Desperate to avoid separation--please help :(

[buffystrong]

Hi everyone. I'm brand new here, as I am utterly desperate for an answer. I adopted my three boars (Sugar, Arthur, and Nutkin) in November 2020, each at the age of 3 months. They were three peas in a pod back then! I never once expected to have a problem. But as it is now springtime, and they've just turned 9 months old, the dynamic between two of them has shifted in a terrible way.

Nutkin has been dominant ever since we moved them in. And Sugar has always been a bit clownish and mildly disrespectful of the hierarchy, you might say? It's a bit tough to explain. Up until just these past few weeks, Sugar never seemed interested in actually ruling the roost, so to speak, but he's clearly dominant by nature: he's just more interested in food than anything else lol. So now comes the trouble: Sugar and Nutkin are fighting these days. I've twice found fur on the cage floor, which I suspect very much was yanked out during a fight. But no blood yet, happily...

They get on fine most of the day, but teeth chattering/chasing/lunging have become daily occurrences. I am trying to accept the fact that I will likely have to separate them permanently at this rate, but I'm wondering if I should first try a larger cage or a longer term temporary separation? I've already been thinking that our current cage looks too cramped (4' x 4'), and even worse is that we haven't been able to separate them for more than a few hours at a time because we don't have a second cage (didn't think we would need one until now!). So we typically take whichever pig seems more riled up and put him in our bedroom on some fleece with hay, water, a hidey, etc. But obviously that isn't sustainable for days at a time.

Last, I am struggling to decide who, if anyone, needs to be kept away from the other. I suspect that Sugar is the problem, which breaks my heart because he's so sweet and social. He really does seem to love the company of his brothers. But he just can't mind his manners.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear they aren’t getting on.
However, three boars together almost never works out for the long term. They are usually fine as youngsters but when their hormones hit at 16 weeks, things generally escalate toward separation before they hit adulthood. Separation is going to be the best thing, I am sorry to say. Boars need to be kept in pairs.

A 4ft x 4ft cage is not big enough for a boar trio - it equates to 16 sq ft which is only a little over the size recommended for two boars (two boars needing 12 sq ft). Due to the fact that boar trio almost never work out and that boars are more territorial, they require a huge amount more space - a cage covering 32 sq ft is necessary to attempt a trio. However, a large space alone is never enough. Getting the character match in a boar trio is almost impossible (they find it very hard to get a functioning hierarchy) and as such increasing your cage size is not likely to make any difference. In fact, a change in territory (of which changing the cage size would constitute) is likely to make things worse.

Removing a piggy temporarily isn’t something which can be constantly repeated as it can further destabilise an already tense bond. I am sorry to say that you will need to work out which two get on best and keep them together. They will need a 12 sq ft cage to themselves. The one who ends up single will need a minimum of an 8sq ft cage and his cage will need to be kept alongside the other two so they can interact through the bars so he doesn’t get lonely. Once separated (which needs to be done very soon given they are already fighting - fights warrant permament and immediate separation) they must not have physical contact again.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble

 

[David Piggie Lover]

Oh I'm sorry this is happening, sounds like teenagers,
I have 3 sows 2 and a 1 living next to each other,
There are great advise on here about bonding and I'm sure someone who's have or had a similar as yourself will reply,
Fighting is a defo NO,

 

[buffystrong]

I’m sorry to hear they aren’t getting on.
However, three boars together almost never works out for the long term. They are usually fine as youngsters but when their hormones hit at 16 weeks, things generally escalate toward separation before they hit adulthood. Separation is going to be the best thing, I am sorry to say. Boars need to be kept in pairs.

A 4ft x 4ft cage is not big enough for a boar trio - it equates to 16 sq ft which is only a little over the size recommended for two boars (two boars needing 12 sq ft). Due to the fact that boar trio almost never work out and that boars are more territorial, they require a huge amount more space - a cage covering 32 sq ft is necessary to attempt a trio. However, a large space alone is never enough. Getting the character match in a boar trio is almost impossible (they find it very hard to get a functioning hierarchy) and as such increasing your cage size is not likely to make any difference. In fact, a change in territory (of which changing the cage size would constitute) is likely to make things worse.

Removing a piggy temporarily isn’t something which can be constantly repeated as it can further destabilise an already tense bond. I am sorry to say that you will need to work out which two get on best and keep them together. They will need a 12 sq ft cage to themselves. The one who ends up single will need a minimum of an 8sq ft cage and his cage will need to be kept alongside the other two so they can interact through the bars so he doesn’t get lonely. Once separated (which needs to be done very soon given they are already fighting - fights warrant permament and immediate separation) they must not have physical contact again.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble

Thanks very much. Again, I suspected this would be the case.

 

[Wiebke]

I am very sorry but I fully agree with @Piggies&buns . Sadly the majority of teenage boar trios don't make it. Three boys hitting the hormone spikes all at the same time is the most difficult combo apart from baby boar quartets, where the fail rate is near total.

It is always a totally gutting experience and hard to take leave of your dream of a happy group of piggies and deal with the reality.