new baby in the herd

Hannahb2804

Hannahb2804

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Hi so i’m in the process of bonding my new baby with my already two bonded sows.
Luna has been sniffing the new baby and rubbing her nose on her , Dougal who is the dominant one normally, just seems to chase the new baby around, no biting or teeth chatting and no rumbling, just chasing and making noise. Everytime dougal gets close to baby she darts off, are these all standard bonding procedures?
they’re all sat eating hay together and they’ve got more than enough space.
what should I look out for in terms of how it’s going? when should I put them all in their permanent cage
 

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It all sounds good so far. I did a bonding between my neutered boar, sow and two new sows on Friday. I let them bond for 6 hours before putting them in to the cage. You could leave them in the bonding area over night and put them in to the cage tomorrow if you have any concerns
 
Claire W said:
It all sounds good so far. I did a bonding between my neutered boar, sow and two new sows on Friday. I let them bond for 6 hours before putting them in to the cage.
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there’s still a lot of chasing between the dominant one and the baby, dougal keeps running after the baby, no biting or anything it’s just chasing but not sure if i should be worried
 
Hannahb2804 said:
there’s still a lot of chasing between the dominant one and the baby, dougal keeps running after the baby, no biting or anything it’s just chasing but not sure if i should be worried
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It’s just Dougal putting the baby in her place. So long as there are no forceful bites (warning nips are normal) then I wouldn’t worry. How long have they been in the bonding pen?
 
Claire W said:
It’s just Dougal putting the baby in her place. So long as there are no forceful bites (warning nips are normal) then I wouldn’t worry. How long have they been in the bonding pen?
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they’ve been in since about half 12
 
this is a link to a video of the noise
the first squealing is the baby and the second low pitch sound is dougal
21 March 2021
 
Hannahb2804 said:
Hi so i’m in the process of bonding my new baby with my already two bonded sows.
Luna has been sniffing the new baby and rubbing her nose on her , Dougal who is the dominant one normally, just seems to chase the new baby around, no biting or teeth chatting and no rumbling, just chasing and making noise. Everytime dougal gets close to baby she darts off, are these all standard bonding procedures?
they’re all sat eating hay together and they’ve got more than enough space.
what should I look out for in terms of how it’s going? when should I put them all in their permanent cage
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Hi!

This sounds normal. Please take the time to read and look at the pictures and videos in the bonding guide, which detail key social behaviours and dynamics 9the good ones and the bad ones) for every stage of the bonding process. Here is the link: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

This sounds normal. Please take the time to read and look at the pictures and videos in the bonding guide, which detail key social behaviours and dynamics 9the good ones and the bad ones) for every stage of the bonding process. Here is the link: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
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hi did you listen to the video? i’m not sure if you’re responding to the first thing i said or if you’re referring to the video of the sounds, sorry for confusion! xx
 
Hannahb2804 said:
hi did you listen to the video? i’m not sure if you’re responding to the first thing i said or if you’re referring to the video of the sounds, sorry for confusion! xx
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I am referring to the first post and to the various videos in the bonding guide link, which may help you to judge better what is going on. ;)
Keep in mind that babies are ever so dramatic, especially with their submission squeaking (see also baby bonding chapter in our bonding guide).
 
Wiebke said:
I am referring to the first post and to the various videos in the bonding guide link, which may help you to judge better what is going on. ;)
Keep in mind that babies are ever so dramatic, especially with their submission squeaking (see also baby bonding chapter in our bonding guide).
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oh sorry i thought you was referring to the youtube link i posted with the noises on🤣lol x
 
It is never easy to judge what exactly is going on, but screaming like that is normal for babies that are emphatically put at the bottom of the hierarchy. They won't come to any harm as they are far too agile.

