Bullying Pig

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Tinka124

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Hi

I need some advice!

I have had my 2 piggies (Trixie & Treacle) from around 8 weeks old & had them for around 6 months now. Me & my boyfriend picked one each from the shop but I think we made a mistake as we obviously picked 2 piggies from 2 different litters.

@ 1st Trixie was slightly older & we were convinced she was going to be the dominant one. She did boss Treacle around & hog the food but i made sure i put 2 separate portions @ each end of the cage for them so it was not that much of an issue.

I would say they have never been overly fond of each other - when out they do chase each other around sometimes but recently this is happening less & less.

As time has gone on Treacle has taken over the dominance role & i feel she is bullying Trixie. Treacle constantly rumbles & sways on her back legs around the cage & tries to stop Trixie getting around.Its not that she is on heat & only does it every now & again - its everyday! She also puts her bum in Trixies face & sometimes squirts something. Trixie still has the upper hand over the food slightly as she eats so fast. They have floor time every evening so do get a chance to get away from each other.

Trixie seemed fine with this @ first & jsut got on with it but I have noticed over the last 2 weeks she looks sad & has not been herself. I have not seen her popcorn in a while & worry she is being bullied?

Apart from the odd squeak back there has not been any real fighting & no blood has been drawn. Its just more bullying i think.

Should i separate them? I have read on loads of forums that unless the fighting is really bad & blood is drawn you should leave them be but when Trixie looks @ me sometimes i feel like she is saying help me!

Any advise gratefully appreciated.

Suzy
 
Are you weighing your girls weekly? There can be a weather or health related reason, too. Weighing regularly is a very good way of health monitoring and catching problems early on.

Whether piggies are litter mates or not, is actually not relevant - the biggest squabbles I see are usually between my two pairs of sisters. it is much more important that piggies click with each other character wise. Size is also not the pivotal factor as to who is the top sow. The top sow of my group of 12 is one of the smallest girls; her litter sister is much, much bigger but has never shown any leader qualities.

Treacle sounds rather hormonal, and there is obviously a lot of dominance mixed in. Piggies slow down somewhat during their first year; they stop being energetic mad youngsters. Like boys, sows get hit by hormonal spikes during the first year of their lives, but unlike boys, they rarely lead to fights or fall outs.

Make sure that your girls have a big enough cage or hutch (the RSPCA minimal recommendation is 2x4 ft) that allows them to get away frome each other if they wish to. Give each a hidey, bowl and water bottle in different parts. That will hopefully help somewhat.

If things don't work out in the long term, you could consider bonding each girl with either a neutered boar or another girl they click with, ideally at a good rescue that offers this service to ensure character compatibility and a happy companionship. You could try introducing an already neutered boar to absorb some of the excess hormones (best by dating), but you may find that one of the girls will be left out in view of them not being the best of friends.Or you could consider forming a little herd of four girls/three girls one neutered boar; that way you are less likely to end up with an outsider problem even though Treacle will probably continue to give you headaches from time to time.
 
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No I have never weighed them. I shall do it 1st thing tomorrow. Was thinking of taking them to a vets to get registered & for a check over so may do this tomorrow as well.

I am ordering them a C&C cage within next few days so i hope the extra space will help.

To be honest unless it gets really bad 2 pigs are enough for me @ moment. The amount in veggies they eat i could not afford a 3rd!

Thanks so much for your advice :) Really appreciated!
 
Trixie weighs 914 grams & Treacle 912 - are these healthy weights?/
 
Reading this, it felt as if I had wrote it :) Except I have boys, not girls. My bf and I did exactly the same thing, picking one each from a pet store.

A month on, they still bicker but asides from that, they get on 80 percent of the time. For me, it was hard to figure out if they were just play chasing or if there was more to it. The way one of them used to squeal broke my heart at first.

I ended up buying them two houses as I woke up one night and Capy had been kicked out and was making his own little home in the fleece. I felt so bad for him, all he wanted to do was be near his "brother". Now, they sleep in their separate cosies and only bicker occasionally over food.

I'm not sure how it is with sows but plenty of space and a bit of time, they should be ok.
 
i got them in feb so they are around 6-7 months old.
 
I would say they have never been overly fond of each other - when out they do chase each other around sometimes but recently this is happening less
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& less.
 
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