Rebonding

[Mon59]

Hi,

This has probably been covered many times but I have a tricky problem ?

Originally I had 4 of different age sows in a 7x2. Had to give one back to the breeder due to very aggressive stealing food…and quite impossible..

Then I very sadly lost my baby around 5 months old to illness . Had to be taken to the vet …

so now I have 2 sows around the same age but with a divider . I couldn’t face opening up after the sad loss and have bonding trouble.

They do seem happy and sniff each other through the bars. Feel quite sorry for them as they do chew the bars occasionally.

the question…
if I open up with neutral territory etc how long would a bonding problem be apparent?
I don’t want to wake up to a bad fight !

is a day’s observation adequate? I wouldn’t intervene unless it got really rough.

What would be the expert view?

They are NOT strangers as together for at least 6 months with other mates.

grateful for any advice .

 

[Piggies&buns]

You would need to reintroduce them in neutral territory - don’t just remove the divider as that could be seen as a territory invasion.
Put them in a bonding pen for several hours with no hides. That will tell you whether they accept each other back and can form a hierarchy. After several hours if all is ok then you can clean down the cage they are to live in and move them back to it. They then finish sorting out their relationship and hierarchy for a further two weeks.
If they don’t accept each other during their time in the bonding pen, then they need to remain separate.

This is the bonding guide which fully explains the whole process.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck with the bonding. It does sound quite positive as they have lived together without fighting previously. They still may not bond but it’s a good place to start from.

 

[Mon59]

You would need to reintroduce them in neutral territory - don’t just remove the divider as that could be seen as a territory invasion.
Put them in a bonding pen for several hours with no hides.

Ok. That makes sense. I will have to make a bonding pen somehow.

but isn’t putting them together with nowhere to hide more likely to cause stress ?

I’ll try it and report back . Very nervous about this . still tempted to leave them within sniffing distance as they are generally quite happy With their own space. They do interact through the bars sometimes. They don’t ignore each other.

many thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok. That makes sense. I will have to make a bonding pen somehow.

but isn’t putting them together with nowhere to hide more likely to cause stress ?

I’ll try it and report back . Very nervous about this . still tempted to leave them within sniffing distance as they are generally quite happy With their own space. They do interact through the bars sometimes. They don’t ignore each other.

many thanks.

No it doesn’t. It’s important you don’t have hides in the bonding pen. If you put hides in then that can create territories and can cause problems.
Hides only go in the cage once they are through the early stages of the bonding process.
The guide explains fully.

Good luck