Older boar, younger sow

Spaniel

Spaniel

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Perry is a 4 year old neutered boar who lost his friend recently (6 year old sow)

A relative said a friend of theirs is thinking of re-homing their 3-4 month old sow.

We’re thinking of maybe offering to take her but is this likely to work with the age gap?

I know it’s a risk re-homing like this. We usually rescue and have been contacting rescues this past week but with no luck yet.

Any thoughts?
 
An age gap doesn’t matter to piggies - it all comes down to character compatibility.
All you can do is try and see if they like each other.
 
Spaniel said:
Perry is a 4 year old neutered boar who lost his friend recently (6 year old sow)

A relative said a friend of theirs is thinking of re-homing their 3-4 month old sow.

We’re thinking of maybe offering to take her but is this likely to work with the age gap?

I know it’s a risk re-homing like this. We usually rescue and have been contacting rescues this past week but with no luck yet.

Any thoughts?
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Hi

The little sow is still at an age where she would normally want to belong unless she has massive socialisation/fear-aggression issues due to being kept on her own from a very young age.
Otherwise it is one of the safest and most successful bondings, very often resulting in a very loving life-long close relationship. At that age, you have the full strength of her biological urges and instincts behind you and are not working against them.

I have adopted younger 'wifelets' a number of times without any issues from 5-6 weeks upwards and have covered pretty much any age by now - both ways with sows and 'husboars' in any possible age combination.

You can find examples (as well as lots of practical bonding advice) in the videos in our bonding guide: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

PS: As with any home bonding on spec, I would strongly recommend to have a plan B at the ready in case it doesn't come off. The one time you haven't is usually the time you need one!

All the best.
 
Wifelet is a great term!

We do worry she’ll turn out to be a he! Or worse, poorly or pregnant!

Relative said from what they’ve seen, she’s a single who was bought for the kids.

We usually re-home adults so hadn’t considered a very young piggy but my partner thinks the timing seems like a sign.. maybe?
 
Spaniel said:
Wifelet is a great term!

We do worry she’ll turn out to be a he! Or worse, poorly or pregnant!

Relative said from what they’ve seen, she’s a single who was bought for the kids.

We usually re-home adults so hadn’t considered a very young piggy but my partner thinks the timing seems like a sign.. maybe?
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Here is our sexing guide with plenty of comparison pictures but you are welcome to also post a preferably clear and well-lit picture before the bonding for a second opinion.
Illustrated Sexing Guide

Be aware that there is a hands-on part to any sexing procedure (the same as we do for our own piggies) and that we encourage our members to learn where to look and feel for exactly so they have never to rely on other people again - many of which sadly do not live up to expection all too often. Anyway, you are in the comfortable position that the gender won't be a problem as long as the two it is off.

A pregnancy shouldn't be a problem for a single piggy. By that age, she would be likely showing signs of a baby pregnancy predating her sale. But we do have a very comprehensive practical information pack and offer ongoing support in our pregnancy section, which is only visible to registered members who have accepted our no intentional breeding policy.
 
We weren’t sure whether a boar would work after he’d been friends with a sow?

Perry is such a lovely boar. He’s such a softy and was being picked on by his brother when they arrived in rescue so they were re-homed separately. He was the submissive to his brother and then submissive to our senior sow. They absolutely adored each other. One of those love at first sight bonds.
 
My old boy Ted 5 years plus was bonded with two young sows when he lost his brother Bill. They made a lovely threesome, older boars are much gentler and well mannered than a young boar which only has one thing on his mind. 🙄 It was an exceptionally easy to bond them. Good luck 🤞
Here he is with Posh and Ginger
1666714511009.webp
 
Bill & Ted said:
My old boy Ted 5 years plus was bonded with two young sows when he lost his brother Bill. They made a lovely threesome, older boars are much gentler and well mannered than a young boar which only has one thing on his mind. 🙄 It was an exceptionally easy to bond them. Good luck 🤞
Here he is with Posh and Ginger
View attachment 213116
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He looks so proud and happy of his two little wifelets.
 
My ca. 8 years old Pioden 'Magpie' and his 2 years old wifelet Dryw 'Wren' are welcoming a couple of rescue born baby girls to ensure that Dryw would not be left on her own.
Dryw herself was another baby adoptee after Pioden lost three of his wives in just a year and was about to lose his last one (aged 8 years as well) two years before.

Pioden is meeting Llinos and Lleian, with Dryw on the right in November 2021
DSCN4031_edited-1.jpg


8 years old Hedydd (shortly before her death) with baby Dryw and her very loved up daddy boar Pioden in October 2019
IMG_0522_edited-3.jpg
 
Great pictures!

I’ve passed our contact details on so we’ll see. They’re not sure yet.

Back to the search!
 
We had our boar Casper (4 ish) neutered to find a wife. Snowflake was, surprisingly, a lone young female in the adoption centre at P@H - very unusual. Probably had been in their normal intake but had to be removed and treated for something - staff said she'd been alone 'in the back' for a few weeks so we didn't know her age but she was pretty much adult size. Casper had lived his whole life with cage mate Harvey until he passed so he'd not had any female encounters before. In those days we didn't know any better and just brought her home and bunged her in... 5 minutes of frenzied chasing till he cornered her*, a quick bunk-up and true love blossomed overnight! We now know we were quite lucky - although not as lucky as Casper :roll:

* it might have been even quicker had we not had them on Correx and shavings at the time - it was like a furry Dancing on Ice!
 
