introducing boar to 4 sows

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scarysarah

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Hi, I recently rescued a baby boar (he was left in a cardboard box!), hes been neutered and am going to wait 6 weeks before hes allowed in with the girls permenatly.

currently hes in a cage next to the girls, and I do allow them to mingle if I'm in with them- as can stop him humping them!

they make lots of noises at him, squeking, teeth cattering and some occasional threats to back off.

my sows are aged 5-6, so they are older ladies now!

do you think I'm doing the right thing by introducing them slowly, and when his 6 weeks is up do I put him straight in and allow them to work things out?

thanks sarah
 
I'd edge on the side of caution and be patient. It hardly takes anything for them to reproduce and I suspect other experienced owners would agree with me. Yes I realise your boy has been fixed.

It's only your time that is being affected. When the time is right introduce him on neutral ground by following the guides on the forum.

Good luck.

Terribly harsh for him to be dumped, how did that happen do you know?
 
As lil said - your boy is very much still able to reproduce and accidents can happen within the 6wk separation period - it would take seconds for him to 'do the deed' and you'd end up with pregnant sows - and at their age group this would be VERY risky. So for the safety of your sows i would refrain from letting them have any more 'meetings' with your sows until your boy has undergone his 6wk quarantine period.....

He can live side by side until his 6wks are up - by this time they should have all become accustomed to one another and bonding should be fairly straight forward within neutral territory....
 
Thanks, when hes in with them in actually sat in the run with them so he doesnt get the chance to hump them!

he was dumped in a cardboard box and bought to the local vets (I'm a vet nurse there) he was full of mites but otherwise in lovely condition.

his mites are now sorted and hes a lovely pig!

just dont want to upset my girls
 
I would personally wait until he's passed his 6wk waiting period before you stage any introductions - in the long term it's better that when you do put them together that you can observe from a distance and leave them together.

Some pigs can be quite dominant and so need to sort out dominance - each time you separate them you upset this balance slightly and then when you introduce them again they have to start back at the beginning.

Also from your boys point of view - it must be very frustrating for him to be around girls and to be pulled away each time he tries to assert/form some sort of relationship with them - for them to accept him he must be able to carry out normal boar behaviour - pulling him away each time (as he's not yet ready) could harm the relationship long term.

Just be very careful - much better to wait the 6wks and have a happy bonding session than to frustrate the hell out of a boar who should be concentrating on healing.....
 
thanks sodapops, ive had guinea for a few years, and sucessfully introduced the girls together a few years ago, but never had a boar so want to make sure I'm doing it right, will keep him seperate for now and after the 6 weeks then them sort things out!

hes only got a few weeks to go bless him!
 
I adopted my neutered male with the intention of introducing him to my mother and daughter paring - but sadly things didn't work out. Looking back i think i over-reacted and separated far to quickly and intervened when i didn't need to - rather than letting them sort it out!

I got my neutered boar 2 females of his own and decided to leave things as they were. It was only through seeing others sucessfully bond groups of pigs that on first attempt didn't work that i decided to try again.

Fast forward 6months and my neutered boy is happily living with 5 wives :))

Not all females will accept a boar and so because your girls are older, i think keeping them side buy side will certainly help with the bonding/acceptance process.

I'm sure when the time comes it will be fine - be prepared for some nail biting moments and a lot of protesting from your girls.

One bit of advice i was given was that if you can try and introduce them (once your boar is 'safe') when one or both of your girls is in season, this may help, as they will be more willing to let him 'get on with things' and accept him
 
thanks very much for the advice! its really appreciated!

my girls are quite placid so I'm hoping they will take to him, if not he will just have to have a house of his own!
 
In case the girls ultimately don't take to him (not all older sows will), you could always house him with a girl that didn't mind him! more often than not, it is the top sow that is not keen on sharing her power.

Give things time and let them socialise with a grid or mesh barrier in between and only under supervision until the 6 weeks wait is over. You can do intros over several days provided that they are together for a few hours in one go; otherwise they cannot work through their relationship. Only separate if there are serious signs of aggression; things can blow up within minutes so it is important that you are keeping a beady eye on your piggies until acceptance has happened (or not during the first half hour) and the worst of the dominance phase.
Ideally, during intros and until things have settled down, you don't have any hideys and especially no hideys with only one exit as aggression often erupts when a piggy is feeling cornered. I find that a big flat plate of grass or hay is a good starting point.

Unfortunately, sows can get pregnant right to the end of their lives, but late pregnancies end in tragedy more often than not - definitely not worth the risk!

Here are some links with tips that you may find helpful:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
 
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