Endless fight for dominance?

[Festival]

After introducing my 6 month old pig, to a new year old pig, i'm finding their dominance battles are still ongoing.
I think my younger pig is slowly learning "who's boss", but i'd like to know peoples experience with this.

It seems currently my piggies are happy to share food and water (regardless of having two of each!) but still do a lot of rumbling around their sleeping areas? I've noticed the older pig will push the younger out of his home, and he will then rush off, hopefully not scared or being bullied?
Both weights of the two are steady, is this just a matter of the younger being a bit boyish, and wanting his dominance still?
Someone put my mind at rest! lol.

 

[skrikopanik]

I'm not a boar expert, but I think dominance is something that might go on for ever. As long as noone gets hurt it's just part of their life kinda. It's interaction and it keeps them busy and believe it or not, for most of the time happy. Underpigs are not necessarily sad that they are at the bottom.

I have a mixed group and though they are all used to my youngest and newest now she still gets shoved out of hideys (sometimes she's stroppy and bosses them too )

 

[Wiebke]

Dominance is not over in a few hours and with some pairs, behaviour like that can be part of their daily lives. Lots of boars do rumble regularly!

It is only very mild dominance behaviour; and whether it happens or not depends on the character combination. But it doesn't sound like anything you do have to worry about.

 

[Sharon.Mackay]

This has made me feel better, I got mine from a rescue centre recently and there seems to be a lot of bickering. Nothing serious just grumbling with the occasional head butt or bumping. I was concerned one was bulllying the other but now I wont worry about it. I tried seperating them yesterday because the little one seemed to be really bugging his friend, but then they cried for eachother:{ They certainly seem happy enough.

 

[Wiebke]

Here is more info about boar behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

A move to a new territoy means for boars that dominance has to settled afresh. That can take a few weeks, but it follows a strict protocol.

It looks a lot rougher to us than it actually is on the guinea pigs because they have to spell everything out in capital letters where we can get away with with just a hint. Your youngster will get the message and won't be hurt by it - he reads behaviour like that as a message and not as sheer spite. Being vocal about it signals actually that he has accepted the message and not that he is physically in pain; it is a tool of submission.