Eating/pulling/chewing Cage Mate's Whiskers!

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oxtinamona

oxtinamona

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I bonded my fussy sow recently with another girl. They are getting on ok, but I noticed that during lap
Time when they cuddle my old piggie will pull and chew on Pixies whiskers ! Pixie doesn't seem bothered by it but Biscuit seems to be very ' passionate '
About it and determined to pull/chew them' ! Is this barbering? Is it normal ?
 
oxtinamona said:
I bonded my fussy sow recently with another girl. They are getting on ok, but I noticed that during lap
Time when they cuddle my old piggie will pull and chew on Pixies whiskers ! Pixie doesn't seem bothered by it but Biscuit seems to be very ' passionate '
About it and determined to pull/chew them' ! Is this barbering? Is it normal ?
Click to expand...

It is barbering; long hairs are most prone to being barbered.
Barbering ( Eating Hair)
 
Should I be worried? Does anyone what causes it? I read somewhere it's stress related ?
 
Wiebke said:
It is barbering; long hairs are most prone to being barbered.
Barbering ( Eating Hair)
Click to expand...
Read it all, thanks Wiebke. I think in this case it's affectionate. Biscuit ( the one chewing/pulling) on whiskers is very affectionate pig and she lived alone for few months so may be she's just pleased to have a friend. Hopefully X
 
oxtinamona said:
Read it all, thanks Wiebke. I think in this case it's affectionate. Biscuit ( the one chewing/pulling) on whiskers is very affectionate pig and she lived alone for few months so may be she's just pleased to have a friend. Hopefully X
Click to expand...

I would also read it as that as her friend did not protest. It is hopefully settling down over time.
 
Hopefully it will settle down over time. Some pigs just like to barber other pigs, and sometimes it's really hard to figure out the reason. Sundae goes through periods of time when she will barber her cagemate, Hadley, and then just as suddenly will stop. Often nothing has really changed (other than a change of seasons, she seems to do this more in the summer.) She chewed off all of Hadley's longer fur (Hadley is part sheltie and grows a long skirt in back and long tufts behind her ears.) Then she stopped again and Hadley is finally recovering from her very bad haircut!
 
Freela said:
Hopefully it will settle down over time. Some pigs just like to barber other pigs, and sometimes it's really hard to figure out the reason. Sundae goes through periods of time when she will barber her cagemate, Hadley, and then just as suddenly will stop. Often nothing has really changed (other than a change of seasons, she seems to do this more in the summer.) She chewed off all of Hadley's longer fur (Hadley is part sheltie and grows a long skirt in back and long tufts behind her ears.) Then she stopped again and Hadley is finally recovering from her very bad haircut!
Click to expand...

Oh it's funny in the way to see how some piggie literally give their cage mates a really bad hair cut :) as long as no one suffers then it's ok ... The only thing that may suffer is the pride of the long haired ones
 
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