New pair... turns out Leela can be quite bossy! LOL!

[Freela]

For four years we had Hadley and Leela paired together... Hadley was a pretty dominant pig and Leela was a very chilled out second to her. After losing Hadley a month or so ago, we introduced Leela to new baby Tomie. Bonding went well, but I was very surprised at how bossy and domineering Leela actually can be... no aggression but plenty of chinning and tooth chattering to establish her dominance. Now that they are living together I sometimes see Leela assert her dominance by kicking Tomie off the water bottle and making her wait in line. Tomie is thrilled just to have Leela there and certainly isn't going to challenge her in any way and everything has been going well... it's just weird to me because this is a side of Leela I have NEVER seen in 4.5 years with Hadley! It made me realize that I've actually never had a pair where an underpig climbed the ranks and became the new boss... the last time we had an underpig left alone she was the meekest pig imaginable and was more than happy to let younger Hadley be the boss.

So is this bossiness typical of an underpig who finally gets their moment to shine? Like I said, it has been going well and I'm not concerned, I just never would have expected Leela to throw her weight around... Hadley would never have put up with this for a minute! LOL!

 

[Wiebke]

For four years we had Hadley and Leela paired together... Hadley was a pretty dominant pig and Leela was a very chilled out second to her. After losing Hadley a month or so ago, we introduced Leela to new baby Tomie. Bonding went well, but I was very surprised at how bossy and domineering Leela actually can be... no aggression but plenty of chinning and tooth chattering to establish her dominance. Now that they are living together I sometimes see Leela assert her dominance by kicking Tomie off the water bottle and making her wait in line. Tomie is thrilled just to have Leela there and certainly isn't going to challenge her in any way and everything has been going well... it's just weird to me because this is a side of Leela I have NEVER seen in 4.5 years with Hadley! It made me realize that I've actually never had a pair where an underpig climbed the ranks and became the new boss... the last time we had an underpig left alone she was the meekest pig imaginable and was more than happy to let younger Hadley be the boss.

So is this bossiness typical of an underpig who finally gets their moment to shine? Like I said, it has been going well and I'm not concerned, I just never would have expected Leela to throw her weight around... Hadley would never have put up with this for a minute! LOL!

Hi!

It is typical behaviour for the ca. 2 weeks post-intro dominance phase, in which the group hierarchy is shared up and fully established, whether is a change in membership or territory.

It's a bit on the heavy-handed side but that is likely down to Leela feeling rather insecure in her new position. Over the top behaviour is usually caused by fear/insecurity and not aggression (that is why I call it fear-aggression). It will settle down once Leela is feeling comfortable with her new status.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

 

[Freela]

Hi!

It is typical behaviour for the ca. 2 weeks post-intro dominance phase, in which the group hierarchy is shared up and fully established, whether is a change in membership or territory.

It's a bit on the heavy-handed side but that is likely down to Leela feeling rather insecure in her new position. Over the top behaviour is usually caused by fear/insecurity and not aggression (that is why I call it fear-aggression). It will settle down once Leela is feeling comfortable with her new status.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

Thanks! I was thinking something similar... Leela seemed a bit unsure when we doing introductions, as if she was not quite sure what to do. The good news is that Tomie seems quite taken with her and just happy to be there... she keeps coming up to Leela, touching noses, and then goes popcorning off happily! LOL!

 

[Freela]

Here's a picture of the two resting alongside each other after they had been introduced and gotten to know each other!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks! I was thinking something similar... Leela seemed a bit unsure when we doing introductions, as if she was not quite sure what to do. The good news is that Tomie seems quite taken with her and just happy to be there... she keeps coming up to Leela, touching noses, and then goes popcorning off happily! LOL!

I am sure that Leela will come round soon and be very happy with having a little friend who loves her unconditionally once she gets her head round.

Adult sows coming out of a long term relationship that have never really done any bonding are very often struggling with the process and finding them a new mate can be rather tricky.