floor time was a disaster! help!

[piggieowner40]

I rehomed my piggie boars just over a month ago, they are a pair of boars aprox 1 year old, who I took in from a family who, whilst keeping the pigs fed well and in a good hutch ect didnt pay them any attention, the kids lost intrest in them and they were not handled at all....they have slowly begun to eat from my hand (one more so than the other) but hate to be touched, picked up ect so I have been trying lap time....these are short but sweet....If I pick one up (eventually after coaxing him into a tunnel) the other one weekkkks loudly and the one i have on my lap scrabbles to get down! they seem to get on otherwise....I have them out on the lawn in a run and they love to graze the grass, popcorning and enjoying the grass which is still quite a new concept to them as they had none in the other home. I have brought them into my kitchen before, put there hidey boxes on the floor, with their tunnels and other toys and that went quite well, but today, I thought I would move them into the hall as its more secure.
Well it was an utter disaster! I put all their usual toys and food down and brougth them in and from the moment they were on the ground, one humped the other one constantly! they squeeked and quabbled and it was rather relentless! poor old fuzzy couldnt even get his veggies with out been got at from behind! they have done this to a lesser degree outside in their run but nothing like this! I wanted to sit with the boys and let them get used to me, instead I ended up cutting short floor time and put them outside to see weather they would carry on and if I was gonna have to split them up!:0 and low and behold all is quite back outside on the lawn.......

so....what did I do wrong? I used the same floor coverings as before.....the same boxes, beds and toys as always....

all I have for my great idea is a sence of failure and a scratch :0

so do I try again another day? or keep to the kitchen were they seemed ok.....@)


sorry for this rather long post, if you have any ideas please tell me!

 

[Wiebke]

New territory means that boars (to a lesser extent girls) have to re-establish their dominance. What you have been treated to, was a full display of that.
Humping is very normal. You either have to let them work through it or scupper the idea. As your boys were happy back in their own patch, I would think that you can chance it to let them work through the dominance issue without fearing a break up. Just don't feed them there straight away! As long as your boys are in the mild to medium range, I would let them be.

It shouldn't last too long; but you will probably see a little occurrance at the beginning every time you take them to their new place.

Here is more about what is mild and what is dangerous dominance behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

Best of luck!

 

[piggieowner40]

New territory means that boars (to a lesser extent girls) have to re-establish their dominance. What you have been treated to, was a full display of that.
Humping is very normal. You either have to let them work through it or scupper the idea. As your boys were happy back in their own patch, I would think that you can chance it to let them work through the dominance issue without fearing a break up. Just don't feed them there straight away! As long as your boys are in the mild to medium range, I would let them be.

It shouldn't last too long; but you will probably see a little occurrance at the beginning every time you take them to their new place.

Here is more about what is mild and what is dangerous dominance behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

Best of luck!

thank you so much for your reply.....I will try again in the kitchen I think, they are outside back to normal its just me sitting here feeling like pooh! doh!@)

 

[mikulinek]

Absolutely agre with Wiebke. It's a territorial thing. Like any herd animal, male piggies are very much territorial beasts

Anything new will be scrapped over and that includes your hall