Floor time for boars

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livvvvx_

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Hello

I’ve popped on before about my boars whose bond had broken after a fight. They are now living happily as bar buddies, in a 4x2 each, they never chatter or bum wiggle at each other, they talk to eachother a lot and always enjoy eating their snacks together at the bars

I have seen a thread on here, where someone had said their boars didn’t enjoy living together but DID enjoy floor time together, and got along perfectly when not in a cage..

So basically my question is, is it worth trying this? Not in an attempt to re bond as i know this isn’t possible. But would be lovely to let them have floor time together if it worked out.

Any opinions and advice welcome please 🙏🏼
 
We would not recommend it. It is most likely to just cause more fights and be stressful.
It is not usually the case where piggies who have had an actual fight will ever tolerate being able to physically be with that piggy again.

From the piggies point of view
- physical meetings will come with their expectation of trying to form a hierarchy. So it may not be your intention to rebond them, but to them that is absolutely what such a meeting is (but actually it won’t happen because they don’t get on).
- Repeated introduction and separation would cause stress because rebonding would never be able to be seen through to conclusion. And then every single time they would be put back in the position of having to start right at the beginning with no chance of success. This is where the stress comes from.
- Given they don’t get on and have had a fight, merely putting them together would be highly likely to result in another fight.

They may get on absolutely well through the bars but that is because they are not in each others territory nor trying to maintain dominance. It would be a very different kettle of fish if they were physically put together.
Not to mention that it could also disrupt the harmony they currently share between the bars
 
Aww okay thankyou! I won’t attempt this then. It would have been lovely to see them together but I see how it would upset them now!

Another question if it’s okay, if I was to use, say a ball pit, with liners and a big pile of hay, for a piggy to sit in whilst I do cage cleans, could I put them in (separately) one after the other, or would the second piggy to go be upset by the smell left from the first piggy? I am assuming not since they live side by side and can smell eachother but I just want to be sure.
 
livvvvx_ said:
Aww okay thankyou! I won’t attempt this then. It would have been lovely to see them together but I see how it would upset them now!

Another question if it’s okay, if I was to use, say a ball pit, with liners and a big pile of hay, for a piggy to sit in whilst I do cage cleans, could I put them in (separately) one after the other, or would the second piggy to go be upset by the smell left from the first piggy? I am assuming not since they live side by side and can smell eachother but I just want to be sure.
Click to expand...

It is fine since they cannot meet in person. You may get some reactions, though.

Guinea pigs do have a concept for a shared space. The problem is that it depends very much on the level of aggravation and their personalities. Boars with a non-violent fall-out and a more amicable divorce may eventually mellow enough that they can share lawn time but you can never predict that.

I would however not recommend to let boars meet face-to-face again after a full on fight with bites again. It will simply build up very quickly to another fight.

I appreciate that fall-out is very upsetting for you as an owner and that you have deep-seated desire to somehow make it undone. Unfortunately, there is no way back after a full-on fight where cage confines meant that the under-boar could not remove themselves from the premises and where the winner will not tolerate the loser in his space again. :(

You may find this article here interesting. It has a bit of a look at what makes boar tick and why the pet system fails their own social wiring on so many levels. It doesn't mean that they are unable to have stable relationships, just that the system is not usually giving them the option to go and find a friend themselves or to be able to stay with that friend from the pet shop floor.

Wiebke

Thread 'Boars: Where Does The Bad Press Actually Come From?'

- 'Bachelors' and 'Husboars'
- How does natural behaviour transfer to a pet setting?
- Pet boars - the big losers
- A look at the neutering situation
- A warm word for boars
- Practical tips for improving boar bond stability
- Further links to points raised in this article


This article, which takes a closer look at the role of boars in guinea pig society and why the current pet system is failing them on pretty much all levels, is part of an article series for Guinea Pig Magazine...
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