Reintroductions of sows after broken bond

[pelicano]

2 weeks ago Holly was removed from the group of 3, because she was behaving like a hormonal lunatic (!), constantly chasing after Cassie and trying to mount her. She was spayed 2 days afterwards, and has been recovering separately ever since.

I decided today was the day to try to reintroduce them, so I had them in a run outside (neutral territory), and all went well at first. There was no fighting over food etc.

Holly had one attempt to mount Cassie, but then things started to go wrong, with teeth chattering (as opposed to just hormonal behaviour), and Holly and Cassie had a teeth chattering 'face off' before Holly launched herself at a very frightened Cassie. I immediately took Holly out.

Sukie is the oldest, and she just stays out of trouble. Cassie is always the object of Holly's aggression, and unfortunately she doesn't just put up with it without some sort of response, so Holly obviously sees her as some sort of competition.

I've never tried to do reintroductions of feisty sows before, so any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

First of all - have they been set up so that they can see each other but not bite? In cages with just wire between them sort of thing. So rumblestrutting will happen but they can't physically bite.

Also, I know you want to reintroduce them asap, but spaying is a big op and two weeks may not be long enough for it to fully heal. Is it possible that reintroduction now with it's inevitable physical demands might be bad for Holly? It's taken Carmina a full five weeks to recover from her spaying so that the scar ridge has now gone down and she is still failing to put on weight again. Still at her post op weight rather than pre op weight.

I was lucky in that Carmina simply had a section of the conservatory with a wire run between her and the others, so that they always had visual contact and could touch noses. In fact, Carmina would happily and very slowly savour any treats she got while watching the other three bite at the wires with deep enjoyment - little madam.

If you haven't had a 'looking but can't touch' setup then that may be a first step back to harmony. The other thing is smell - Holly will smell different after the op etc so perhaps a communal bath together? Perhaps Cassie's smell is setting Holly off, it can take a while for hormone levels to settle after spaying I believe, so bathing Cassie might help if you don't want to bathe Holly.

Sorry for the long reply, I watched like a hawk when Carmina went back in and Columbine bothered her for a while, but it settled down. The very best of luck.

Sarah x

 

[pelicano]

Thanks for the helpful reply.

Yes, ideally I would have started them off with a barrier between them. Unfortunately, I don't have a run with a divider, and the large cage isn't easy to manouvre about to enable me to get the 2nd cage right next to it. At the moment they can hear each other but can't see. Will have to have a think about how that can practically be done...

To be honest, the main reason I wanted to get them back together was so Cassie doesn't get too big for her boots and think she's the top banana before Holly returns! That is already happening, so I think the longer it goes on, the worse things might potentially become... it's a toughie. :{ Holly has healed up really quite well, but obviously I won't be wanting to put any undue stress on her or her wound.

I hadn't thought about the smell change - I just thought they'd all forgotten how they smelled.

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

Columbine made a bid for top banana too - as you so neatly put! But Carmina had to put her in her place with strutting and a few head side swipes. Then she was ok. And Columbine had been bossing the other two for three weeks before I returned Carmina.

It is a toughie, I've got no easy solutions. I was just worried about Holly not being fit enough to stand up to the inevitable tussle for dominance. Carmina is 3 - does that make a difference? Has Holly healed quicker? Carmina still had one laceration on her tummy where she'd pulled a stitch out when I returned her, but that was just a surface wound, not deep. Younger pigs would heal quicker I guess.

Sight and smell I suppose. Best of luck with rearranging stuff.

Sarah x

 

[pelicano]

Thanks.

Holly is actually older - she is 3 and a half. Her wound was glued not stitched, and it really seems to be healing nicely. I'm continuing to check it daily though, so will definitely be careful.

 

[Briony_S]

what cage do you have? I have a nero 4 and have divided mine with wire cooling racks and cable ties!

 

[pelicano]

It's one of those Ferplast 140 cm ones - I don't think there would be room to divide it. :{

Am going to try to move things around so I can put the cages side by side - will have to be on the floor, but hopefully it will help to have them next to each other.

 

[pelicano]

Hmm... rebonding is still not going well. I've had them outside in side by side runs and there was another tooth chattering face off between Holly and Cassie. Obviously there was no danger this time though. Then Cassie got so disturbed she started tooth chattering at Sukie (who she has been with for years).

I'm going to get the cages side by side somehow...