New piggie not leaving hidey

[katiesinead]

Hi everyone!

Yesterday I adopted a 4 year old sow who had been on her own for around 4 months. I have already got two girls who are 9 months old and completely bonded.

For some background, I had a bonding session with the 3 of them in neutral territory when I brought new pig back yesterday, which lasted about 5 hours. There were a few standoffs - Cinnamon, my most dominant pig, didn't seem too bothered about new pig Ciri however Celeste, my other girl had some issues. Celeste wasn't exactly fighting with Ciri but she has been chasing her, mounting her, teeth chattering and nose butting. It wasn't constant either, it would go on for about 10 minutes and then they would ignore each other for a while until it started again.

Initially Ciri wasn't responding to being challenged by Celeste however after a couple of hours she started teeth chattering and chasing too. Also, at one point Celeste started nose butting with Cinnamon which I didn't expect.

I cleaned their cage so there were no scents and put them in last night. There was some chasing and mounting again from Celeste but everything calmed down after an hour and they went to bed. I left the doors open so I could hear them if they were fighting while I slept. I heard some arguments from them twice in the night but today nothing - they have all calmed down.

My issue however is Ciri is not leaving the hidey at the back of the cage. It is where they all go to hide as it is underneath their loft however there are several hideys located here - they are all laying apart from each other. The hay, water and food are in other parts of the cage and Cinnamon and Celeste have been leaving to eat and drink as usual but Ciri hasn't moved all day from her spot and I'm worried that she will be hungry/thirsty. I believe she did eat some veggies that one of the other pigs dropped in front of her but that is it.

Should I leave her to settle in and let her come out when she is ready or should I move hay & food closer to her? Obviously I don't want to scare her when she is getting settled but I'm not sure how long this will take.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Piggies&buns]

The full bonding and establishing a relationship takes two weeks after introduction so seeing dominance is to be expected for some time yet. Coupled with the fact she is only just with you means she is going to be scared. Her settling in could take a couple of weeks on its own. I’d make sure she has plenty of hay (leaving veggies isn’t enough as it is merely a snack and not the main part of their diet) near her hidey so she doesn’t have to come out if she doesn’t want to But can still get to hay. Normally we would say to cover the cage and leave new piggies to settle in for a week. The same is going to apply to her, but as you’ve already put her in with your others, then you need to make sure you don’t completely the cover the cage so you can still see them and make sure their relationship is actually working out.

 

[VeeAngel]

My new boy Jackadoodle is still in his “settling-in pen”. He did come from a stressful background followed by a month at the Animal Shelter alone. He had a few hidey spaces, but spent the majority of his time for the first 3 days in his little hide box. I put his hay and pellets right outside the box so he could grab and munch inside. Even being alone, the sound of other piggies and being in a new space was very stressful. I think you’ll start to see the adjustment and more venturing out after a couple of days. I’m also doing most fresh greens hand fed, to help Jackadoodle get more used to us and associate us with yummy treats.

I think you’ll see a big change after 3 days. Then another after 2-3 weeks and then 2-3 months.

When my last pair came from the rescue, it was basically:
3 days = maybe I’m safe here and you aren’t going to eat me
3 weeks = maybe I’m comfortable here and will flop wherever I want.
3 months = yay, here comes my human friends!

Good luck with the continued bonding! Hoping to see pictures when she’s out and about more.

 

[Claire W]

I agree about putting the hay and pellets nearby so she can eat in her hide. It will take her a while to settle in but the dominance behaviour you describe is perfectly normal and I hope the bonding goes well

 

[VickiA]

She’s had some major upheaval moving into a new home and having new room mates, so it’s natural that she will be a bit scared. Please leave hay and pellets right near her hidey so that she can have access to food at all times while she adjusts.