Fighting Boars

[AlexS]

Hi all, looking for reassurance... have had GP for years but always had girls.. in May we got two boars Frank & Fred they were bought together & have never been a problem Frank was the boss & Fred seemed ok with it.

Decided that as they had grown it was time to move them into a new large hutch to give them more space. That's where it has all gone pair shaped. I expected them to have a rumble to work out the dominance again in their new surroundings but they continued to fight. Blood was drawn but I think it was from a swipe as opposed to biting. Frank ended up worse off so I separated them last night as didn't want a fight happening when I wasn't around.

This morning neither are there usual happy squeaking selves. Fred refuses to come out of his house & Frank is looking lost.

I was going to try & bath them together, clean out the hutch & start again but wondered if it is too soon, should I leave them another day so Franks scratches can heal a bit?

Worried that if I leave it too long they won't bond again (although quite doubtful at the moment that anything will work).

Any advice welcome thanks.

 

[Redribbon]

I'm no expert but they need plenty of space and monitoring but try to keep them together unless the fight again. It's a tricky time, my boys are having a teenage hormone spike and Angus gets more rumbly and tries to mount Stan constantly after I clean them out, then it settles.
2am this morning I was at my wits end with it! But after chucking in a second big lump of hay all was calm.
Stan is the non dominant and thankfully they're not aggressive but it's heartbreaking to see them both stressed with raging hormones!
I guess just persevere.
Good luck!

 

[AlexS]

Thank you. They both seem lost today so gonna give it another go & keep my fingers crossed. So upsetting as they seemed so happy in their smaller home but it wasn't fair & they needed the space now they have grown.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all, looking for reassurance... have had GP for years but always had girls.. in May we got two boars Frank & Fred they were bought together & have never been a problem Frank was the boss & Fred seemed ok with it.

Decided that as they had grown it was time to move them into a new large hutch to give them more space. That's where it has all gone pair shaped. I expected them to have a rumble to work out the dominance again in their new surroundings but they continued to fight. Blood was drawn but I think it was from a swipe as opposed to biting. Frank ended up worse off so I separated them last night as didn't want a fight happening when I wasn't around.

This morning neither are there usual happy squeaking selves. Fred refuses to come out of his house & Frank is looking lost.

I was going to try & bath them together, clean out the hutch & start again but wondered if it is too soon, should I leave them another day so Franks scratches can heal a bit?

Worried that if I leave it too long they won't bond again (although quite doubtful at the moment that anything will work).

Any advice welcome thanks.

Hi! New territory and the teenage months don't mix in boars.

Please wait a day or two for the boys to settle and the swipe to stop hurting. Then reintroduce on neutral ground. It is up to you whether you want to bathe or not. You might try and see whether they are actually happier in their old cage. Perverse, I know, but it may do the trick.

Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[AlexS]

Thank you