Neutered Female Rumblestrutting

[Muffin&Crumble]

Hi all,

A couple of months ago I had to have my two girls neutered as Crumble was non-stop rumbling and causing chaos - it turned out she had a HUGE ovarian cyst so it was the right decision.

Both have recovered well (apart from when Muffin popped her stitches), then this weekend Muffin has started having the odd rumble, which she never did when she was intact! Does anyone have any experience of this? Call me naïve but I thought putting them both through the operation would stop any dominance struggles!

 

[helen105281]

My Sophie is spayed and also rumbles and wiggles her bum, though I do wonder if she is copying Tim. Will be interested in the answers.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all,

A couple of months ago I had to have my two girls neutered as Crumble was non-stop rumbling and causing chaos - it turned out she had a HUGE ovarian cyst so it was the right decision.

Both have recovered well (apart from when Muffin popped her stitches), then this weekend Muffin has started having the odd rumble, which she never did when she was intact! Does anyone have any experience of this? Call me naïve but I thought putting them both through the operation would stop any dominance struggles!

Rumblestrutting is dominance behaviour, not just hormonal behaviour, which can occasionally become absolutely disruptive for any group/pairing and which at that stage needs to be addressed, either by hormone injections or a spay.

Dominance is integral to any working hierarchy, which needs to be constantly reaffirmed, as it is a dynamic process and not a static once-and-for-all fact. A bit like a human marriage - neither partner remains the same person over a number of years or develops in the same way at the same time, so the balance needs to be constantly readjusted.

Both of my spayed sows have certainly done their fair share of dominance/re-bonding rumblestrutting behaviour and even the occasional dominance mounting. They also rumble back at bolshy boars...

 

[gizzy]

Neutering and Behavior | Angry Vet

 

[Muffin&Crumble]

Haha, bolshy boars - love it!

We did wonder if it could be that Muffin is testing the boundaries now that Crumble isn't being so aggressive. We never heard a single rumble from her whilst Crumble's cyst was making her so power-mad, so maybe Muffin is sensing that things have changed so she's taking control.

Piggies eh...