Females at war

[Annieareyouok]

Is this something to be concerned about? 2 females and a neutered boar. They have 3 hayboxes but I was just refilling one. The past couple of days white female has been somewhat “narky” to black female. Nothing major but black female (who is normally the boss) seems very, very jittery around white female. It has all amounted to nothing and they are all sleeping fine now, there’s no resource guarding or anything like that but it seems like white and black girls are not getting on atm! My boy is not getting involved at all. It just goes like this every couple of hours with the odd bit of chasing and teeth chattering then they go quiet. They have been together since birth and are around 1 year old. Just don’t want it to be the start of fighting thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Is this something to be concerned about? 2 females and a neutered boar. They have 3 hayboxes but I was just refilling one. The past couple of days white female has been somewhat “narky” to black female. Nothing major but black female (who is normally the boss) seems very, very jittery around white female. It has all amounted to nothing and they are all sleeping fine now, there’s no resource guarding or anything like that but it seems like white and black girls are not getting on atm! My boy is not getting involved at all. It just goes like this every couple of hours with the odd bit of chasing and teeth chattering then they go quiet. They have been together since birth and are around 1 year old. Just don’t want it to be the start of fighting thanks

Hi

How old are your piggies, especially your two sows? This can be crucial for any further advice.

Please make sure that they have access to more than one hay box and sprinkle feed any pellets and veg around the cage (it makes it also a good enrichment activity as it stimulates natural species behaviour and not only decreases dominance behaviours). Also make sure that any hideys etc. have all two exits.
Laying claim to first choice in terms of food and denning is an integral part of dominance display, especially from a group leader.

 

[Annieareyouok]

hi, the girls are around a year old. My boy is a bit older about 18 months. They have 3 hay boxes which are open sided baskets (the “door” is quite wide - I’d say about 20+ cm) and then they have 3 of everything else. I scatter feed their pellets and veg. They eat together absolutely fine, side by side no problem.
Could the hay baskets be an issue? They’ve always had them but this could be the only thing I can think of as they seem to “argue” over these (they have one each)? If I remove these would this make a difference?

 

[Annieareyouok]

I’ve removed the baskets and just put in a couple of low level trays, they seem MUCH happier, girls are even eating from the same tray. Hopefully this continues! Anything else I can try to keep their bond?