Help needed urgently on failed bonding!

[kevncaz]

Hi all , Kev here , were having major problems trying to bond a new girl (bella) into Cazs moms established herd of 2 girls and a neutered boy .
We did try to bond bella with her moms other pair of a neutered boy and a girl which ended badly when bella got her nose nipped ( no blood drawn )
Were trying to bond them in neutral territory with lashings of kale , we've tried to bond them with no food available and this ended up exactly the same , loads of teeth chattering , rumbling , raised hackles and aggression from stevie ( the male )
We removed bella for her safety and it took 20 minutes for stevie to calm down
We also had teeth chattering from both girls !
This is the 3rd attempt at bonding bella with stevie and his girls and we are at a loss of what could be wrong as we have never had bonding problems before!
We have bonded our 2 pairs into trios , Cazs moms into a trio and a pair , totalling 6 successful bondings !
Please can someone offer us some help and advice on how to sort our problem out !
Many thanks kev n Caz x

 

[kevncaz]

* bump *

 

[Suzygpr]

How long have you had Bella? Some pigs can take weeks to settle in a new home before they are ready to meet new cagemates. Have you quarantined her for a minimum of two weeks to ensure she is free from illness and treated for mites?

If at all possible house her next to the other pigs so they can interact through the divide for a week, swapping sides each day. On the introduction day put them in a large secure pen with a covered area at least 3 ft across that an open front, no other hideys, plenty of hay or grass. Before you place them in take the girls and give them a few minutes on your lap nose to nose to meet properly - if there is loud teeth chattering or snorting then it is not going to work as they have already decided they hate each other.

If it's ok then place the girls in the pen allow them to settle for 10 mins before adding the neutered male. Hopefully he will be very pleased to meet her and she will accept him. Do not separate them again unless there is a fall out, if they do fall out at this stage it is unlikely to work out. If she or they have decided that they don't like each other then there is very little you can do about it and you will have to admit defeat.

HTH

Suzy x

 

[clairelove]

one of my neutered boars and his 2 sows will not take to any other sow at all, i have tried many times but they all go mad chattering and even start on each other, i dont even try now they are happy as a trio and thats how I'm going to leave it, things dont always work out how we expect x

 

[Wiebke]

Sometimes, a pair or small group will not accept another newbie, especially if the top piggy won;t have her. How long in between tries to bond Bella?

I must admit that I would count that as a failed bonding and you may find that your piggies won't change their mind now that they have decided for whatever reason that Bella is not "us".

 

[Doeylicious]

As others have said, sometimes pigs just dislike who we would really like them to live with.

Just like we don't get on with every person we meet, piggies are the same, and when this happens no amount of bathing together, cleaning the hutch, and neutral space can change their minds

I think Bella may need to choose her own friend, be it male or female, if you have the space to do this. If not it may be that you sadly have to find her a new home.