Dominance Or Fighting?

[Keiko The Pig]

okay so I recently adopted a rescue pig as a companion for my brown aby who's now hitting the dreadful teenage hormones and i can see his little boy parts starting to descend! Recently there's been a bit of mounting from him (there never was before) and they do these scary little..not sure what to call it. But my younger pig Milo will jab his nose at Keiko and Keiko will do it back. There's no chattering, no teeth baring, but it's quite scary. There has been some chin offs but once again no chattering or anything. I'm not sure if this is just dominance or if they are fighting in a lesser way than other pigs do. I have coaxed Milo onto my lap after these little nose jabbing episodes and stroked him but he's always eager to run back out to Keiko. Recently I witnessed Keiko stand on his back legs before mounting Milo and I read that standing up like that is a danger sign! There's always a towel on hand in case something does happen. I've also observed this takes place out of the cage during floor time more so than in. Inside there's some rumbling and a rare mounting but not much of the other behaviour! I've also recently witnessed Milo (submissive pig) trying to nibble Keikos ears and push Keikos chin up! Is it possible he's challenging for top pig? He's not even two months old yet!

 

[Julie M]

I think it sounds like they are still trying to work out who is "top pig". They definitely don't sound like they are fighting. Trust me you would really know if they were fighting, my 2 original piggies fell out and had a massive fight at 3am one morning. Teeth chattering, lunging at each other. And at one point all I could see was a ball of fur rolling about the cage. Luckily I got them before any serious injury happened. Needless to say they were separated and now have a new cage mate each who they get along with. Saying that nose offs and rumblestrutting are a daily occurrence with my boys. (Both sets). Lol.

 

[Keiko The Pig]

I think it sounds like they are still trying to work out who is "top pig". They definitely don't sound like they are fighting. Trust me you would really know if they were fighting, my 2 original piggies fell out and had a massive fight at 3am one morning. Teeth chattering, lunging at each other. And at one point all I could see was a ball of fur rolling about the cage. Luckily I got them before any serious injury happened. Needless to say they were separated and now have a new cage mate each who they get along with. Saying that nose offs and rumblestrutting are a daily occurrence with my boys. (Both sets). Lol.

I thought they had settled it already because Milo has never rumbled, tried to mount Keiko (apart from introduction day), and has a generally quieter personality. Keiko is much more confident. It also seems odd that during Keiko's hormones he would start letting Milo push him around a bit.

 

[Julie M]

I think it's just what boys do. They are funny characters, mine are always rumblestrutting and running about. Then the next minute they are sleeping beside each other. I don't think you need to worry. They can sometimes look scary when having Nose offs but usually calm quickly. And if there's no other warning signs like very loud chattering or lunging at each other you should be ok.
About the mounting, in one of my pairs Alby is definitely the top piggie but he lets his cage mate Buddy mount him. Although Alby does complain by rumblestrutting along with buddy on his back. Lol
I'm not an expert though just got 2 pairs of boys. Who can be a bit rowdy and very cheeky. But I wouldn't change them for the world. Hope all goes well and looking forward to seeing pictures of your boys.

 

[Keiko The Pig]

Thanks for the reassurance I guess boys will be boys lol I'm sure Milo will get his revenge when he starts getting his boy bits! I think Keiko just craves companionship so much he lets Milo get away with things more dominant pigs wouldn't tolerate. Jeesh two pairs of boys? Don't know if i could handle that! Mine cause enough trouble already! Yeah I do notice that after a nose off they both let me pet them and sometimes I get Milo onto my lap to make sure he hasn't any scratches from all the mounting and he's eager to run right back out for round two lol

 

[Julie M]

Yes I must be mad. I got my first 2 Alby and Fudge off gumtree as a pair. They lived in a ferplast 100 cage Then when they got a c&c they fell out. (Really bad fight) so they got split up. Alby was miserable alone so we got a young boar (buddy) from Pets at home adoption bit. My hubby said "no more Piggies" but I kept dropping hints that they really shouldn't live alone. And one day he suggested getting a friend for fudge. So I looked on gumtree again and we found Peanut. That's how I ended up with 4. Lol. I was very lucky that the bonding worked or I might have ended up worth more. Lol.

 

[Keiko The Pig]

Oh gosh I couldn't handle 4 piggies so I'm extremely lucky the bonding worked out! I'm in Canada. Dating is not an option here and there's only ONE Guinea pig rescue in the area. Keiko was a pet shop pig (as I didn't think there were any rescues) I waited a month until he was old enough to be 100% certain of his sex then started looking everywhere for a companion. Bought a new cage that was never assembled until the day I brought his friend home, all new hideys and bowls, and luckily they've gotten on ever since. Are currently sitting side by side munching on some red leaf lettuce with occasional breaks to tear apart the new Timothy hay mat I bought for them

 

[Julie M]

That's cute. Glad they are getting along well.

 

[ChewyTheGuinea]

okay so I recently adopted a rescue pig as a companion for my brown aby who's now hitting the dreadful teenage hormones and i can see his little boy parts starting to descend! Recently there's been a bit of mounting from him (there never was before) and they do these scary little..not sure what to call it. But my younger pig Milo will jab his nose at Keiko and Keiko will do it back. There's no chattering, no teeth baring, but it's quite scary. There has been some chin offs but once again no chattering or anything. I'm not sure if this is just dominance or if they are fighting in a lesser way than other pigs do. I have coaxed Milo onto my lap after these little nose jabbing episodes and stroked him but he's always eager to run back out to Keiko. Recently I witnessed Keiko stand on his back legs before mounting Milo and I read that standing up like that is a danger sign! There's always a towel on hand in case something does happen. I've also observed this takes place out of the cage during floor time more so than in. Inside there's some rumbling and a rare mounting but not much of the other behaviour! I've also recently witnessed Milo (submissive pig) trying to nibble Keikos ears and push Keikos chin up! Is it possible he's challenging for top pig? He's not even two months old yet!

I'm sure the mounting is just scent marking.