think his problem is that he feels he has to show dominance before Little does it to him first, like sort of beat him to it? I’m just so relieved Little is finally getting a break. Digby seems to be listening to him a lot more than he was at the beginning.

What do i do if the relentless humping starts again when (and if) they do go in the cage together? Do I just leave them to it or will I still have to monitor?
 
Little Ones said:
Thank you guys for the support, it’s really helpful. I think his problem is that he feels he has to show dominance before Little does it to him first, like sort of beat him to it? I’m just so relieved Little is finally getting a break. Digby seems to be listening to him a lot more than he was at the beginning.

What do i do if the relentless humping starts again when (and if) they do go in the cage together? Do I just leave them to it or will I still have to monitor?
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For newly bonded piggies, it takes two weeks for them to fully establish and settle down so you probably will see dominance and humping once they go into the cage and for a while after. But, it’s all going to depend on the situation as it occurs as to if and when you need to step in - much the same as the situation with the bonding pen today - don’t step in too soon, see what happens, if he calms, then leave them to it. He may have got it out of his system and realised a bit more how to behave by the time they go into the cage, particularly if you can give them another 8 hours in the bonding pen
 
Small update: Little and Digby we’re asleep beside each other, Digby woke up and just started eating his hay in front of him. He hasn’t bothered Little at all since waking. They were only asleep for maybe 15 minutes but Digby’s first thought wasn’t to dominate as he has done every time he’s laid down and got up previously.
Seems he may have finally got the message?
 
Little Ones said:
Small update: Little and Digby we’re asleep beside each other, Digby woke up and just started eating his hay in front of him. He hasn’t bothered Little at all since waking. They were only asleep for maybe 15 minutes but Digby’s first thought wasn’t to dominate as he has done every time he’s laid down and got up previously.
Seems he may have finally got the message?
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That sounds positive! You are still going to see it, and I don’t for one minute think he will stop humping him, but if he is thinking of other things as well now then hopefully he can behave like a gentleman and find himself in a happy relationship!
 
Brilliant news, come on Digby, keep up the calm!
Luigi says it’s boring after a while Digby, why he’s not got the nickname Gigi Humpalot anymore and he’s just Fatty Gigi, food’s far better!
 
It’s been going roughly the same. There’s been some humping still. Maybe around 5 humping episodes since I last updated, so a massive improvement from the start.
The only issue we have right now is that Little is confined to a corner as he’s afraid to move. Digby isn’t necessarily going after Little when he moves, but it seems like he’s just going to hump him in general. So because of this, Little is staying in a corner as he’s able to defend himself from the mounting easier. Not really sure what to do about it? He won’t move to have veg or anything. I picked him up and moved him to the middle, where he stayed happily until Digby went and mounted him and Little just retreated into his corner. He’s been there since like 1 or 2ish.
Anything I can do to help this?
 
Piggies&buns said:
Any change?
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No. I wasn’t sure if I should keep moving Little to the middle of the pen until Digby understands that just because Little is moving doesn’t mean he’s going to hurt him, but then I didn’t want to make things worse.
But to me, the bond hasn’t really been progressing since 2 because no one has really moved, especially Little
 
I think if Little feels like he can’t move, and hasn’t moved in 6 hours...don’t know what others think. Poor Digby, it’s not his fault 😞
 
Yes, I think I agree....sitting not moving for so long could show he is too anxious about the situation. Tricky for us though given we can’t see what is actually happening!
 
Siikibam said:
I think if Little feels like he can’t move, and hasn’t moved in 6 hours...don’t know what others think. Poor Digby, it’s not his fault 😞
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I think Digby just needs to get used to Little moving. Little’s been quite content in his corner though, eating and everything.
At the start of the bonding, Little’s presence alone made Digby hump him, now it’s just when he moves. I feel like Digby now trusts Little when he’s still because he knows what to expect, but when he moves Digby isn’t sure what to make of it yet. Especially because Little doesn’t want to get mounted so is reluctant to move.
I’ve put Little in the middle of the pen about 10 mins ago, Digby was sleeping in a corner. Little is moving around and eating. Digby has just woken up so we’ll see what happens. Maybe I do just need to keep Little moving somehow so that Digby understands Little isn’t a threat just because he’s moving?
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes, I think I agree....sitting not moving for so long could show he is too anxious about the situation. Tricky for us though given we can’t see what is actually happening!
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He just doesn’t want to get mounted/humped again! Digby seems to be humping out of fear/uncertainty over the situation, wants to get Little before Little can get him even though Little isn’t wanting to get him.
I know, if only we could livestream on here, I’d have been streaming it all!
 
What do experts think about leaving the bonding pen as is (uncleaned), returning pigs to their single cages overnight and then returning them to the pen tomorrow to see whether any progress has been achieved. This will enable pigs and humans to get a night's sleep at least?

Or alternatively putting two tunnel hideys in so that if Little is in one he can't be mounted?
 
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