Our first piggie fight!

T

Taegijoon

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 17, 2019
Messages
78
Reaction score
47
Points
220
Location
New York City
Hello all!
This might be a long one so apologize in advance! So on Saturday we introduced a mother and daughter pair that my boyfriend and I re-homed. We have 4 girls of our own, one of which is still new to the group and a baby. My boyfriend's roommate moved out so we were excited to have a big space for doing introductions! we set them in and the typical bum sniffing started. Around a minute or so Chai, our piggie who is the most dominant and asserts her dominance a lot, and the momma piggie had a serious fight! I do have a recording and will post if needed. My boyfriend jumped in immediately and they separated. I wasn't too sure what to do from there and decided to continue with the introduction and watch and be prepared. The attempted another fight but as soon as i made a move, they broke up. I kept them in the room until night. We started during the day. Throughout that time things deescalated. Chai was just chasing and nipping, there were times were all piggies laid down and I took that ass things were ok. We also had Latte(second in command) against the daughter pig but they never fought as the daughter pig ran off, she rather skittish. Momma pig was showing submission by running from Chai when ever she got close or lunged at her. I put them in the cage and tensions rose again. Chai went for momma and Latte the baby, Latte pulled some fur and Chai was so riled up she even accidentally attacked Latte! She ran off but was still being chased after by Chai. I watched over them and again thing came down so I went to bed. Woke up to submission crying here and there. In the morning, I was petting momma and her bum and she kept crying, I checked her and she had two bites but they looked scabbed over so I'm guessing it was from the first fight she had with Chai. We put ointment on it. Over the rest of the weekend it was just filled with chasing from Chai and submission cries from the mama. Here and there they were actually fine with each other, eating hay together, occupying the same space, sleeping next to each-other. Latte Especially cooled down and sniffs up the baby, but she runs off. Chai is fine with the daughter as well just occasionally struts at her then backs off. Then a rather strange moment happened! I was having some lap time with the mama and put her back on the patio area we have because she never goes up there (probably because she's not use to a ramp yet). Chai can be an instigator and saw that she was up there and went up. Chai always pauses before she makes a move (idk why that is lol, always gives me anxiety) and she lunged/chased momma off the patio. Momma ran up another ramp to the loft area but stopped because Latte was at the top, Chai was behind momma. Momma began chattering and Chai was seemingly deciding on her next move but then heres the strange part! Mochi (the most welcoming of our piggies) and Latter were crying? squeaking? as this was happing Chai was still hesitating, I was fully prepared for Chai to opt to nip or lunge as she always does but instead she back off! The crying from Mochi and Latte made me wonder if they were asking Chai to chill out lol! The rest of the night was very peaceful and Chai was even cuddling next to the daughter under a ramp. This morning as I got ready for work, i was refilling their hay and they all came out together and was grazing together. I went to re-read the introductory thread and saw that when fights happen they need a day or two to cool off. I did not do this correctly it seems but I am wondering if they managed to cool things off on their own? So my question is, what next? should i try another introduction or leave them be in the cage for the next 2 weeks for them to figure things out?

here's Chai(brown) and the Daughter (white bum)snuggling lol:
20200217_195721.jpg
 
