Noticing Girls Behaviour Since Indoors?

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ayemee

ayemee

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Since having the girls indoors I've been able to watch their behaviour more closely.

The first thing that concerns me is that none of them seem very close? They never really sit together or sleep next to each other. (Occasionally but very rarely) They seem to only interact if it's kicking each other out the hidey, shoving the others head away from the food bowl, or rumbling. Is this normal?

Also, Mabel has some real issue with Dolly. She has never hurt her, and some days she will let Dolly sleep near her. Most days she's always chasing her though and I have no idea why. Mabel seems to be the boss and Dolly at the bottom of the ranking. So I don't see why she's bothered by her. Chasing followed by Dolly teeth chattering is becoming more common and I don't want her to be unhappy. I'm not sure if this is normal behaviour?
 
Our piggies are just the same lol. We have a piggie sow called Khaleesi who seems to like winding the others up lol. I wouldn't worry unless they are having fights :D
 
Kerrie74 said:
Our piggies are just the same lol. We have a piggie sow called Khaleesi who seems to like winding the others up lol. I wouldn't worry unless they are having fights :D
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Yeah sows can be worse than boars sometimes I swear! Always having mood swings. :doh::))
 
No definitely no bites. It's more that I'm worried Dolly won't be happy if Mabel continues to have this issue. Dolly is very laid back to a point. She will run away from her but then at times she won't stand for it.

They're not arguing to the point where I'm worried they would hurt each other. It's more that I'm thinking of Dollys quality of life. Although she still wheeks, popcorns and enjoys relaxing in the open. So I'm presuming she's still happy?
 
Yeah I think she'll be fine.. my boars are going through weird stuff at the mo as well... Storm harassing Snow on and off. Snow rumble struts him and then Storm moans... guinea's are weird but cute lol.
 
ayemee said:
Since having the girls indoors I've been able to watch their behaviour more closely.

The first thing that concerns me is that none of them seem very close? They never really sit together or sleep next to each other. (Occasionally but very rarely) They seem to only interact if it's kicking each other out the hidey, shoving the others head away from the food bowl, or rumbling. Is this normal?

Also, Mabel has some real issue with Dolly. She has never hurt her, and some days she will let Dolly sleep near her. Most days she's always chasing her though and I have no idea why. Mabel seems to be the boss and Dolly at the bottom of the ranking. So I don't see why she's bothered by her. Chasing followed by Dolly teeth chattering is becoming more common and I don't want her to be unhappy. I'm not sure if this is normal behaviour?
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Sows in a group usually live alongside each other, they don't pile up; that is one of our misconceptions. They are still closely bonded.

How long have you had the girls indoors and how old are they? I will need that information to anser your other question appropriately.
 
Wiebke said:
Sows in a group usually live alongside each other, they don't pile up; that is one of our misconceptions. They are still closely bonded.

How long have you had the girls indoors and how old are they? I will need that information to anser your other question appropriately.
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Okay thank you. The girls have only moved indoors for about a week. However I'm not sure if this is new behaviour as I don't get to monitor them as much outdoors.

Two of the girls are around 9 months. The other two are only estimates as they are rescue pigs, but supposedly around 2 years and the other just over a year old.
 
ayemee said:
Okay thank you. The girls have only moved indoors for about a week. However I'm not sure if this is new behaviour as I don't get to monitor them as much outdoors.

Two of the girls are around 9 months. The other two are only estimates as they are rescue pigs, but supposedly around 2 years and the other just over a year old.
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It sounds like they are just re-establishing the hierarchy in new surroundings, but if this persists or gets worse, then it is worth having Mabel checked for ovarian cysts, which often start with middle and older sows. it is usually the smaller, but growing cysts that cause the aggressive behaviours.
 
Wiebke said:
It sounds like they are just re-establishing the hierarchy in new surroundings, but if this persists or gets worse, then it is worth having Mabel checked for ovarian cysts, which often start with middle and older sows. it is usually the smaller, but growing cysts that cause the aggressive behaviours.
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Ok thank you. Mabel is only 9 months old. She's always been a bit bossy. She isn't like it with any of the other pigs so I presumed it was something about Dolly she disliked.

My main concern is for Dollys happiness. If it got to the point where it could be classed as bullying I would try and find an alternative for Dolly. But for now I'm hoping things are ok?
 