Please take the time to look at the guide and watch our example videos; they will really help you. The bonding process is much more complex than you expect, and you can't just sum it up in two easy tips. It very much relies on reading body language and social interactive behaviours, and knowing which behaviours are typical for which phase - that is what our step-by-step guide is for. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
It is never easy to judge what exactly is going on, but screaming like that is normal for babies that are emphatically put at the bottom of the hierarchy. They won't come to any harm as they are far too agile.

Please take the time to look at the guide and watch our example videos; they will really help you. The bonding process is much more complex than you expect, and you can't just sum it up in two easy tips. It very much relies on reading body language and social interactive behaviours, and knowing which behaviours are typical for which phase - that is what our step-by-step guide is for. ;)
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chasing i’ve read the guides and stuff but it’s still worrying me, that’s them chasing, is that normal do you think?
 
The chasing is normal. I understand that it isn’t very nice to see as my Elizabeth who is my dominant sow is still chasing Ella and Esme. I’m afraid you just have to ride it out
 
Claire W said:
The chasing is normal. I understand that it isn’t very nice to see as my Elizabeth who is my dominant sow is still chasing Ella and Esme. I’m afraid you just have to ride it out
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21 March 2021
this is the most recent , no bites or blood. Luna has started to lick her face and stuff
 
It always looks worse to us than it is for the pigs. The squeaking that your baby is making is submissive squeaking but I would wait and see what Wiebke says but I wouldn’t worry at this stage
 
Claire W said:
It always looks worse to us than it is for the pigs. The squeaking that your baby is making is submissive squeaking but I would wait and see what Wiebke says but I wouldn’t worry at this stage
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I asked on a facebook group and they’ve said to separate but i don’t want to just yet! it’s now dinner time and this is the baby and Dougal, surely they wouldn’t be sat near eachother if it was an issue?
 

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Don’t separate yet. Wait and see what Wiebke says but I’ve always been told not to separate unless things turn aggressive. No, they wouldn’t be sat near each other if there was an issue
 
Claire W said:
Don’t separate yet. Wait and see what Wiebke says but I’ve always been told not to separate unless things turn aggressive. No, they wouldn’t be sat near each other if there was an issue
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should i tag her? x
 
Luna and Badger (baby’s name) are cuddled up, lunas licked her and nibbled her ear and Dougal is just sat in her bed but no movement
 
Ah! Didnt realise you had 2 threads running - i tagged wiebke for you on your other thread so I'm sure she will help when she has time. How are things going now?
 
tabelmabel said:
Ah! Didnt realise you had 2 threads running - i tagged wiebke for you on your other thread so I'm sure she will help when she has time. How are things going now?
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honestly once i get worried i’m a nightmare so i’m not surprised i’ve got multiple threads running 😂this is an update , badger still runs and screams when dougal chases her but it’s not constant, badger is sitting eating hay and dougals in her bed
 

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If it's any reassurance, my Belle was still making the wee baby shout for a few days! The difference i noticed was that initially, in the bonding pen, baby froze with terror for quite a few minutes.

But, after a few hours, baby recovered really fast and was eating fast too after each chase. She just didnt seem too scared any more.

Now we are almost a week in and she she really confident around belle, even a bit cheeky!
 
tabelmabel said:
If it's any reassurance, my Belle was still making the wee baby shout for a few days! The difference i noticed was that initially, in the bonding pen, baby froze with terror for quite a few minutes.

But, after a few hours, baby recovered really fast and was eating fast too after each chase. She just didnt seem too scared any more.

Now we are almost a week in and she she really confident around belle, even a bit cheeky!
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dougal does something when she chases like she darts her head forward but still i keep checking no biting or bite marks and then a few mins later they’re all sat eating hay from the same box!
 
@Wiebke :) it’s confusing with the two threads so i’ve tagged you in this to be sure! x
 
Claire W said:
It all sounds normal to me and as @tabelmabel says, the baby wouldn’t be eating if she was terrified. How are they this morning?

I’m sure Wiebke will answer when she has the time :) x
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All is well this morning, there’s still chasing and screaming but Badger is sat upstairs eating her pellets so does that seem good?
 
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