piggl
Forum Donator 2024/25
Hi all, I am going to start this post off with some background of my piggies, but my actual question can be answered without reading this so please scroll down if you wish to just see my question 
I have two boars, Reggie (1y 3m) and Bean (5m). Reggie was initially bought as a baby when my old Piggy Winstons friend died. They got on well but a few months into their friendship Winston really started to struggle with arthritis and Reggies' constant jumping, pushing and humping was not helping at all, so we made the decision to split them. Reggie then got a new baby friend, Remi, while Winston lived in his own hutch a couple metres away. Reggie and Remi were fine until unfortunately we found a lump under Remis chin when he was only around 4-5m old. He was eventually booked in for an operation, and I had plans to keep them together the entire time of his recovery but unfortunately we had quite a few issues from swelling/fluid to infections, so I made the decision to remove them from each other while Remi recovered. I was aware of the danger but was a risk I had to take for Remis health.
Anyway a few weeks later, I attempted an introduction and things didn't go well. A whole lot of tense-ness and a lot of defensive-ness from my Reggie. They ended up having a full on fight and had to be removed from each other permanently.
This is when I made the decision to put Remi up for adoption and get Reggie a new friend, as although I was aware they could live side by side, I didn't want them to have to "live alone" especially as they were both under a year old. Our nearest rescue is around 2 hours away, so we eventually decided to try and bond Reggie with a friend down there and give Remi up for adoption. Reggie and his new friend, Hank, got on ok at the rescue and after a few hours we made the trip home. Unfortunately again Reggie was very scared and defensive, for not much reason at all, and they ended up having a full on fight a couple hours into being in their new home.
We were then kind of stuck, two pigs who dont like each other and Mr. Hank ended up taking mites with him, since it would be a few weeks before I could make it back down to the rescue anyway I decided to just treat him here. Almost 2 months later we then set a date again, but instead I would stay overnight in a hotel near by, so we could "ensure" that Reggie definitely had a bond with whoever was coming back. We got there and he was put with someone, but within around 8-ish hours again, they had a massive falling out because Reggie was way to scared. She then tried him with 1 or 2 other singles but no luck.
We came home with 1 piggy and defeated spirits. I then had to make the decision of whether to try the baby route, or maybe to get him neutered. With his fear, we decided to go down the baby route, which is where bean comes in. Their was a lot of stress/tension in their bonding, again Reggie showing signs of fear-aggression and just being terrified of any other piggy. Honestly I thought it was not going to over but over the coming days Reggie eventually calmed down and realised Bean just wanted to be a friend.
Back to present day, my two live in a 2-story hutch which is just a little over 5x2. I modified the ramp into two with an area to stand in between. It was meant to alleviate stress on their joints but I do think it maybe made a bit of a meeting point, where little silly arguments made them a bit more tense because they had to jump/push past each other to get past. Two days ago I found Reggie had a cut/bite on his lip which made me suspicious as it did look like a bite rather than something that would happen on its own. I kept an eye on them and noticed a lot of tension. As bean is coming into his teenager stage, he is a bit more dominant, he wants to jump/rumble and hump, and Reggie just can not handle it.
I do not know if being passed through so many friends, or having so many failed bonds where he always ended up being the "bullied"/underling because of his fear & defensiveness, but he just can not stand any pig doing really anything to him at all. Last night I came to give them their veg but sat down and ended up speaking to a friend for a bit before giving them their meal. They were all excited but still bumping into to each other, which led to rumble strutting/teeth chattering, then to lunging to then a full on fight. Like tumbleweeds in the wind. I managed to intervene before anyone got hurt again, and since last night Bean is indoors in a fully enclosed cage and Reggie is outside in his hutch. I decided to take bean in because he's just a baby, but he is really struggling with being alone. He is absolutely terrified and wont come out of hiding.
They do have a run made up with metal grids that they were let out into during the day which I plan to set up in half/half, so they can see each other through-out the day and then they will go into their respective homes overnight until I can get something properly sorted, it just didn't happen today because I had an exam.
My Question!
Now to the reason for this post. As I mentioned my boys live in a garage, in a 2 story hutch that is a little bigger than 5x2 in C&C sizes. They have around a 3x6 run that they get access to during the day, attached to their hutch. They can not safely live in my garage without being in a fully closed hutch due to the fact I live in Scotland and in winters temperatures average (-2)-10 degrees over the course of a couple months at a time (Autumn, Winter).
I really can do not know if i can start the whole bonding process again, especially because it seems that Reggie is just unfit to live with another pig. I am aware that bonding him with a female is an option, but I am not sure about it. We love bean aswell so I would hate to have to put him up for adoption.
I am going to list a few of my options, and I hope someone can help me narrow them down and maybe help a bit with the likely-hood that they will work out, which I understand can never be 100% (unless they live side by side), but many of you have more experience than me that may help.
