Is It Normal For Girls To Squabble For This Long?

[LydiaMinx]

My girls are coming up to 10 ish weeks, and are beginning to sort out hierarchy. They've always been fine together, sharing beds even. They've started to squabble though.

They're both making high pitched chatty noises, then it can progress to rumblestrutting and teeth chattering. They've nosed off on a few occasions and have lunged at each other, but haven't bitten the other, from what I can tell from my inspections of them.

They have 2 of everything, a 2x4 C&C, and regular time out of the cage, is this likely to be age based, and will it be resolved?

I'd hate to have to separate piggies like I did with my boars

 

[Wiebke]

My girls are coming up to 10 ish weeks, and are beginning to sort out hierarchy. They've always been fine together, sharing beds even. They've started to squabble though.

They're both making high pitched chatty noises, then it can progress to rumblestrutting and teeth chattering. They've nosed off on a few occasions and have lunged at each other, but haven't bitten the other, from what I can tell from my inspections of them.

They have 2 of everything, a 2x4 C&C, and regular time out of the cage, is this likely to be age based, and will it be resolved?

I'd hate to have to separate piggies like I did with my boars

Sows only very rarely get as far as bloody bites, so I would not worry too much - they are not even very close to the line, and they will be VERY careful not to cross it! Most of sow fights result with a carefully judged mouthful of fur and not a full-on bite.

It sounds like your two cannot agree on who comes top. Once that has been sorted, things should calm down again although it can flare up from time to time when the girls come into season, especially when the hormones hit strongly. If the grudge matches go on for months and your girls can clearly not settle down well together, I would consider looking for another solution.

Make sure that you only have hideys with two exits in the cage and that you serve veg and pellets 2-3 times a day in small portions in a bowl each, so it can be eaten in one go and not be made the subject of more dominance behaviour.

 

[Kylie80]

Ive had my two girls (sistets) for two months and for the first couple of weeks they were inseperable and then the fighting started, they fought over food, the fought over hideys, they fought over practically anything they had to share including me, this went on for several weeks and after much reading of threads on the forum I got seperate hideys and food bowls and it made no difference and then one day I came out to find them all lovey dovey in the same hidey and they have been best friends ever since. I cant tell who won the hierachy dispute (it honestly looks like neither of them did) but they sharing everything now except they cant be out together at lap time or they will fight big time. Hopefully things will settle for you soon