A single sow is so hard to find in rescue :(

I think we have tried everywhere within our reach now so not sure what to do.
 
So sorry you’re having trouble finding lovely Perry a friend, he sounds like such a sweetie :love: Really hope you have some luck soon, it’s horrible to see them lonely after they lose a friend :( Sending love to him and 🤞 for you x
 
alpacasqueak said:
So sorry you’re having trouble finding lovely Perry a friend, he sounds like such a sweetie :love: Really hope you have some luck soon, it’s horrible to see them lonely after they lose a friend :( Sending love to him and 🤞 for you x
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Thank you. He is a really lovely boy. He loved his wife-pig so so much and I want him to have that again.
 
Some advice needed please.

So because we weren’t having any luck with rescues we started to consider having to go to a hobby breeder or pets at home for the first time. Found a breeder that were happy to answer questions and who seem nice enough.

Not long after two rescues got in touch. Both have two single sows available. One on the recommended list, one not but seem nice. Both an hour away.

So one said we can bring Perry to try speed dating but the next available time is Thursday.

The other hasn’t got back to me yet so still waiting for approval of our set up and then what days they can do an introduction with Perry.

Perry is doing ok but he is lonely now.

So should we wait for a rescue or go local and get a friend sooner?

Edited to say that he’s been alone for 3 weeks today.
 
Spaniel said:
Some advice needed please.

So because we weren’t having any luck with rescues we started to consider having to go to a hobby breeder or pets at home for the first time. Found a breeder that were happy to answer questions and who seem nice enough.

Not long after two rescues got in touch. Both have two single sows available. One on the recommended list, one not but seem nice. Both an hour away.

So one said we can bring Perry to try speed dating but the next available time is Thursday.

The other hasn’t got back to me yet so still waiting for approval of our set up and then what days they can do an introduction with Perry.

Perry is doing ok but he is lonely now.

So should we wait for a rescue or go local and get a friend sooner?

Edited to say that he’s been alone for 3 weeks today.
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It really depends on Perry? Will he be ok until Thursday? Wishing you all the luck whatever you decide x
 
We tried George with a lovely girl from a local breeder/boarder when he was left alone during lockdown for a while. She's a nice lady, obvs keen on piggies, and as well as the boarding offers 'spa' treatments so she'll groom and tidy floofy ones, clip nails etc. I didn't want a baby as George was, by then, in his middle years. She had a very nice girl who looked full grown but she was so sprightly and bouncy that George didn't take to her at all and got very defensive. In the end he charged her and so poor Rosie had to go back home just a few hours after she got here. George is very gentle and I've never seen him like that in his life so there must have been something he didn't take to... usually it's him hiding away! Rosie went back popped into the centre pocket of a fluffy hoodie. She looked pretty relieved! She was the second piggy I'd got from that route and the thing they had in common was that neither gave me a second look when they arrived. I'd assumed that their previous lives were all about being in cages with other pigs and not having the human interaction a pet (or an ex-pet) might have had. It wouldn't have mattered as they were here to meet other pigs - I just do the catering!

I'd always be tempted to hang on for a rescue myself but it's whatever you think. I've had pigs from the 'rescue' section at P@H and from animal rescues that aren't listed on here (although organisations - not just someone's kitchen), and from local folks who were down to one (that's where Flora came from) and so far we've been lucky enough to have avoided ringworm (touch wood... lots of wood) although I do now just anticipate mites or lice are inevitable at some point wherever that piggy has come from!

[Wow, for some reason I'm now thinking about my son bringing a girlfriend home... 😅]
 
Spaniel said:
Some advice needed please.

So because we weren’t having any luck with rescues we started to consider having to go to a hobby breeder or pets at home for the first time. Found a breeder that were happy to answer questions and who seem nice enough.

Not long after two rescues got in touch. Both have two single sows available. One on the recommended list, one not but seem nice. Both an hour away.

So one said we can bring Perry to try speed dating but the next available time is Thursday.

The other hasn’t got back to me yet so still waiting for approval of our set up and then what days they can do an introduction with Perry.

Perry is doing ok but he is lonely now.

So should we wait for a rescue or go local and get a friend sooner?

Edited to say that he’s been alone for 3 weeks today.
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Please keep in mind that life for rescue people is totally manic right now as piggies are dumped left right and centre. You never know just how much is going on behind the scenes...

My several bereaved piggies had to wait for up to two months last summer after a spate of losses in very quick succession due one of my reserved piggies coming down with ringworm badly in rescue and the adoption needing to be postponed but it was worth the wait because I could personality match all my bereaved piggies and got all happy bonds out of them - mostly with adopted returned widows and widowers..
PS: We are very careful about which rescues we put on our recommended list; we are not just looking at a nice frontage but at the whole rescue process and at the standard of care.