Pigs naturally have a hierarchy, and at times hormones or a change of environment will cause them to forcefully reinforce the hierarchy. Some dominant pigs are more dominant than others and like the throw their weight around more. Even though it looks mean towards the pig at the bottom of the hierarchy, this is their normal behavior and SOMEONE has to be at the bottom. It's not something you can really project human emotions onto, if that makes sense. If there is no blood drawn and Dolly is able to eat/sleep/drink and is maintaining weight and behaving normally, I would chalk it up to normal herd behavior. If she isn't able to eat/drink/sleep or is physically being hurt, you may have to think about separating, but so long as she is not trying to move above her station things will probably settle down.

As for cuddling up, not all pigs are cuddlers. Mine often spend time doing their own thing, but obviously are more confident in their pair, watch each other for social cues (the submissive pig typically watches the dominant pig to see what to do- for instance, when it's floor time, Sundae watches Hadley to see if she's going out... Sundae is never the first pig out, and if Hadley doesn't leave, Sundae also will not leave), but they don't necessary sleep cuddled up or sit cuddled up unless they are spooked by something. They still have a bond, but just like people, just because you like someone doesn't mean you want to sit right next to them all day!
 
Thank you you've put my mind at rest. Dolly is able to eat and drink and sleep fine :)

As I type I'm watching her do some zoomies around the cage. :)
 
I've been watching them more over the past couple of days. Things are still tense between Dolly and Mabel. Whenever Mabel approaches Dolly, Dolly becomes very tense. She will then raise her head and show her teeth to Mabel followed by running off and chattering her teeth.

Do you think this could be a reaction from Dolly because she gets nervous around Mabel? Dollys previous home, she was kept as a lone pig, so I'm presuming she's either nervous, or simply that she's challenging her place in the group as bottom pig?
 
Hmm no idea, ours do chatter their teeth on occasions but it's more when one is bothering the other, mind you, when they did that near Big E he chattered his back and louder and they ran off rofl. It was like he was telling them to pack it in haha.

We've also got a bit of a bully in the sows cage, she kicks Nattie out of where she's sitting, she tried to hump Cocoa the day before yesterday (Cocoa beat her up, no like blood, told her off). Khaleesi is a little madam, things have been weird since Badger passed away, we believe she was the cage Mum/boss. I just hope they get on with Cesaro when we get him neutered.

Maybe she is nervous, I wouldn't worry unless it turns into them fighting as it did with our himi's that we had to split.
 
ayemee said:
I've been watching them more over the past couple of days. Things are still tense between Dolly and Mabel. Whenever Mabel approaches Dolly, Dolly becomes very tense. She will then raise her head and show her teeth to Mabel followed by running off and chattering her teeth.

Do you think this could be a reaction from Dolly because she gets nervous around Mabel? Dollys previous home, she was kept as a lone pig, so I'm presuming she's either nervous, or simply that she's challenging her place in the group as bottom pig?
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Dolly seems to be uncomfy around Mabel. Her message is "stay away from me", but she is not able to stand up to her. How long have you had Dolly with the group?
 
Wiebke said:
Dolly seems to be uncomfy around Mabel. Her message is "stay away from me", but she is not able to stand up to her. How long have you had Dolly with the group?
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Yeah and I don't understand the reason for this. Mabel doesn't really bother any of the other pigs.

Dolly has been with the group since 14th May. Dolly still eats, drinks, relaxes and popcorns. It's just whenever Mabel comes near her.
 
ayemee said:
Yeah and I don't understand the reason for this. Mabel doesn't really bother any of the other pigs.

Dolly has been with the group since 14th May. Dolly still eats, drinks, relaxes and popcorns. It's just whenever Mabel comes near her.
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If things haven't settled between the two of them in over 6 weeks, I would suspect a bit of bullying or at least acute dislike between them - and it won't get much better after this time. Sometimes, two sows in a group just don't like each other. I have found that if that is the case, it is better to think about an alternative solution for the long term as it is an agoing stress factor for both piggies as well as the whole group, and it has a tendency to flare up again and again. :(
 
Wiebke said:
If things haven't settled between the two of them in over 6 weeks, I would suspect a bit of bullying or at least acute dislike between them - and it won't get much better after this time. Sometimes, two sows in a group just don't like each other. I have found that if that is the case, it is better to think about an alternative solution for the long term as it is an agoing stress factor for both piggies as well as the whole group, and it has a tendency to flare up again and again. :(
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That's what I was afraid of. I'll continue to monitor and if things don't improve I will think of alternatives. When Dolly was first introduced Mabel liked her. They would be the only two to share a hidey at one point which is why I can't understand the change. Unless Dolly has become braver and Mabel doesn't like it.

They're currently in the trail run of indoors and if they can stay in I'll think about the way I could do a set up for the trio and dolly plus a friend if things don't improve.
 
it can be that they have just had a bit of a disagreement, but if things don't improve then you need to think about changes.
 
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