Introducing A Third Pig As I Type This! Advice Please!

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ivyandclover

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I'm currently introducing a nine week old sow (daisy) to my 11 month old pair of sows (ivy and clover) and I could do with some advice!

I bought daisy last week and she has been kept in a separate cage to my bonded sows since then. I have been mixing bedding and showing daisy to the bonded pair through the bars every day since then and have decided to introduce them today after daisy had a health check.

I started the introductions about an hour and a half ago. They are on the bathroom floor with no hiding spaces and hay and vegetable spread out over the floor. As soon as all three guinea pigs were put on the floor, the bonded pair ran to the baby to sniff and chase her. They then happily sat next to each other an shared hay for about twenty minutes.

After that they started to spread out and eat separately but the whole time the New Guinea pig was making a sort of chut chut sound, not a wheek, but also not teeth chattering.

In the last half an hour, the dominant pig from my bonded pair has started chasing the New Guinea pig more and more and it's starting to get quite noisy. There has been a bit of teeth chattering but mostly a loud wheeking noise that is constant but louder when chasing is happening.

Should I carry on with the introductions or separate them before it becomes too aggressive and try again tomorrow?
Do these noises sound like normal behaviour?
 
Please carry on. You have had a very smooth acceptance phase. Your girls are currently working through the big print of the dominance phase, which is very par for the course. If you are lucky (and I think that you have a good chance), the dominance will last only a day or two, but it can take up to two weeks. It can sound and look pretty dramatic, but unlike you, piggies come with the manual are not upset by it. Babies are very vocal and loud.

Please move them to a cleaned cage without any cosies with just one exit for first day or two until things have settled down nicely. Chasing the little one and chucking her out of hideys is normal dominance behaviour. She would get the same from her mum at the end of the nursing period.

Stop worrying, it's going very nicely!
 
It does seem daisy is being chased away, there hasn't been any biting yet. But I'm not a piggy expert on bonding.

I knew Wiebke would come and save you!
 
Ok thank you to both of you.

@Wiebke would you say the behaviour in the video is normal? How long should I carry on with this introduction session for? Do you think they should go into a cage together tonight?
 
The behaviour is frankly on the mild side and there is no problem whatsoever about putting them in their cage together any time you like. Just leave at least one hour to watch them before you go to bed to make sure that they are settling in well! I wouldn't expect things to get any livelier. Be happy; this is about as gentle as you can put a baby in its place at the bottom of the ladder. The baby is not frightened, either.
 
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