It is also worth noting that I am, hopefully, about to start a full time apprenticeship in childcare, which is around 48-ish hours a week. It wont mean I wont have time for my pigs, I just wont have time to be putting up with the stresses of stuff like this, haha.
Option 1) I put bean up for adoption so he can find a life-long friend, he is just a couple months old and I feel terrible that he now may have to live side by side for the rest of his life. Reggie would then live on his own, but I would make him a 4x2 cage inside. I know pigs shouldn't live on their own, but this is "technically" my easiest option as it means less work for me in the long run, and Reggie clearly isn't happy with another pig but doesn't mean he should have no interaction for the rest of his life. Again, I am about to be working 9 hours a day, so I am not exactly there for "companionship" either.
Option 2) I put bean up for adoption, he will find a friend very quick because he is such a lovely guy. I then neuter Reggie and wait 6 weeks, then attempt a bonding with a female. I would like it to be an older female from a rescue but I think the single female "population" will be a bit thin. I am wondering if this will give Reggie a second chance? I know some boars just DO NOT get on with other boars, so they get put with ladies, but I do not know if he is scared of boars or scared of all pigs in general. I just worry that I spent quite a bit of money on a surgery, with possible complications, just for him to not bond with anyone again.
Option 3) I buy another hutch and they live side by side for the rest of their lives. My worry is that this will take up quite a bit of time for me, having to clean two hutches and a run, but I love them both a lot so if they can live happily side by side, this is maybe the best option.
Their only interaction overnight would be on the "short side" of the hutch, so basically I plan to cut off one side of the hutch (on both hutches) and make it mesh, so that they can see/hear each other even overnight. This also makes holidays a bit more tricky, but nothing "impossible".
I would take away access to the second floor of my current hutch, so both boys would be living in a single story 5x2 hutch, with one conjoining wall. They would then get access to a conjoined run from time to time.
A few questions that I feel might be brought up. 1) Both pigs cannot come inside and live in conjoining cages. It is my parents house and they just do not agree with it, they think that it will stink and take up too much of my personal space. I do not agree, but it is not my home so there is not much I can do.
2) Have them living in the grids full time outside. I technically could do this in the summer, but even now when its 18-22 during the day, it is still reaching 10-12 overnight and I just don't feel comfortable putting them in this situation. The only way they are able to stay outside in the garage at all during the winter is with insulation, massive sleeping bags Infront of their cage, plenty of hay and heat pads, so unfortunately living in C&C outside is not an option.
Sorry I know this is a very long post, but I greatly appreciate anyone who takes the time even to just give it a read over. Any advice/thoughts welcome <3
I have two boars, Reggie (1y 3m) and Bean (5m). Reggie was initially bought as a baby when my old Piggy Winstons friend died. They got on well but a few months into their friendship Winston really started to struggle with arthritis and Reggies' constant jumping, pushing and humping was not helping at all, so we made the decision to split them. Reggie then got a new baby friend, Remi, while Winston lived in his own hutch a couple metres away. Reggie and Remi were fine until unfortunately we found a lump under Remis chin when he was only around 4-5m old. He was eventually booked in for an operation, and I had plans to keep them together the entire time of his recovery but unfortunately we had quite a few issues from swelling/fluid to infections, so I made the decision to remove them from each other while Remi recovered. I was aware of the danger but was a risk I had to take for Remis health.
Anyway a few weeks later, I attempted an introduction and things didn't go well. A whole lot of tense-ness and a lot of defensive-ness from my Reggie. They ended up having a full on fight and had to be removed from each other permanently.
This is when I made the decision to put Remi up for adoption and get Reggie a new friend, as although I was aware they could live side by side, I didn't want them to have to "live alone" especially as they were both under a year old. Our nearest rescue is around 2 hours away, so we eventually decided to try and bond Reggie with a friend down there and give Remi up for adoption. Reggie and his new friend, Hank, got on ok at the rescue and after a few hours we made the trip home. Unfortunately again Reggie was very scared and defensive, for not much reason at all, and they ended up having a full on fight a couple hours into being in their new home.
We were then kind of stuck, two pigs who dont like each other and Mr. Hank ended up taking mites with him, since it would be a few weeks before I could make it back down to the rescue anyway I decided to just treat him here. Almost 2 months later we then set a date again, but instead I would stay overnight in a hotel near by, so we could "ensure" that Reggie definitely had a bond with whoever was coming back. We got there and he was put with someone, but within around 8-ish hours again, they had a massive falling out because Reggie was way to scared. She then tried him with 1 or 2 other singles but no luck.
We came home with 1 piggy and defeated spirits. I then had to make the decision of whether to try the baby route, or maybe to get him neutered. With his fear, we decided to go down the baby route, which is where bean comes in. Their was a lot of stress/tension in their bonding, again Reggie showing signs of fear-aggression and just being terrified of any other piggy. Honestly I thought it was not going to over but over the coming days Reggie eventually calmed down and realised Bean just wanted to be a friend.
