Newbie to boar trio

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Lulu_py78

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I said yes to rehoming three boars with me. For the most part they have gotten along with a few shows of dominance. I have two dominant males and one who is the complete opposite. Although I now know that a happy boar trio is a rarity and can be difficult to maintain.

Recently, I have become concerned about the two dominant males behaviour and it’s impact on the peaceful one. The two dominant ones circle the peaceful one with loads of rumble strutting, teeth chatter and peeing, one is definitely biting him but there is no blood. He squeals a lot and he gets chased loads and right now it feels a little relentless.

I suppose my question is- what is normal piggy behaviour and when should I be concerned. I don’t want to intervene unless I have to but I really want them to be living a happy existence. They are still young- just over a year. Everyone eats and I have two areas at either end of the cage for hay and more than one water bottle. There are a few cardboard hides but I am going to cut another hole on them so there is another exit- the peaceful one got cornered in one and that where the biting is taking place.

I am still earning their trust and I am not confident handling them yet- I feel like I have to chase/stress them to get the out which adds to the issue and I struggle to get them all out at once. So they might not be getting out of the cage enough. Any tips on taming them might be helpful too.

I hope this all makes sense but happy to clarify any details.
 
The squealing from the third is submission, he is telling the others he is the bottom of the hierarchy. Him squealing is not a problem.
The problem is actually the two dominant piggies. You can’t have two dominant piggies in a functioning hierarchy - there can only be one and this is why boar trios mostly don’t work.
If they are arguing between them then that is not harmonious and it’s the two dominant who need to be separated. If the third one is being bitten to the point you are finding bite marks rather than just nips which don’t break the skin (whether or not it is drawing blood), then they need to be split up into a pair and a single. Work out which one of the dominant piggies gets on best with the third one and keep them together. The one left alone can then live in a separate cage side by side with the pair for interaction through the bars. They cannot have physical contact so you will need to do separate floor times, one for the pair and one for the single

You don’t say how big their cage is, but to attempt a boar trio you need a cage covering at least three square metres, although space alone is not going to make them get on.

A boar pair need a cage measuring 6ft x 2ft to have enough space.
 
Do they try to mount or hump him? How long have they been with you and how much space do they have? And how long were they together previously? Have you had a chance to weigh them yet?

You’re right in that boat trios rarely work. You can’t have two dominant though, there can only be one top dog. So one of the more dominant ones is the top pig.

Are they both chasing him and biting him or just one? If it were me, I wouldn’t wait for blood to be drawn before separating. You don’t always need to wait for a proper fight. Sometimes it’s better to separate. I’d see which two get on best and separate the third. It sounds tense and I wouldn’t want to leave it festering. Have a read of the guide on dominance levels below and see where the two boars sit.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
 
Siikibam said:
Do they try to mount or hump him? How long have they been with you and how much space do they have? And how long were they together previously? Have you had a chance to weigh them yet?

You’re right in that boat trios rarely work. You can’t have two dominant though, there can only be one top dog. So one of the more dominant ones is the top pig.

Are they both chasing him and biting him or just one? If it were me, I wouldn’t wait for blood to be drawn before separating. You don’t always need to wait for a proper fight. Sometimes it’s better to separate. I’d see which two get on best and separate the third. It sounds tense and I wouldn’t want to leave it festering. Have a read of the guide on dominance levels below and see where the two boars sit.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Click to expand...
They definitely try but he doesn’t let them- he’s really good at flipping is back legs to kick them away and escaping. I have only had them two months and I have them in a c+c cage 6x2 (cable tied without the clips) They came in a much smaller two tier cage and I am sure the previous owner had picked them up from a pet shop so I have assumed that they have been together since babies. I took them to the vet when I first got them and I was told that their weight was healthy although the submissive one is the lightest.
Have I got a big enough cage to put a divider up or should I increase the space first? I could increase it by one more row- so 7x2?
I’ll have a wee read of the link too- thank you for your advice.
 
A pair of boars needs a 2x5. A single needs a 2x4. So you’d need to increase the space. Alternatively you could put it in an L configuration so they can still interact with the single.

It’s not good if he’s not allowing himself to be humped or mount, although squeaking is a good sign. But as above I would separate into one pair and a single.
 
Piggies&buns said:
The squealing from the third is submission, he is telling the others he is the bottom of the hierarchy. Him squealing is not a problem.
The problem is actually the two dominant piggies. You can’t have two dominant piggies in a functioning hierarchy - there can only be one and this is why boar trios mostly don’t work.
If they are arguing between them then that is not harmonious and it’s the two dominant who need to be separated. If the third one is being bitten to the point you are finding bite marks rather than just nips which don’t break the skin (whether or not it is drawing blood), then they need to be split up into a pair and a single. Work out which one of the dominant piggies gets on best with the third one and keep them together. The one left alone can then live in a separate cage side by side with the pair for interaction through the bars. They cannot have physical contact so you will need to do separate floor times, one for the pair and one for the single

You don’t say how big their cage is, but to attempt a boar trio you need a cage covering at least three square metres, although space alone is not going to make them get on.

