Fighting and Resolution?

[Euro1989]

Hi Piggie Lovers!

Soooo it has been a little bit of a crazy weekend for me and my Pigs! And I am hoping someone here can help me understand if I have indeed done the right thing. So heres the story... (all help is very much appreciated!)

So I have had my Piggies 9 months now, I have a white/brown mix called Dixie and a pure black called Dobby. Now when I first got them I assumed from the behaviour that Dobby was the dominant pig, he rumbled, he mounted and Dixie let him get on with it, and it was fine. But in the past week, Dixie has started rumbling back, trying to mount back, basically, there was now two piggies trying to be dominant. It got worse and by last night I filmed them rumbling and suddenly all hell broke loose, they began to fight and teeth chatter at each other. It was very vicious, lucky I had been keeping a towel with me incase, and I swiftly placed this over the Pigs and moved them into separate quarters.

Video link to what they were doing, I had to stop as it got worse and I could no longer film-

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v676/scanjet3/?action=view&current=IMG_0802.mp4

Now how it works with my pigs is we have a hutch for night time and a large run for daytime (all inside a thickly built outhouse thats warm yet well ventilated, they have their own lighting and heating system depending on the temperature.) So I have got pictures to illustrate my story if that helps:-

Night house-

Day run-

But due to this fighting, they needed to be separated, but I have been told that complete separation will just upset and depress the pigs. So what I have done is this, I have placed a divide down the middle of the run and made two individual homes for them, meaning they can see each other and talk yet they can't fight or bully each other.

So eventually I will make the hutch into two separate bedrooms and attach that to the run above via two tunnels so they can have even more room in their individual homes. I am hoping this is the best way to resolve the issue of fighting without taking them away completely from each other.

Any advice would be great!

Thanks
Alex

 

[Puzzlepigs]

It sounds as if they may be going through a certain stage in life and their hormones are changing. I have no experience of boars myself but I have heard others say that. I heard some teeth chattering in the film. Usually this is something to look out for. It's a warning from one pig telling the other to back off and often saying that they want to be boss. Sometimes this doesn't do any harm but it can escalate.
What you have done for the time being looks fine, but obviously you will have to consider other options if they still don't get on after a while.

I'm sure that another experienced forum member can help you out a little more.

 

[Euro1989]

Thanks Puzzlepigs, after I finished filming it did escalate quite dramatically, they literally did not stop chasing each other around and chattering at each other. I have seen a small cut it seems on Dixie's side today which looks slightly red so I do think that may have been from a previous fight.

When I sit with them though they just dont stop or relax, it is constant rumbling, chasing, hair up, bums moving slowing in the air, teeth chattering. Like they never rest!.

I just hope what I have done is the best thing for them. They do seemed to have calmed down now.

 

[Wiebke]

Wishing you the best of luck! The stroppy months are a very difficult time, and you can do only so much (you are doing A LOT) - in the end it is ultimately down to whether they are character compatible or not.

 

[Euro1989]

I am glad to see that I seem to be doing the right thing. These are my first guinea pigs since I was a child. And when you have full responsibility for them, you realise that you have to provide everything for your animals as you have a duty of care.

But today has been a lot better, I have been with them at different points through out the day and am happy to see a lot more squeaking and talking and a lot more popcorning. So this could be heading in the right direction

 

[Lilly]

When I watched your video it honestly didn't look any different from what my 2 boys get up to and they still live together in the same cage. However, if your boys have drawn blood (mine haven't) which you seem to think they did, then the divided cage is a brilliant idea. You photos of it seem to show the piggies are happy to interact with each other between the mesh.

 

[Euro1989]

Yeah Lilly for now this is how I am going to keep it, they seem very relaxed