If you can get to a rescue that offers careful bonding, then it is always worth waiting that bit longer - keep in mind that a few days more will be weighed up by years of a good bond. Our recommended rescues are not chosen for quick answers or a smooth frontage; we are closely looking at the whole rescue process from intakes to adoption.
 
Spaniel said:
Some advice needed please.

So because we weren’t having any luck with rescues we started to consider having to go to a hobby breeder or pets at home for the first time. Found a breeder that were happy to answer questions and who seem nice enough.

Not long after two rescues got in touch. Both have two single sows available. One on the recommended list, one not but seem nice. Both an hour away.

So one said we can bring Perry to try speed dating but the next available time is Thursday.

The other hasn’t got back to me yet so still waiting for approval of our set up and then what days they can do an introduction with Perry.

Perry is doing ok but he is lonely now.

So should we wait for a rescue or go local and get a friend sooner?

Edited to say that he’s been alone for 3 weeks today.
Click to expand...
I agree with those above and would wait for a rescue provided he’s still eating okay and not losing weight. If he were then his health comes first, but if he’s doing fine other than being lonely then I would personally hold on. You’re likely to get a much better bond from a rescue. During the covid Christmas time of 2020, we had to just go out and buy a piggy from pets at home because the rescue situation was incredibly difficult, we were trying so hard to get a rescue pig for him but it just wasn’t happening, and our boy had stopped eating and just became completely reserved. He perked up once we bought the new piggy and they were together a couple of months before they had to be separated due to the new piggy’s hormonal peak. They now live side by side, can’t live together but can’t live apart! I do wish we could’ve done boar dating as I much prefer it both morally and due to the stability of the bond formed but it just wasn’t possible at that time due to covid
 
Thank you. We’re going to wait for a rescue. I think he’s ok enough to wait. He still has bright moments, eating normally, loves burrowing in his hay and wants all his food, drinking normally. Weight fairly stable (a little lower but not worryingly so)

It’s just those sad moments he has are tough to see. He will walk and occasional run a lap around the cage, use bottles at both ends, but he is mainly living in one section - the hay area and close by.
 
The rescue who can do speed dating on Thursday are Cavy Haven Cheshire. They have two single sows to try him with. One in particular sounds like a good match on paper. I guess you never know until you try them together. They’re not on the recommended list but were nice and polite on emails, although didn’t ask anything about us or our set up etc. The pigs there are used to an outdoor shed type set up and we would be offering an indoor home. Probably silly but we worry about Perry being cold in a bonding pen semi-outdoors. They said dating would take up to an hour.

The other rescue who have two singles available are Milhaven, West Yorkshire. Waiting to hear back on approval of our housing and whether either sows sound like they would be a potential match. The lady sounded very nice on email and did ask about us, about Perry and our set up.

Any thoughts?
 
Spaniel said:
The rescue who can do speed dating on Thursday are Cavy Haven Cheshire. They have two single sows to try him with. One in particular sounds like a good match on paper. I guess you never know until you try them together. They’re not on the recommended list but were nice and polite on emails, although didn’t ask anything about us or our set up etc. The pigs there are used to an outdoor shed type set up and we would be offering an indoor home. Probably silly but we worry about Perry being cold in a bonding pen semi-outdoors. They said dating would take up to an hour.

The other rescue who have two singles available are Milhaven, West Yorkshire. Waiting to hear back on approval of our housing and whether either sows sound like they would be a potential match. The lady sounded very nice on email and did ask about us, about Perry and our set up.

Any thoughts?
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It’s hard to say. I would stick with Millhaven since they’re forum recommended. With the other rescue, the being outside thing would have me feeling a little iffy unless it was some kind of properly insulated shed since it’s pretty cold outside at the moment. Not only that, but from what I know, bonding usually takes longer than an hour. I’ve only had boars, so it could be different but I’ve done bondings that have lasted from 4-8 hours, and I’ve had guinea pigs bonded at rescues which have also taken roughly that long. But boars can be a lot more tricky than sows or mixed gender bondings, so it could be different in your case.
That’s just my two cents, and hopefully someone with more experience can give you more guidance. But if not, thats just what I think
 
An hour would only be a speed date - just enough to see if they like each other but not much else. You would have to continue the bonding at home yourself in neutral territory for several more hours for them to get through sorting the hierarchy.
I would go with a forum recommended rescue
 
Spaniel said:
The rescue who can do speed dating on Thursday are Cavy Haven Cheshire. They have two single sows to try him with. One in particular sounds like a good match on paper. I guess you never know until you try them together. They’re not on the recommended list but were nice and polite on emails, although didn’t ask anything about us or our set up etc. The pigs there are used to an outdoor shed type set up and we would be offering an indoor home. Probably silly but we worry about Perry being cold in a bonding pen semi-outdoors. They said dating would take up to an hour.

The other rescue who have two singles available are Milhaven, West Yorkshire. Waiting to hear back on approval of our housing and whether either sows sound like they would be a potential match. The lady sounded very nice on email and did ask about us, about Perry and our set up.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I would strongly recommend waiting for Milhaven if the adoption request goes through. Your boy will be in safe hands there!
 
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