Neutering Boars & Mixed Cage

ElleTrixieB13

ElleTrixieB13

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I asked below about housing for a cage of six sows, I also have two boars in the mix of new pets. Currently the boars are in cages by themselves to prevent any chance of additional litters. I am hopeful that I can introduce the two boars for a bachelor cage. I believe they are both mature (ages really unknown), so my question is do I have any hope of them getting along? I have the cages side by side currently with no dramatics, but I'm a bit nervous to try a big pen introduction. I also don't have a large enough cage for two boars yet, so I need to be patient.

I have both boars scheduled for a neuter in early January with an experienced GP vet. Would it make sense to wait until after the neuter to introduce them?

And my final question, can two neutered boars live in with females, or will that create tensions?

Thank you all for your advice so far as I figure out the best path forward with these dolls.
 
The usual dynamic is 1 boar per herd so I think your boys are better off living separately from the ladies, 2 boars in a herd is very rare unless you have literally unlimited space (like 40 or 50 sqft) and a very large amount of ladies and only then probably if the boys are unusually easy going. Even then I think they would naturally split themselves up into two single boar mini herds. The boys would fight over the girls and upset themselves and also upset the usual female hierarchy herd dynamic that lady pig groups establish for themselves.
You could potentially neuter both boys, wait the obligatory 6 weeks post op, then keep 2 separate herds, with each boy having 2, 3 or 4 ladies each- depending on which ladies get along best- that might work very well. Otherwise your boys are better off staying as a bachelor pair without any contact or smell of ladies to upset their hormones and their bromance bond!
 
I Agree with pigglepuggle. You can’t put both boars in with the sows. Fights will occur. The only way to have the boys with the girls would be to separate the girls into two groups and put a neutered boy in with each group.

Ultimately though, there is no way of knowing if the boys are going to get on until you try the bonding. Character compatibility is the key to a successful bonding - they have to want to be together! If they do successfully bond, then there would be no need to neuter them. Neutering only stops pregnancies, it doesn’t change behaviour and two boys do not need to be neutered to be able to live together. If they don’t get on before neutering, then they still wont get on after. As pigglepuggle said though, as a pair of bonded boys living together, they would need to stay well away from the sows as the smell of the sows can cause boys (no matter how well bonded) to fight with each other.
 
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Thanks guys! So my best case scenario is the boys bonding and being kept very separate from the girls. If that doesn't work I will neuter and pair up the boars with a sow herd each. I was avoiding a double decker cage as I was worried about difficulties cleaning, but I see some good ideas here so that may work.
 
Much appreciated Piggies&buns. I've been reading and reading, but I had missed that one!

It's interesting all eight seemingly got along in the tiny cage at their last home, but maybe that was because of the circumstances of being squeezed in together. I have to say my two boys are the most friendly and interested in interacting. I wonder if that's because they are housed separately right now.
 
ElleTrixieB13 said:
Much appreciated Piggies&buns. I've been reading and reading, but I had missed that one!

It's interesting all eight seemingly got along in the tiny cage at their last home, but maybe that was because of the circumstances of being squeezed in together. I have to say my two boys are the most friendly and interested in interacting. I wonder if that's because they are housed separately right now.
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Yes possibly.
Give the bonding between the two boys a go!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Give the bonding between the two boys a go!
Click to expand...

I'm going to, just need to figure out where to place their cage away from the girls :) I am also worried my largest cage is not big enough for two boys and I want to make sure I have everything set up for success.
 
ElleTrixieB13 said:
I'm going to, just need to figure out where to place their cage away from the girls :) I am also worried my largest cage is not big enough for two boys and I want to make sure I have everything set up for success.
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How big is your largest cage?
 
A 160cm x 60cm would be a good size for two boars, I have a Ferplast Plaza and my boys love it, anything smaller might be tricky. Have you thought of a C&C cage, a 2 x 5 grid would be great for two boars. You would realistically have to keep your boars in a separate room from the ladies and always deal with them first so no lady smells transfer and get them unsettled x
 
Piggies&buns said:
How big is your largest cage?
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120cm x 60 cm is my current largest of the four I have. I am planning a large C&C for the sows, but am still trying to figure out what to do with the two boars. Right now they are in pet store style cages adjacent to, but separated from, the sows. I feel bad they don't have a cage mate, but of course, no babies comes first.
 
For four sows you would require a 2 grid x 6 grid c&c cage. For two boars a minimum of a 2x5 but bigger is always better. C&c cages stack, so to minimise the amount of space, while it is best to keep bonded boars away from sows, it is sometimes possible to have a stacked c&c and keep sows at the bottom level of the cage and a boar pair on the top cage. Thereby no smells from the girls can fall down onto the boys. It is going to be boar dependent though - some are fine with that arrangement, others not. As advised above though, always deal with the boys first! However wherever possible, keeping boars and sows in separate rooms is safest.

I believe @Siikibam has a boar pair in the same room as a sow pair.
 
