Introducing A Male To 2 Females, Couple Of Quick Questions...

[Chubsta]

6 weeks to the day after he had the snip, Dave, our rescue piggie, has finally been introduced to the 2 girls - he has interacted with them through the mesh in the garden and his cage has been side to side in the living room with theirs so he has been able to see them through the gaps over the last month and a half so we figured they were already well acquainted.

We made a big run in the garden and put them in together and it seemed to go very very well - Dave was obviously pleased to finally get in with them and chased them around in a very 'loving' manner and although they showed no signs of aggression to each other it was clear the girls weren't interested in being anything other than 'friends'.

What took us by surprise, and Dave too, was when one of the girls sprayed him in the face! This happened a few times during the afternoon and Dave soon became wary of their movements as he chased them, he would almost flinch even when nothing came out.

As the afternoon went on things calmed down a lot and they all got down to the business of eating and seem to be getting on very well.

We decided to put the two cages into one via a tube, with one area for sleeping and one for food etc, but as the cage is indoors we don't want them spraying everywhere, so the questions are:

as they get more used to each other is it likely the spraying will reduce, and possibly stop - we have heard it is common in newly introduced pigs so are hoping this is the case?

what is the likelihood that as they seemed to get on so well from the very first introduction that they will be able to live together peacefully - the two girls have always had minor squabbles so nothing is ever 100% but as of this evening we have a very friendly, if slightly noisy cage!

Here are a couple of photos:

Exploring the new home...

Dave has already given up his slipper...

 

[Popcornpiggy]

I'm unsure about your question, however, they are beautiful pigs. Hope he's found some forever girls

 

[Cookie16]

As I've said before, my Alfie is waiting to go in with our girls. But how strange, he was neutered today! 6 weeks today we get home from holiday and we'll be where you are now! Hooray!

He's sitting on my knee feeling very sorry for himself, but he is at least eating a bit!

Anyway, about your question! I haven't a clue and haven't heard of spraying before! I hope my girls don't try it!

It must be fun finally seeing your 3 together!

 

[Dindypig]

When a sow 'sprays', it's saying "I warned you to back off, now take the consequences". A sow can also be seen spraying another sow that is getting too amorous due to one of them being in season. It's not a smelly spray like a tom cat marking it's territory, it's just that sow being 'pissed off', literally. It's amazing how accurate they can aim it.

 

[Chubsta]

Things have certainly gone well, much less squabbling today, and a lot less spraying!

Here is Dave, on the right, with one of his new ladies...

 

[VickiA]

Fudge used to regularly spray Mr Ted when he wouldn't take no for an answer when they first moved in together. His constant amorous rumble strutting did ease up after a while as did her spraying. They've been together well over a year now and it's a rare occurrence although she is in season again and today he was clearly feeling summer in the air as he chased her round the run and he ended up with an eyeful for his troubles. All perfectly normal!

 

[Wiebke]

Mixed gender bondings are often pee fests in my experience. You can spot a well married husboar - he's thinking twice about sniffing the bum of a sleeping sow!

 

[Chubsta]

All has now quietened down, Dave has learnt the perils of sniffing someones bum and although he still does it he is a lot more subtle, and is certainly quicker to move if there is a twitch!

The bonding has gone extremely well, no aggression from any of them at all and they are happy to spend time with each other, often going off in different pairings but no one seems to be getting left out.

Initially they were together in a pen in the garden but now they are free-range which they absolutely love, although catching them to put them in for their tea in an evening is a little difficult as they shoot off in different directions. Once back in the cage they are happy to just collapse and recover from the day.

Very happy we were able to give Dave a home from the rescue, he really is the sweetest and funniest pig you could hope for, and I am sure the girls will appreciate the attention too.

Dave, Pickles, Nibbles - caught and waiting to go in for the night...

Adventuring...

A well-earned break from Dave...

All worn out and too tired to even make it to the sleeping section... (Nibbles is hiding in the shadows at the back!)...

 

[piggyfan]

Such beautiful piggies!

 

[Cookie16]

Sweet! Can't wait to see my 3 like that!

 

[Wiebke]

You can train your piggies to turn themselves into the carrier for a pre-dinner treat; it may take a few weeks to establish the ritual, but it is doable.

One of my pre-Tribe couples would eventually learn to run back into their cage from free roaming the garden just for a little piece of their favourite cucumber! I nearly caused a builder to fall from a roof watching it; he'd thought I was just joking!

 

[VickiA]

Beautiful pictures. Glad Dave has learned to be a good husboar.

 

[Chubsta]

Thanks for all your kind comments, things are still going great so we are confident that we have a happy group - after breakfast they all go out to the garden and they just run around each other all day, and happily the spraying has stopped completely now. Dave still tries for piggie-back rides but they haven't fallen for his charms yet and just move away.

One funny thing though is that eventually it is all a bit too much exertion for Dave so he wanders off down the path, in through the kitchen to the dining room, has a quick mooch around the lounge for 5 minutes before going back into the cage for some 'me' time and a lay down before the girls are brought back in later in the afternoon. Very sweet to see and a good indicator that he is happy with his surroundings...

 

[Cookie16]

How lovely!

I'm still counting the days.......

 

[Chubsta]

How lovely!

I'm still counting the days.......

Hopefully all will go well, it seemed like forever for us so i can sympathise, and then there was the 'not knowing' if they would get on. I think the best thing we did was make sure that they got used to each other before being put in together, they were able to socialise through the mesh in the garden for weeks before actually being able to touch each other, and having the cages side by side meant that they were never apart enough to need 'reintroducing'.

We are no experts by any means but by having them get used to each other we think it took the 'confrontation' out of it all.

Hopefully all will go smoothly for you and I look forward to some very sweet pictures!