Recent Fighting Amongst Previously Bonded Boars

[MommyPig]

We have 5 boars: Darwin and Sweepy share a C&C pen and the other three (Muffin, Barney and Squeak) have the run of the entire house! In recent weeks, Squeak has been picking fights with everyone and has now been put in his own pen to give Barney time to recover from the constant assault. We had no problems in the past and they would interact without any problems, apart from the occasional mounting.

I think Squeak might be going through adolescence (born in December) and I'm wondering whether this is just a phase that he will grow out of or will this be permanent. I feel so bad that he is by himself.

I would appreciate any advice on how to best deal with the situation.

Thank you

 

[Sara412]

I have a 3 and a 2 and exactly the same situation,- Vader has an aggressive streak and depending on what mood he wakes up in! he can be lovely or a bully, I have never separated them, and they all muddle along yes we get the odd bite , but Whiskey (who Vader tends to pick on) knows where to hide to get out of his way, and then the next moment they are all snuggled up together. Vader turned one yesterday and does seem a lot calmer than 6 months ago, - he is younger than the other two by 4 months so I presume he is just trying to act big !

 

[Wiebke]

What are your trio's ages? Boars go through a hormonal phase between 4-14 months old. Subadult trios have got a high fall-out rate of about 90%. your have got the advantage of having a lot of space, but it all still hinges on whether their adult personalities will mesh and whether they will survives the hormones.

You were right to separate. As long as therer hasn't been a full blown fight with bloody bites, you are still in with a chance. When re-introducing after a day or so, please follow these tips:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/

 

[MommyPig]

Thank you for the link to the tips, Wiebke - I might try to wash the boys to "neutralise" their smells.

Muffin - the most senior is 3 years old
Barney - a rescue adopted from Pets@home in December, is 2 years old
Squeak - 7 months. We got him in December to keep Muffin occupied after his brother passed away.

We have had some fights where blood was drawn by both Barney and Squeak, but Squeak is always the instigator.

 

[MommyPig]

I have a 3 and a 2 and exactly the same situation,- Vader has an aggressive streak and depending on what mood he wakes up in! he can be lovely or a bully, I have never separated them, and they all muddle along yes we get the odd bite , but Whiskey (who Vader tends to pick on) knows where to hide to get out of his way, and then the next moment they are all snuggled up together. Vader turned one yesterday and does seem a lot calmer than 6 months ago, - he is younger than the other two by 4 months so I presume he is just trying to act big !

How bad were the bites? At this moment I just don't trust Squeak to leave him unsupervised around Barney. We have to keep Darwin far away from Squeak otherwise he resembles Cameron Diaz in that memorable scene from "There's something about Mary". I can only hope that he will pass through this phase...

 

[Kate Upton]

I'm very interested in this post as I have just created a new post with a similar situation. My rescue pig Roo was born in October last year and has turned into a grumpy ! Poor Gizmo is very placid and doesn't know what's going on, he's about 16 months.

So far it's just a lot of rumbling and the occasional teeth chatter but every time walk in the house I'm worried about what I'll find.

Did yours start off with teeth chattering and then get worse? They haven't had any kind of fight yet so I'm keeping myfingers crossed....

 

[MommyPig]

I'm very interested in this post as I have just created a new post with a similar situation. My rescue pig Roo was born in October last year and has turned into a grumpy ! Poor Gizmo is very placid and doesn't know what's going on, he's about 16 months.

So far it's just a lot of rumbling and the occasional teeth chatter but every time walk in the house I'm worried about what I'll find.

Did yours start off with teeth chattering and then get worse? They haven't had any kind of fight yet so I'm keeping myfingers crossed....

It started with constant humping and then progressed to rumbling, loud teeth chattering, weeing on Sweepy and yawning, before the fighting started. He used to be such a chirpy little piggy, and quite a mummy's boy. Never thought I would have to go through the terrible teens!

Even while separated, Squeak is still poised for a fight when Barney walks past. I do hope that your boys do not reach the next level - it breaks your heart when one of them gets injured during a fight (with or without blood being drawn).