New Pig, Angry Sow

[SkinnyPigRiver]

Hi, everyone! We've gone awhile without any big issues/problems, but a few days ago we added a neutered boar to our family (of two baby skinny pig sows).

The initial meeting went well. River is an extremely aggressive piggy, and our new boy quickly stood down. However, when we got home....

It's going on three days of slowly de-escalating behavior that's been a little bizarre to watch. Our new man decided he wasn't going to take any mess from River after all, and they've been interacting aggressively, though at this point it's usually River who runs away.

Has anyone else observed this in their herds? The dominant pig being possibly usurped? They aren't having big fights at this point, but they do rumble strut at each other, and River has started doing that nervous chutting when he rumbles at her.

 

[Wiebke]

Keep a close eye on it. Dominance is not necessarily decided right at the start; the dominance phase lasts around 2 weeks and the initial dominance phase can shift during this pase. It depends on whether this is accepted or not.
You may find the chapters about the dominance phase and about fear aggression very interesting.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

 

[SkinnyPigRiver]

Thank you so much! I definitely can use that reading material!

I'm really looking forward to our new guy bonding with Melody, the submissive sow. He will lay down very near her in one of the two "bedrooms" and lets her have the actual bed. As far as River goes, they will take turns chasing each other after a rumble-strut-off. There's no more actual fighting, which is a huge relief.