A boar pair need a cage measuring 6ft x 2ft to have enough space.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply and help. I think I was just viewing it from the point of view that the two dominant ones pick on the submissive one. They hump each other and rumble strut a lot between themselves but it doesn’t turn into anything other than noise. They seem more of a team, if you know what I mean.
I have them in a c+c cage 6x2 and I was told that would be big enough for three- followed by a good luck message 😂 Although I have space for more space if needed- especially once I don’t have to wfh anymore.
I think I should try figuring out a separation but I assume once I have done that there is no going back? Will the single piggy be okay on his own?
 
Once separated you can’t have them together again. It would be better for the single to have a live-in friend, but he wouldn’t be lonely because he’d have company through the bars.
 
Sadly a 6x2 is not big enough for three boars. The size for two boars is a 5x2 and while for sows you can add an extra two grids and make it big enough, it doesn’t work like that for more territorial boars.
To attempt three boars you need at least a 3 sq metre cage (so each piggy can have a full square metre of territory) and a 6x2 only covers just over 1.7 sq metres. This is also part of the reason why most boar trios don’t make it, because people generally can’t offer them enough territory each. I wouldn’t attempt a boar trio in anything less than a 6x3 c&c (that comes in at 2.5 sq metres).

While the two dominant humping, rumbling a lot is normal dominance, there is a point when if it is happening too much that you have to consider that they might not be happy together. Normally one will back down into a submissive position but If that is happening, then they aren’t working things out between them and the relationship between the two isn’t a good one. The third piggy is then totally left out and taking the brunt of the frustrations between the other two.

It sounds as if the previous owner was given the bad advice from pet shops we see on here of a boar trio will be fine because they’ve been together since birth and here’s this too small cage. None of these things are the case - being biological brothers or together pre-teens does not mean they are going to be all right permamently.

As we said, boar trios are notoriously difficult to get to work and it’s highly like they will be so much happier separated. put the third and one of the dominant piggies together (whichever one he gets on best with) in a neutral territory bonding pen and bond them as a pair. They will need a 2x5 c&c cage. The single will then need to be kept alongside in a 2x4. If you can then find the single his own new friend (via boar dating at a rescue centre is best as you can be guaranteed character compatibility), then they can also live in a 2x5 cage but you can stack them one on top of the other to save floor space. You cannot stack cages if you’ve got a single piggy as the side by side interaction is lost and then the single gets lonely.
Mostly you can salvage a pair and a single out of a boar trio situation but very occasionally it turns into a huge proglems and none of them can get on, which then means you’ve got three single piggies.

Ive linked in the guides below so you can read further information on boars

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

This guide details how to carry out a neutral territory bonding. Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
This picture is my beloved George. We got him from a rescue at 18 months old - he's now nearly 4. The rescue said "his brothers picked on him" and indeed he's the most nervous and gentle pig I've ever encountered. It was a similar case of 'ganging up' on one. I asked whether he was the little one (cause he was pretty hefty even then) but no, he was the biggest. Apparently the bullying became relentless and one day George fought back and hurt the other two - but he didn't take up the alpha position he was just upset by the whole thing so he ended up neutered at the Blue Cross and came home with us. He's been living with various sows ever since and has been a happy underpiggy, only taking on the dominant role last month with a new little sow, but I do wonder if he was born nervous or made that way by his early experiences. He must have been with his brothers for well over a year before this all kicked off.

It's hard not to superimpose people-reactions over piggy behaviour but at the same time I think you have a gut instinct to try and protect your peaceful pig and that instinct is being triggered by something you are seeing that we are not. Removing one of your bolshy boys might settle things down - but in George's case removing the peaceful pig apparently settled the situation too - his brothers didn't then turn on each other and they just stayed with their owner. Life is funny sometimes.

Handling pigs is like handling babies - a confident grip, good support and not minding the poo! However it's often easier to transport from A to B if you herd him/them into a strong cardboard box or cat carrier and then just lift that out. At the minute (for weighing) I just turn 'carrot-cottage' upside down and George is all like "ooh!" and gets into it himself like he can't quite believe what's happening!

Good Luck in working it all out - I think some C&C people double-stack the cages so have pigs above and pigs below - and some use a table to have the double-deck effect but if you do that a single boy wouldn't get any interaction through the bars. If he's getting a friend though it's an option?
 
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