Can anyone help with one of my pig's behaviour?

  • Thread starter Thread starter proplus
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

proplus

Been reading up in books and on the net about pigs' behaviours, but there are always so many contradicting views.

Right, my other boar is called Baileys and he's a crumpy sod. We've had him and his brother for 4+ weeks and they are now 11-12 weeks old. When we first got them, they got on fine but now its starting the 'dominance' thing.

So.....

1. Beckham (the other boar) is always chatty and very inquistive, very friendly in fact. Whenever he gets close to Baileys, Baileys will rumble (purr) so I guess he wants to be left alone. Sometimes I can see Baileys purring whilst walking very slowly and slowly swing his hips. So this I guess is the 'dominance' thing, is it Baileys displaying the more dominant characteristics?

2. Baileys hates to be picked up, he'll run around all day trying to avoid being touched. Trying even to seduce him with fresh fruit/veg and thats been no good, won't touch it if its in your hands. Once picked up, he stays absolutely still unless I put him near my chest/shoulder, then he'll sniff around a bit. All in complete silence, there has been only twice he's made a very faint happy squeak whilst being massaged. After 10mins or so, he'll lightly bite my hand once or twice to let me know he's had enough and wants to be let down. Is this normal? Will he ever more friendly? I understand it might take a long time, but how long an approx timeframe are we talking about?
 
guinea pigs are nervous creatures (as you know) it varies as all piggies are different.

they do nip or nibble to let you know that they want to go to the toilet or dont like what you are doing. I would carry on handling them every day when its quiet and talk to them, mine is a grumpy little thing and hes 2 ! ;D

its only been a few weeks so dont be too hard on yourself, it does take time for them to get used to you and you do occasionally get the odd one whos on the wild side.

like i said before handling and giving them treats like you are doing is the key and they will start to trust you, good luck O0
 
oh and yes it is a dominance thing even females do it , as long as blood isnt being drawn then its nothing to worry about :)
 
Yeah one of mine actually does that too and i have had them for around 8 weeks now and he has drawn blood from me once or twice. Is that alarming?

Terry-Ann x
 
drawn blood from you ! thats not good , bet that hurt. Have you checked him for mites?
 
I have 6 boars...some are very loving and tame, others are not and never will be! all have different personalities. This does not mean you shouldnt pick Bailey up and cuddle him, but when he has had enough, leave him be :)
 
Like your Bailey, my Roo hates being picked up and carried about. But he loves snuggling up on a lap next to his best friend (and cage-mate) Sam. :smitten:

Maybe try having your two boys out on your lap together? It can help with bonding too. Tom and Jez, my other two boars, will happily share a lap even though they can not share floor time for more than about ten-fifteen minutes without squabbling!
 
I have two girls that are exactly the same, one is really chatty and not very jumpy and will let you stroke her (although we stil have to chase her roud to pick her up, she's so fast!) and the other is less trusting, very jumpy and more dominant although she does wheek too when she wants food :) I've had mine about 2 months now and they're still really nervous but they're getting better, it's probably just a dominance thing i'm sure they'll improve over time. i also think it's a youngster thing, my older boy Ralfie has only been with us a few weeks and he's never jumpy and loves his cuddles, he's still loud though :) i think it wil jsut take time for your boys, keep at it and they will soth soon calm down. I'm sure the dominance thing will be sorted out soon too xx
 
I also think some pigs are people's pigs and others are piggie's pigs if you understand what i mean lol?! Like my Bee loves people and doesn't run away with loud noises and will talk to us a lot but she's the less dominant one, Bumble is definately the boss in their cage! Bumble doesn't like loud noises or sudden movements and does still seem quite scared of us sometimes, but she constantly talks to Bee and loves talking to Ralfie through the divider! I think Ralfie is another people's pig, i have a feeling he's not going to like living with the girls an he loves having lots of attention, if you sit in his cage he'll come and sit on your lap but he doesn't seem interested in the girls really. Depends on the piggie i suppose! Sorry if i'm waffling ;D x
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top