Piggies&buns said:
For four sows you would require a 2 grid x 6 grid c&c cage
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Yeah, I have a 3x7 grid planned for the sows. I was worried about ease of cleaning a bottom level cage, but seeing designs I think it is doable. I do waffle between doing sows in one and boars in the other, or just neutering the boars and having each boy in with a herd of his own.
 
There are pros and cons to doing either really!

If you keep sows in one and boys in another, then it can happen as soon as you’ve got sorted for their new cages
Making two mixed herds means neutering the boys which obviously means the boys still need to stay separate from the girls for six weeks post op, so they’re longer on their own.

There is no guarantee that everybody is going to get on no matter what you plan!

I think, if it was me, I would try bonding the boys and let that be the gauge of where to go from that. If they bond and are happy together then I’d leave it at that. No stress of having to go through an operation! If the boys don’t like each other, then neuter and try each boy with a girl herd. Of course, it is character compatibility which will be the deciding factor, so either way, there are unknowns!
 
Piggies&buns said:
There are pros and cons to doing either really!

If you keep sows in one and boys in another, then it can happen as soon as you’ve got sorted for their new cages
Making two mixed herds means neutering the boys which obviously means the boys still need to stay separate from the girls for six weeks post op, so they’re longer on their own.

There is no guarantee that everybody is going to get on no matter what you plan!

I think, if it was me, I would try bonding the boys and let that be the gauge of where to go from that. If they bond and are happy together then I’d leave it at that. No stress of having to go through an operation! If the boys don’t like each other, then neuter and try each boy with a girl herd. Of course, it is character compatibility which will be the deciding factor, so either way, there are unknowns!
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:agr: I would see if the boys can live together. If they can, then you’ve avoided the need to neuter them and keep them alone for another 6 weeks post neutering.
 
:agr: I would try bonding them before the neutering (if time allows). Then if they work together I wouldn’t bother neutering them. You could go ahead with the neutering as a ‘just in case in future...’ but I wouldn’t unless I was to put them with a sow(s).

I keep my pairs (sows and boars) in a stacked c&c. The boars are up top and the sows below. There’s a gap of two grids between the base of the girls and the base of the boys. There hasn’t been a fractious behaviour in the boys, and I ALWAYS deal with the boys first. When I first got the sows, they were kept at a lower level and under the stairs. The likelihood of their scent travelling to the boys was minimal.
 
Thank you both! I have some time off around Christmas and will plan to try them together then and decide on neutering from there. I do love the idea of having them in a stacked cage if possible, but I know this is totally dependent on whether the sows will get along and if they impact the boars :)
 
I tried to get my boys to bond over the Christmas break, but things didn't go very well. I moved the boar cages to a spare bedroom side by side (away from the sows) for a little over a week. I set up a little over 3m x 2m to try the introduction with a couple big hay piles and stools to hide under (so no places to get caught). Things seemed okay at first, they were circling each other, but no overt aggression. Then Newt started rumblestrutting, JK just moved away, not seemingly upset by it, but within about ten minutes Newt was chasing JK everywhere and a fight ensued. I'm going to leave them apart from the sows side by side for a bit, but it looks like I'll have to go the neuter route for them to have cage buddies. :(
 
That’s a shame that it didn’t work out. It was certainly worth the try though.
 
Aww no so sorry it never worked out. I have my c&c cage on a "6ft folding craft table" you can fit a 5x2 c&c with a base grids fully on a 6ft table. Or a 6x2 if it overhangs by half a grid at each end. Then you could have another c&c underneath with the other Herd in to save space.
 
Julie M said:
Aww no so sorry it never worked out. I have my c&c cage on a "6ft folding craft table" you can fit a 5x2 c&c with a base grids fully on a 6ft table. Or a 6x2 if it overhangs by half a grid at each end. Then you could have another c&c underneath with the other Herd in to save space.
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I just purchased plastic 3x2 shelving units to build the "table" for my C&C cage. I am planning on building a 6x4, and I'm thinking now it will be a double decker. Overkill on size, but as I have other pets in the house I struggle to get everyone safe floor time at this point, so I want them to have lots of space in their "home".
 
ElleTrixieB13 said:
I tried to get my boys to bond over the Christmas break, but things didn't go very well. I moved the boar cages to a spare bedroom side by side (away from the sows) for a little over a week. I set up a little over 3m x 2m to try the introduction with a couple big hay piles and stools to hide under (so no places to get caught). Things seemed okay at first, they were circling each other, but no overt aggression. Then Newt started rumblestrutting, JK just moved away, not seemingly upset by it, but within about ten minutes Newt was chasing JK everywhere and a fight ensued. I'm going to leave them apart from the sows side by side for a bit, but it looks like I'll have to go the neuter route for them to have cage buddies. :(
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Sorry the boys didn't hit it off but at least they let you know straight away rather than any slow burn bullying you'd have to sort out later! Sounds like the neutering option and them both having lady friends might work better for them x
 
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