housing a newly neutered boar

Spaniel

Spaniel

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We’re applying to adopt a neutered boar at the moment. He was neutered about a week ago and the rescue said he would be ready to bond with our sow in a few weeks.

He would need to live alongside our sow in the meantime.

Would a divided c&c be ok?
Could guinea pigs mate through the bars?
Would his cage need a lid?
 
Welcome to the forum.

A divided c&c is fine provided his section is big enough and only if it is very secure - this can be by adding more vertical grids and making the cage two grids high or adding a lid -a determined boar can and will escape and get back in with your sow. He will need to be six weeks post surgery before you can bond him with your sow.
 
His section would be a 2x3 until bonding. Is this suitable?
 
Spaniel said:
His section would be a 2x3 until bonding. Is this suitable?
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Yes, size wise that’s fine, but I really can’t stress highly enough how important it is to make sure he can’t get out and in with your sows. Make the sides higher, remove anything he can climb onto and add a lid if you can. A young athletic boar can perform all sorts of gymnastics to get to sows!
 
I’m tempted to buy a traditional cage to make absolutely sure he can’t escape but that would mean they couldn’t interact as much as they could through a c&c.

Maybe two c&c side by side would be better than a split one?

Not sure.
 
Spaniel said:
I’m tempted to buy a traditional cage to make absolutely sure he can’t escape but that would mean they couldn’t interact as much as they could through a c&c.

Maybe two c&c side by side would be better than a split one?

Not sure.
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I’ll be honest, I keep neutered boars in a Ferplast 120 with the sides/doors firmly locked. You can keep that cage next to your sows but safe in the knowledge he can’t escape
 
They will definitely still be able to interact - they only need to be able see, smell and hear each other so they wont lose any interaction if their cages are next to each other, even if one of them is a traditional cage
 
So a traditional cage would mean not much interaction between them for five weeks. I don’t know if this is too long to wait for my sow.

I didn’t know he was newly neutered when I started the process. I assumed he’d be neutered and ready to go so to speak. Thinking they’d still be able to interact through the c&c divide made me feel a bit better about it but now I’m worried.

I could start my search again for a neutered boar but they’ve been hard to find, especially the mid-older age range we want.
 
Piggies&buns said:
They will definitely still be able to interact - they only need to be able see, smell and hear each other so they wont lose any interaction if their cages are next to each other, even if one of them is a traditional cage
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I wasn’t sure how much they’d be able to see over the sides?
 
Depends on what type of cage you get I guess - some cages are higher sided. I have a ferplast plaza 160 as one of my spare cages and the sides on that aren't as high as some of the other types of ferplast cages. the plaza also comes in a 140cm.
They will still be able to speak and smell each other though even if the sides are a little higher - you may even find he will put his feet up on the side to peer over and see her once he realises a lovely lady is nearby!
 
This might be a daft question but does it make any difference that he’s middle aged and my sow is a senior?
 
No such thing as a daft question - we are all here to help.

If you mean in terms of their ability to bond, then no, age does not matter. A successful bond comes down to character compatibility - two piggies have to have mutual liking and want to be together.
As you are getting him basically on spec as you are not able to carry out dating prior to bringing him home (as he isnt post-neuter safe), then you do need a back up plan in place in case the bonding isnt successful. Your sow needs to accept him as her cagemate

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)
 
I have the same situation as you. My 4month old newly adopted boar was neutered a week before we got him. We have 2 more weeks left before he will be bonded with the girls. Here is our current set up.

20210813_131619.webp

We bought C&C panels (or similar thing) from Amazon that have smaller openings and we put a roof to make sure that he won't be able to climb to the girls' side. This week, we started allowing him to run around the whole cage when the girls are out of their cage and are on the other side of the living room (my piggies are free roaming except at bed time or when we are out for the day).
 
anyar.dris said:
I have the same situation as you. My 4month old newly adopted boar was neutered a week before we got him. We have 2 more weeks left before he will be bonded with the girls. Here is our current set up.

View attachment 184642

We bought C&C panels (or similar thing) from Amazon that have smaller openings and we put a roof to make sure that he won't be able to climb to the girls' side. This week, we started allowing him to run around the whole cage when the girls are out of their cage and are on the other side of the living room (my piggies are free roaming except at bed time or when we are out for the day).
Click to expand...
That looks great. Is there a reason you wanted grids with smaller gaps?
 
Bryce is just 4 months old, so technically a baby. We didn't want him (or his head really) to force to get thru the gaps of C&C just in case he became so eager to be with the girls.
 
Spaniel said:
This might be a daft question but does it make any difference that he’s middle aged and my sow is a senior?
Click to expand...
If you mean in terms of breeding then a boar remains fertile throughout his life, as does a sow. So you need to keep them separate until he’s a full 6 weeks post neuter. And even an older boar can become very determined to escape when there is a lovely lady nearby.
 
Cheers guys, you’ve been really helpful. I’m going to put the c&c cages side by side so the divide is double grids and use connectors and cable ties, put a roof on with clips to fasten the front of the lid. I’ll buy a cage too just in case he’s really trying to escape and then it’s here ready to use and it’ll be useful to have a spare cage anyway.
 
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