Piggies Fighting

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Dorothy and Ruby

Dorothy and Ruby

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Well our new little man started off ok with Dorothy, tried the natural ground and lots of food, but he kept trying to hump her and she kept kicking him off, then the teeth chattering started and I separated them briefly.
When putting her back with him was ok for a bit they stayed away from each other, but then they went to go for each other, I intervened stupidly and ending up getting bitten.
I have separated them again, is there any hope for this matching?
 
I personaly would have left them to get on with it. Teeth chattering does not mean they will fight but they are asserting themselves. I have had teeth chattering when introducing piggies and it passed. When you separate them and put them together again the whole thing starts again. How about giving them a bonding bath followed by some nice vegetables and see if they will get along?
 
I wouldn't try introducing them again today, both will be very much on edge. It will have been a big day for your new piggie and he will be stressed as he has been on a car journey today and is in new surroundings, so may not be able to cope with the stress of Dorothy's reaction to him as well. Dorothy herself has not appreciated his advances and has had enough of being harased. I would house them side by side tonight so they can see and smell each other through the bars.
Introduce them again tomorrow on neutral ground, I would do this in a fairly large area not in a cage so they have room to run from each other if they need. Give them a couple of houses with 2 entrances ( such as the bendy log houses) so they have somewhere to hide without being trapped.
Some teeth chattering may still happen and the new pig will most likely want to hump Dorothy again. Hopefully he will be less stressed than today and better able to cope. Most sows will respect a male pig who is confident.
It may take a little while to get them to bond but I have bonded many piggies and think there is still a lot of hope for your piggies.
 
Thanks I did set up our large run with 2 igloos and tunnels, but will try again tomorrow.
 
Would it be better to try and bath them both? I haven't done this before so don't want to stress Dorothy out more
 
A bonding bath can help as they will smell the same. You can put them in an empty bath and pour warm water on them rather then having them in water.
 
Well all seems to be going ok at the moment, gave them both a bath(which they didn't appreciate!) Then moved the run into our kitchen with just newspaper down, lots more hideys/tunnels. There have been some teeth chattering and some chasing, but they both seem to then just go and hide somewhere on their own for a bit. They have been happily eating together and both have been having a smell of each other.
I am more hopeful of this working out than I was yesterday, just a bit worried about leaving them overnight, but realise taking either out now would mean starting again tomorrow.
 
Glad to hear things are going better today. I would try to stay up as late as possible to keep an eye on them. having a smell of each other is a good sign. Hopefully the new pig will become calmer about his new wife and she will become more tolerant of his advances, the fact they are allowing each other to have some time out and not constantly chasing is also a good sign. What you dont want to see is Dorothy becoming aggressive towards the new pig are wanting to attack him. If by the time you go to bed they are fronting up, teeth chattering and looking like they want to jump at each other it would be wise to seperate them for safety overnight. As they are a mixed sex pair this would not take things back to square one in the same way it would if they were both boars but if possible it would still be best to keep them together unless there is a real possibility they are going to fight. I have found that when bonding mixed sex pairs or pairs of sows, if tension is building to a dangerous level then seperating overnight can sometimes be a benefit as it gives the pigs a chance to calm down. The dynamics are different to when bonding boars. :)
 
I fully agree with Pound, Shilling & Pig's advice.

If things are not running quite smoothly with a boy and girl intro, take your time and separate whenever the tension is mounting quickly, otherwise let them work through it under your supervision, ideally in as long stretches of time as you can afford. Unlike with boars, you don't have to do it all in one big go. If tensions are high on the first or second day, you always have the option to separate overnight; things are often noticeably more relaxed on the day after.
 
Pleased to report after a successful night together I have moved them both into the cage this afternoon and all seems to be going well, they have been hiding together under the shelf at the bottom of the cage.
He hasn't found his way up the ramp yet, but sure he will.
Thanks for every ones help with this.
 
Glad to hear things are working out :) Hopefully you will be able to post some pigtures of the happy couple before too long :)
 
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