How long until they settle again?

[JayceeStar]

I've had my new girl Skye for a week, and when I introduced her to my girls in the run, all was fine. No teeth chattering, nothing! When they went into the hutch, (cleaned and rearranged), There was a lot of scuffling - no fights though.
Skye and Nova are both rumbling, while Breeze just runs around shrieking. Things have calmed down but today, Breeze was back to shrieking, and Skye wasn't letting anyone into the pigloo. There have been no fights at all, but nobody seems very settled. I think Skye wants to become top pig, and Nova isn't too keen on that. Breeze, being a baby, just naturally slots in at the bottom but Nova and Skye are similar ages.
Any idea how long this will go on for, and am I right keeping them together if things are like this?

 

[Wiebke]

It is right to keep them together. By the sounds of it, they are pretty well along the dominance protocol. The screeching is submission and not pain; an underpiggy signals that it has got the message. It is often used to keep the top piggy from lording it over before the top piggy comes even close!

Things can go on for several days and in milder form for a few weeks; your girls HAVE bonded and are now working out the details on how far Sky can push and how far Breeze allows herself to be pushed. It is not the relationship as such, but the form the relationship is going to take that is under discussion here, with all three having an input.