Is The Bonding Going Well...?

[Tinkletoes66]

Hi some of you may have seen my other post on a few questions I had before introducing my pigs a while back....They have now been introduced but I am unsure whether everything is going well or not. For background info, we're basically introducing two (around) 8-month-old girls to our six-year-old male because his brother died a few months ago. He hasn't seemed lonely but we thought the best thing to do for him was to try him with some girls and see what happened. Our boy is neutered as he was a rescue.

So, here's a quick summery of what's been going on...

1. So on Thursday I completely cleaned out their indoor run and we put a hamster playpen down the middle and secured it (we had ordered it for my sister's hamster and decided to use it as a barrier because we have nothing else - originally we were just going to introduce them in the bath but this seemed like a better idea.)

We put them together; Merlin (the brown and ginger boar) in the right half and the girls (Ginny - slightly long haired and Skittle - Smooth haired) in the left (with the tunnel to the hutch which isn't in the photo, Merlin also has a dark area in his section) They seemed to be fine, Merlin even did a few popcorns and settled down next to the barrier to eat with the girls beside him! They stayed like this night and day till Saturday morning when...

2. Skittle had somehow (don't even ask me how!) jumped the barrier and was in Merlin's section looking very pleased with herself! Merlin looked a bit bewildered but both looked unharmed.

Annoyingly, we were going out for the day so we couldn't stick around and see if they were getting on ok. There was no point putting Skittle back in her section because she would just go over so we decided (rightly or wrongly) to put Merlin in his outdoor run for the day. When we came back they all seemed fine, not stressed or anything - but I'm afraid now we might have been wrong to do it...

3. Saturday night we knew we now needed to put them back together so that the separation didn't last so long or affect their relationships. So we put them all in the bath for and hour or so - I sat watching to monitor them and they seemed fine; a few squabbles but no major fights...

(Merlin front, Ginny behind, Skittle at the back.)

So we put them back together in the indoor run. This was where the trouble started....Merlin really wanted to go in the hutch which is attached to the run now he could get to it cos that is his favorite bit (just like the girls). There was a lot of chattering and running around, a few squabbles again and then he decided to chase them into the hutch and sit at the end of the tube so they couldn't get into the main run (where the food and water is). He also yawned at them a few times...

Merlin Guarding the tunnel

We decided to just put food and water in the hutch for the girls and let them sort it out. They stayed the night together and seemed ok in the morning.

4. This afternoon, however, although they seem better and are all eating together (and Merlin isn't guarding the tube so much since he has settled in the hutch a few times)

All of them eating together - Skittle looks a little shifty

Merlin has a small bite on his lip which has gone a bit puffy. He's still eating and not looking to bothered but I've heard that if they draw blood it's time to separate them - but I don't want to intervene now.

I'm a little worried they are still squabbling a bit and Skittle especially is getting a little bullied by Merlin as well as Merlin being a little rough and getting into squabbles and hurting himself. I'm worried that they might beat him up a bit if he annoys them because he is older. His brother who died bullied him a bit and I'm worried now that he might be enjoying doing the same to them (since now he is the 'top pig' for once.)

Can anyone give me any advice or opinions on how well they think the bonding is going. I'm not really sure what I should do now, if anything. Thanks and please reply soon!

 

[Wiebke]

I wouldn't worry too much, but please remove anything that Merlin can get possessive over and trap the girls in while they are going through the dominance phase. The cut has likely happened when one of the girls was desperate to get out. I would let them make do without any furnishings whatsoever until they have settled down (including the chubes).

Dominance behaviour is necessary in order to establish the hierarchy. It can last from several days to several weeks.

You can disinfect the cut with hibiscrub or homemade saline solution (1 tablespoon of salt mixed into 1 pint of boiled, cooled water).

 

[Tinkletoes66]

I wouldn't worry too much, but please remove anything that Merlin can get possessive over and trap the girls in while they are going through the dominance phase. The cut has likely happened when one of the girls was desperate to get out. I would let them make do without any furnishings whatsoever until they have settled down (including the chubes).

Dominance behaviour is necessary in order to establish the hierarchy. It can last from several days to several weeks.

You can disinfect the cut with hibiscrub or homemade saline solution (1 tablespoon of salt mixed into 1 pint of boiled, cooled water).

Thanks for the advice; was planning to use salt water to disinfect it anyway.

As for the tunnel to the hutch; there isn't really anyway to get rid of it. When we first got guineas (around 8 or 9 years ago) the hutch came with them and then my dad made a big run for them with it attached by the wooded tunnel. The hutch is the main sleeping compartment apart from a smaller one on the right hand side, so the guineas have adopted it as their main sleeping space. If we removed the tunnel, not only would there be a whole in the side of the run but i'd be worried that it would stress the girls out because they do tend to retreat in there and for some part I think they stop Merlin from getting in, not him stopping them getting out.

Also I have seen them push past him to get out a few times recently so thinking about it now I think they can come out if they want to. If Merlin is going to be silly and try and stop them and that is causing him to get bitten, hopefully he'll stop doing it.

Thanks again for your reply!