Do Boars Have "off" Days?

[Lolly]

I'm not sure if things are starting to go downhill with my boars or it's just an off day but I have had a right stroppy pig for part of today.

I *thought* they were getting on well together, I've seen some dominance behaviours from both and Rosie seemed to be top pig the last couple of weeks. Today there has been episodes of teeth chattering and Patch chasing Rosie, he's been a right stroppy little so and so. Poor Rosie has been chased around and snapped at several times today. There hasn't been any squealing that I have heard and I haven't seen any humping, no bites either. They ate together from the same dish at veggie time, both stealing food from the other's mouth as normal and have been side by side eating hay. They do gently rumble at each other normally and mildly teeth chatter, today's has been a bit louder and a bit more determined but not alarmingly so. During run about time they were flopped down next to each other for a while with no problem.

They are both 5 months, so I know we have a long way to go with the hormones yet but should I be worried (like I'm not already....)? They are in a Ferplast cage so I have taken the front of the hidey away so that there is a shelf rather than a hidey with one door. They have 2 hay areas, 2 water bottles and 2 bowls of nuggets. Rosie has buried himself in the hay on the shelf and Patch is under the shelf. Anything else I can do apart from keep my fingers crossed they come through the next year as friends?

 

[MerryPip]

How big is your cage? The bigger the better really for most piggies, particularly a grumpy teenage boar I assume Patch is neutered?

All piggies have off days and at 5 months old they will both be testing each other's boundaries although it's unusual for a male/female pair to fall out badly.
Perhaps @Wiebke might have some more relationship advice....

 

[Wiebke]

You are already doing what you can and you are coming up to the most difficult time. Many boars have a big hormonal spike around 6 months old; the next iffy time are often the weeks around 8-10 months. After that, you are usually mostly our of the woods.

Is Rosie a girl or boy? Sorry for asking, but we have so many trans-gender names lately that I am getting confused.
Girls can actually be quite hormonal during their first year, too; it just doesn't lead to fights or fall-outs. it can well be that Patch is picking up on that. They may have some lively times with lots of dominance, chases and nipping etc. but they should not fall out.

 

[Julie M]

Good luck with your 2 boys. Hope all goes well. It's a good idea taking the front off and leaving a shelf. That way nobody can get trapped with only one exit. A big pile of hay usually calms my 2 when they r bickering.

 

[Lolly]

They are both boys! Maybe Rosie's gender crisis isn't helping! Lol! They are in a Ferplast 120, we couldn't fit a bigger one in the space and they come out every day for a few hours. They were in an outside 4" hutch but came in for the winter a couple of weeks ago.

Just been to check and all is calm, Rosie has pinched Patch's place under the shelf and is currently lying flat out nibbling the hay trailing down from the shelf.

 

[Lolly]

Well, all calm today so far..... fingers crossed I'm not jinxing myself here!

@Wiebke when we got them they were supposed to have been "about" 10 weeks but the girl was a bit vauge. The vet we saw said they were a very good size for 10 weeks, so it's entirely possible they are a bit older then that and could be 6 months now which would make sense of Mr Grumpy's mood! They are both around the 1kg mark (one just over, the other just under) so not small boys.

I think if Patch was a 2 legged teenager he would probably have a leather jacket, a crew cut and a pint of lager in one hand

 

[VickiA]

Well, all calm today so far..... fingers crossed I'm not jinxing myself here!

I think if Patch was a 2 legged teenager he would probably have a leather jacket, a crew cut and a pint of lager in one hand

I have teenage boy twins in my home so can fully understand the hormone issues your piggies are going through

 

[Lolly]

Oh my - teenage twin boys plus hormones, what could be worse? Maybe teenage twin girls with hormones, it would be a tough call