New bond - 11 week old and 2 year old males

[Ellenm13]

Hi there - this is my first time doing a bond, and I did lots of research and all seemed to do well at first but now feeling a little unsure and hoping for some advice.

I had 2 piggies (male) around 2 years old who had been together since birth, and had a very well established relationship. Then we suddenly lost one - it was very hard and took a little while to be ready for a new piggy.

However, we decided it was time and got a new baby boy for company.

I did lots of research and after quarantining the baby, and an all clear health check from the vet - it was intro time. I took it slow beginning with sent swapping and then allowing them to see each other with a barrier before finally introducing fully. The introduction seemed to go very well - ending with them happily eating and existing together, and so we moved on to being housed together.

This will be their first night together, and I am keeping an eye on them the whole time as they are set up next to me. Most of the time all is ok, and they are eating and wondering around their cage quite harmoniously - however, every now and then, especially when the older pig is settled and sleeping, the baby will come over and disturb him. The baby is very Interested in the older back end - and appears to be nuzzling into it and possibly giving little nips. Is this normal and to be expected? Is he just testing his limits and trying to establish the hierarchy? Or is this something I need to be concerned about and separate?

Whilst I want a little friend to keep my piggy company, the last thing I want is for him to be stressed and bullied In his own home by the newcomer. He isn’t showing any real signs of distress but there is lots of constant chatter.

Any advice greatly appreciated - this is very stressful for me and I just want to do everything right, I don’t know if I am over thinking or it’s time to intervene.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

What you are seeing is absolutely fine and normal - don’t worry!
It’s normal behaviour for a baby and for a new bond (it’s not fighting or bullying behaviour). It will take two weeks for them to now fully establish their relationship. As baby gets a bit older and hits his teens (16 weeks until 14 months of age) then you may see more dominance (rumbling, chasing, mounting) but as long as they want to be together and are compatible then all will be fine.
Ensure they have plenty of space (180x60cm is the cage size for two boys), two of everything in the cage and that all hides have two exits.

The only reason you should separate is for an actually rolling around furball fight which causes injuries.
Or for actual bullying which is a sustained set of behaviours which is beyond normal dominance. A bullied pig is likely to be constantly chased away from food and will lose weight at each weekly weight check; the chasing and humping will be relentless so the bullied ought to never gets a break; they may become depressed and hide themselves away.



For completeness of information for others reading this thread in the future - quarantining should not for done for babies under four months of age. Babies are desperate for social interaction, guidance and companionship and all bonding must be done straight away where a piggy under 16 weeks is involved. Side by side can be done for a day or so but it is very important that bonding is carried out very soon after arriving in the home.
(Piggies older than 16 weeks can be quarantined for two weeks in a separate room if necessary, and then side by side for a few days or a few weeks - whatever is needed to calm them down and reduce the territorial behaviours - before bonding).
Also, scent swapping is not recommended. It can actually cause hostility. A piggy’s has the right to defend the territory and if they smell another piggy in their space, when they then meet that piggy it can actually cause quite a bit of hostility and can be detrimental to the success is the bond.
Luckily it has been ok in your case, but it isn’t always the case and hence scent swapping is an outdated thing and not recommended any more.

 

[Ellenm13]

Welcome to the forum

What you are seeing is absolutely fine and normal - don’t worry!
It’s normal behaviour for a baby and for a new bond (it’s not fighting or bullying behaviour). It will take two weeks for them to now fully establish their relationship. As baby gets a bit older and hits his teens (16 weeks until 14 months of age) then you may see more dominance (rumbling, chasing, mounting) but as long as they want to be together and are compatible then all will be fine.
Ensure they have plenty of space (180x60cm is the cage size for two boys), two of everything in the cage and that all hides have two exits.

The only reason you should separate is for an actually rolling around furball fight which causes injuries.
Or for actual bullying which is a sustained set of behaviours which is beyond normal dominance. A bullied pig is likely to be constantly chased away from food and will lose weight at each weekly weight check; the chasing and humping will be relentless so the bullied ought to never gets a break; they may become depressed and hide themselves away.



For completeness of information for others reading this thread in the future - quarantining should not for done for babies under four months of age. Babies are desperate for social interaction, guidance and companionship and all bonding must be done straight away where a piggy under 16 weeks is involved. Side by side can be done for a day or so but it is very important that bonding is carried out very soon after arriving in the home.
(Piggies older than 16 weeks can be quarantined for two weeks in a separate room if necessary, and then side by side for a few days or a few weeks - whatever is needed to calm them down and reduce the territorial behaviours - before bonding).
Also, scent swapping is not recommended. It can actually cause hostility. A piggy’s has the right to defend the territory and if they smell another piggy in their space, when they then meet that piggy it can actually cause quite a bit of hostility and can be detrimental to the success is the bond.
Luckily it has been ok in your case, but it isn’t always the case and hence scent swapping is an outdated thing and not recommended any more.

Thank you so much for your reply - and for putting my mind at ease. Things have already been going better and there is much less of this behaviour already - although I will be keeping a constant eye out for a while!

Thank you for your advice - I have already done much of this but always appreciated to have extra info!

I will be watching out for any changes in my older piggies behaviour closely.


Thank you also for providing this additional information to me and others In such a patient, non judgemental way - all of what I did for the introduction and the quarantine was on the advice of my vet! (Which is a little concerning!) the baby was only quarantined for a week which is what was recommended to me but good to know of this information for the future!

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me and provide me with more knowledge going forward

 

[Piggies&buns]

The chances are that they will be absolutely fine going forward. The teens do produce an uptick in dominance but it by far does not mean a problem will happen, so try not to worry.

We do sometimes see vets overlooking the social aspect of piggies - things like owners being told to separate them if one is ill. We would never recommend separating poorly piggies - it causes stress to be away from their companion which really doesn’t help their recovery, doesn’t prevent spread of illness and they were already in contact with each other, and also can actually permanently destroy their bond. We have unfortunately seen many cases of people coming to us when trying to reintroduce medically separated piggies and it had failed due to their bond being broken due to the separation.

We would love to see pictures of your lovely boys!
We love a boar pair on here!
I only keep boars myself and I love their cheeky characters. I currently have two 2 year olds boys (separated but side by side due to their bond unfortunately breaking when the teen hormones hit). I lost my other boar pair last year (one back in March and the other on New Year’s Eve) due to old age (6 and 7 years old respectively).