Taegijoon said:
Hello all!
This might be a long one so apologize in advance! So on Saturday we introduced a mother and daughter pair that my boyfriend and I re-homed. We have 4 girls of our own, one of which is still new to the group and a baby. My boyfriend's roommate moved out so we were excited to have a big space for doing introductions! we set them in and the typical bum sniffing started. Around a minute or so Chai, our piggie who is the most dominant and asserts her dominance a lot, and the momma piggie had a serious fight! I do have a recording and will post if needed. My boyfriend jumped in immediately and they separated. I wasn't too sure what to do from there and decided to continue with the introduction and watch and be prepared. The attempted another fight but as soon as i made a move, they broke up. I kept them in the room until night. We started during the day. Throughout that time things deescalated. Chai was just chasing and nipping, there were times were all piggies laid down and I took that as things were ok. We also had Latte(second in command) against the daughter pig but they never fought as the daughter pig ran off, she's rather skittish. Momma pig was showing submission by running from Chai when ever she got close or lunged at her. I put them in the cage and tensions rose again. Chai went for momma and Latte the baby, Latte pulled some fur and Chai was so riled up she even accidentally attacked Latte! She ran off but was still being chased after by Chai. I watched over them and again thing came down so I went to bed. Woke up to submission crying here and there. In the morning, I was petting momma and her bum and she kept crying, I checked her and she had two bites but they looked scabbed over so I'm guessing it was from the first fight she had with Chai. We put ointment on it. Over the rest of the weekend it was just filled with chasing from Chai and submission cries from the mama. Here and there they were actually fine with each other, eating hay together, occupying the same space, sleeping next to each-other. Latte Especially cooled down and sniffs up the baby, but she runs off. Chai is fine with the daughter as well just occasionally struts at her then backs off. Then a rather strange moment happened! I was having some lap time with the mama and put her back on the patio area we have because she never goes up there (probably because she's not use to a ramp yet). Chai can be an instigator and saw that she was up there and went up. Chai always pauses before she makes a move (idk why that is lol, always gives me anxiety) and she lunged/chased momma off the patio. Momma ran up another ramp to the loft area but stopped because Latte was at the top, Chai was behind momma. Momma began chattering and Chai was seemingly deciding on her next move but then heres the strange part! Mochi (the most welcoming of our piggies) and Latter were crying? squeaking? as this was happing Chai was still hesitating, I was fully prepared for Chai to opt to nip or lunge as she always does but instead she back off! The crying from Mochi and Latte made me wonder if they were asking Chai to chill out lol! The rest of the night was very peaceful and Chai was even cuddling next to the daughter under a ramp. This morning as I got ready for work, i was refilling their hay and they all came out together and was grazing together. I went to re-read the introductory thread and saw that when fights happen they need a day or two to cool off. I did not do this correctly it seems but I am wondering if they managed to cool things off on their own? So my question is, what next? should i try another introduction or leave them be in the cage for the next 2 weeks for them to figure things out?

here's Chai(brown) and the Daughter (white bum)snuggling lol:
View attachment 133933
Click to expand...
 
I think if your piggies have now calmed down and sorted out their differences and everything is peaceful, you shouldnt interfere- if you want them to live as a group, separating now after they have settled down together would be the worst thing to do- you'd have to start all over again!
Establishing their group hierarchy can be noisy and lively but as long as they seem to be settling with no obvious sustained bullying and no blood drawn then its probably ok...
 
@Wiebke :)
should the be separated
should i re-introduce (tbh we need to anyway, we just adopted a neutered male but he has 2 weeks left until he is clear of active sperm)
or are they ok staying together?

Thanks so much again!
 
Taegijoon said:
@Wiebke :)
should the be separated
should i re-introduce (tbh we need to anyway, we just adopted a neutered male but he has 2 weeks left until he is clear of active sperm)
or are they ok staying together?

Thanks so much again!
Click to expand...

Hi!

Please be aware that the post-intro dominance phase usually lasts for about 2 weeks on average but it can go on for longer. The hierarchy is gradually reaffirmed by travelling from the top down between piggies ranked next to each other in the new hierarchy.
You have to sit out this phase and leave them to it; any intervention of yours is going to make things even trickier and the whole bonding process (which is still underway).

If the bonding has been controversial and rather borderline like yours, then it is somewhat inevitable that the dominance is going to be stronger; the same goes when younger piggies are involved that are still at the vocal and dramatic sub-teenage/early teenage stage (up to 6 months).

You will have to be aware that old grudges (like those bum bites) may turn up later on some years down the line and cause discruption then if the occasion arises.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please be aware that the post-intro dominance phase usually lasts for about 2 weeks on average but it can go on for longer. The hierarchy is gradually reaffirmed by travelling from the top down between piggies ranked next to each other in the new hierarchy.
You have to sit out this phase and leave them to it; any intervention of yours is going to make things even trickier and the whole bonding process (which is still underway).

If the bonding has been controversial and rather borderline like yours, then it is somewhat inevitable that the dominance is going to be stronger; the same goes when younger piggies are involved that are still at the vocal and dramatic sub-teenage/early teenage stage (up to 6 months).

You will have to be aware that old grudges (like those bum bites) may turn up later on some years down the line and cause discruption then if the occasion arises.
Click to expand...
Gotcha gotcha! I'm nervous of the next (but final) intro with the male. I've done small lap intro's and he seems to take a liking to one of the girls! I've seen the baby break out of her shell and groom the older girls. It melts my heart lol. Thanks again for the reply! :)
 
Taegijoon said:
Gotcha gotcha! I'm nervous of the next (but final) intro with the male. I've done small lap intro's and he seems to take a liking to one of the girls! I've seen the baby break out of her shell and groom the older girls. It melts my heart lol. Thanks again for the reply! :)
Click to expand...

At least you have a plan B if the boar fails to bond with the whole group: he can live in a separate cage with one or two sows that like him. Having another option is the best preparation for bonding at home in my experience.

It is great to see that the baby is settling in. A good sign that the roughest bit of the bonding is over!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top