In the process of bonding my two males

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Humfred

Humfred

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For everyone who hasnt read my previous posts, I have two boars, Humbert (4) and Freddie (2) Freddie was bought as a friend for Humbert, but after several attempts that ended in bloodshed we concluded they dont want to be friends. I got a one year old neutred boar from the RSPCA the other week and have started the bonding process with Herbert (the new addition) and Humbert. They had lap time together and met on the sofa several times. Had play time in the hallway, so far so good. As soon as timid Herbert was put next to Humbert he would come out of his shell. He would talk and started eating different veg he wouldnt touch before. Last night they moved in together. They were both busy exploring all their new toys last night, but this morning there seemed to be tension. I observed them for ages. Herbert was circling Humbert rumbling and occasional teeth chattering. Humbert however ignored all of it, as he has done from the start, just continued eating his hay. Then it got intense, as Herbert wouldnt leave him in peace they had a squabble. It didnt escalate, cause I clapped my hands and it seperated them... No proper bites were done. I attached the ramp to their cage that leads to their playpen so they could have some more room and distraction. Scattered some veg and they both came out. After a while it got intense again. This is the first time I heard Humbert chatter his teeth, cause Herbert would not leave him alone (even though he tried to run off) Again I had to clap my hands when it looked like it may escalate into a fight. I then put a drop of olbas oil on their bums ( I read thats meant to help, hope I got that right!) It settled them down. I had to pop out for 15 minutes and they were both sleeping in their houses when I got back. They are out now, both eating hay. Everything seems fairly calm. Did I do right with the olbas oil? If so should I continue using it during the first two weeks until they are more settled? I really want this to work, but Ive had Humbert for years as nd he means the world to me. I know hes suppose to be happier living with a friend, but when I see him being chased and bugged I always wonder if it does make him happy. In fights with Fred he always came worst off. He is my old man. I just want reasurance that persevering is the right thing to do.
 
The olbas oil won't help, but a humping toy may help draw some humping.

Your boars are in the middle of sorting out the dominance. So far it is still fairly low level. Try not to meddle; it will either work out or not and that is something they have to solve the piggy way. Humbert needs to show Herbert where his limits are.
 
Now that Herbert is getting more confident he is also getting more cheeky. I read about olbas oil, and it did seem to help, but maybe that was just coincidental. Should I just leave them to it then? Should I not try to distract them and where do I draw the line? Before a fight? Or only whem they are actually fighting? They only humped at the first introduction, havent seen it since. I did put a toy with them then, but neither were interested. Thanks for your advise! I'm just so worried that Ill ruin it if I make the wrong decisions for them!
 
Have you read the stickies at the top of this forum on boar behaviour and bonding? There's a list of things to watch out for there. :)
 
Ive read tons and tons of stuff on the subject, but different articles say different things. For instance, some people say to split them up before a potential fight, because when they do, it cant be fixed. Others say only seperate when there is major bloodshed. Ive read and know what to look out for, I just dont know exactly how to apply it to my pigs. With Freddie I left them to it and tried not to meddle, and Humbert ended up with some serious bitewounds :( So you may understand that when they square up now, I'm nervous as to how far I should let it go. And as I said, my main worry is, does it really make him happy? Cause he didnt look it this morning when Herbert was chasing him. He has always seemed quite happy living next door Fred...:red
 
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