Back to present day, my two live in a 2-story hutch which is just a little over 5x2. I modified the ramp into two with an area to stand in between. It was meant to alleviate stress on their joints but I do think it maybe made a bit of a meeting point, where little silly arguments made them a bit more tense because they had to jump/push past each other to get past. Two days ago I found Reggie had a cut/bite on his lip which made me suspicious as it did look like a bite rather than something that would happen on its own. I kept an eye on them and noticed a lot of tension. As bean is coming into his teenager stage, he is a bit more dominant, he wants to jump/rumble and hump, and Reggie just can not handle it.
I do not know if being passed through so many friends, or having so many failed bonds where he always ended up being the "bullied"/underling because of his fear & defensiveness, but he just can not stand any pig doing really anything to him at all. Last night I came to give them their veg but sat down and ended up speaking to a friend for a bit before giving them their meal. They were all excited but still bumping into to each other, which led to rumble strutting/teeth chattering, then to lunging to then a full on fight. Like tumbleweeds in the wind. I managed to intervene before anyone got hurt again, and since last night Bean is indoors in a fully enclosed cage and Reggie is outside in his hutch. I decided to take bean in because he's just a baby, but he is really struggling with being alone. He is absolutely terrified and wont come out of hiding.
They do have a run made up with metal grids that they were let out into during the day which I plan to set up in half/half, so they can see each other through-out the day and then they will go into their respective homes overnight until I can get something properly sorted, it just didn't happen today because I had an exam.
My Question!
Now to the reason for this post. As I mentioned my boys live in a garage, in a 2 story hutch that is a little bigger than 5x2 in C&C sizes. They have around a 3x6 run that they get access to during the day, attached to their hutch. They can not safely live in my garage without being in a fully closed hutch due to the fact I live in Scotland and in winters temperatures average (-2)-10 degrees over the course of a couple months at a time (Autumn, Winter).
I really can do not know if i can start the whole bonding process again, especially because it seems that Reggie is just unfit to live with another pig. I am aware that bonding him with a female is an option, but I am not sure about it. We love bean aswell so I would hate to have to put him up for adoption.
I am going to list a few of my options, and I hope someone can help me narrow them down and maybe help a bit with the likely-hood that they will work out, which I understand can never be 100% (unless they live side by side), but many of you have more experience than me that may help.
It is also worth noting that I am, hopefully, about to start a full time apprenticeship in childcare, which is around 48-ish hours a week. It wont mean I wont have time for my pigs, I just wont have time to be putting up with the stresses of stuff like this, haha.
Option 1) I put bean up for adoption so he can find a life-long friend, he is just a couple months old and I feel terrible that he now may have to live side by side for the rest of his life. Reggie would then live on his own, but I would make him a 4x2 cage inside. I know pigs shouldn't live on their own, but this is "technically" my easiest option as it means less work for me in the long run, and Reggie clearly isn't happy with another pig but doesn't mean he should have no interaction for the rest of his life. Again, I am about to be working 9 hours a day, so I am not exactly there for "companionship" either.
Option 2) I put bean up for adoption, he will find a friend very quick because he is such a lovely guy. I then neuter Reggie and wait 6 weeks, then attempt a bonding with a female. I would like it to be an older female from a rescue but I think the single female "population" will be a bit thin. I am wondering if this will give Reggie a second chance? I know some boars just DO NOT get on with other boars, so they get put with ladies, but I do not know if he is scared of boars or scared of all pigs in general. I just worry that I spent quite a bit of money on a surgery, with possible complications, just for him to not bond with anyone again.
Option 3) I buy another hutch and they live side by side for the rest of their lives. My worry is that this will take up quite a bit of time for me, having to clean two hutches and a run, but I love them both a lot so if they can live happily side by side, this is maybe the best option.
Their only interaction overnight would be on the "short side" of the hutch, so basically I plan to cut off one side of the hutch (on both hutches) and make it mesh, so that they can see/hear each other even overnight. This also makes holidays a bit more tricky, but nothing "impossible".
I would take away access to the second floor of my current hutch, so both boys would be living in a single story 5x2 hutch, with one conjoining wall. They would then get access to a conjoined run from time to time.
A few questions that I feel might be brought up. 1) Both pigs cannot come inside and live in conjoining cages. It is my parents house and they just do not agree with it, they think that it will stink and take up too much of my personal space. I do not agree, but it is not my home so there is not much I can do.
2) Have them living in the grids full time outside. I technically could do this in the summer, but even now when its 18-22 during the day, it is still reaching 10-12 overnight and I just don't feel comfortable putting them in this situation. The only way they are able to stay outside in the garage at all during the winter is with insulation, massive sleeping bags Infront of their cage, plenty of hay and heat pads, so unfortunately living in C&C outside is not an option.
Sorry I know this is a very long post, but I greatly appreciate anyone who takes the time even to just give it a read over. Any advice/thoughts welcome <3
