Rescue Boars - Bonding Issues, what to do next?!

[Climbing_Em]

Hey!

I was hoping that someone with some more experience could give me some advice on how to move forward with my piggies.

I have two rescue boars. Neither are neutered, the eldest is about 2 and a half years old (and full of sass) and the younger is about a year and a half years old. I adopted them ~4 months ago from a rescue, at which point they were living together without issue.

Pretty much as soon as I brought them home (? change in environment) they began to not get along. This behavior culminated in a fight, that resulted in me having to separate them - since this incident they have been housed in different hutches.

I don't want to keep single piggies, as I am very concerned for their socialisation and happiness. So, I would like some advice on where to proceed from this point.

One option, and potentially the best option (?) is to neuter both boys and reintroduce them?

My main concern with this option is that the eldest boar is not particularly friendly, and I don't have the experience to know whether neutering him would change his behaviour towards other piggies? Does anyone has any advice on this? I've made an effort to ensure that the boys are still in contact with each other. They see each other through the bars of their cage and I put them in a run 'together' separated by bars. I also exchange toys between cages, so that they are familiar with each others scent. This considered, every time they are in the run 'together' they continuously teeth chatter, rumble strut and flare! Honestly, I get the impression they just don't like each other.

The second option that I am considering is to neuter both boars, but instead of reintroducing them, try and rescue a sow cage mate for each of them to live with? Again, my concern with this is that the eldest isn't friendly?

Does anyone have any have any input or other suggestions on how I move forward with these two?

Thank you in advance,
them.

 

[Claire W]

Neutering won’t change the behaviour it just stops them from being able to make babies.

Your best option if you have the space and the funds is to have them both neutered and take them both to a rescue and let them choose their own girlfriend. You will need to wait 6 weeks after they have been neutered until they are safe to find a friend.

In the meantime, keep their cages next to each other so they have company

 

[Siikibam]

Unfortunately bonds can be thrown into turmoil by a change in environment. I wouldn't advise you to try again if they're teeth chattering and 'looking to pick an argument' when in runs next to each other. Just make sure their housing is right next to each other so they can still interact with each other - that will stave off any loneliness.

Your older boy is friendly, it just so happens that he may not have gotten on as well with your other boy as the rescue thought. How long had they been together when you took them home?

I would first try taking them boar dating to see if they can find a boar they each get on with. It may take a few goes, but I have faith in your older boy.

 

[Climbing_Em]

Neutering won’t change the behaviour it just stops them from being able to make babies.

Your best option if you have the space and the funds is to have them both neutered and take them both to a rescue and let them choose their own girlfriend. You will need to wait 6 weeks after they have been neutered until they are safe to find a friend.

In the meantime, keep their cages next to each other so they have company

Hi Claire,

Thank you so much for the advice, it's really appreciated. These two are my first piggies, and it's really helpful to have some input from people with more experience than me!

Based on what you and Siikibam has advised, I will go ahead and get both boys neutered.

them.

 

[Piggies&buns]

also.

They can’t be reintroduced to each other if they don’t like each other. Neutering them isn’t going to change anything between them - they will still dislike each other when neutered.

Your eldest is friendly, he was just paired up with the wrong piggy. A successful bond is all about mutual liking and character compatibility and sadly your current two don’t have it.
You don’t say how big this hutch was (when they were living together), but If you have two boars living together they need to have a large cage - 6ft x 2ft. Too small of a cage can cause problems.

 

[Climbing_Em]

Unfortunately bonds can be thrown into turmoil by a change in environment. I wouldn't advise you to try again if they're teeth chattering and 'looking to pick an argument' when in runs next to each other. Just make sure their housing is right next to each other so they can still interact with each other - that will stave off any loneliness.

Your older boy is friendly, it just so happens that he may not have gotten on as well with your other boy as the rescue thought. How long had they been together when you took them home?

I would first try taking them boar dating to see if they can find a boar they each get on with. It may take a few goes, but I have faith in your older boy.

Hi Siikibam,

Thank you for taking the time to give me some advice on this situation.

It's good to hear that there is potential for my eldest to find a new cage mate. They had been housed together for about 3 months prior to coming to live with me (so not a great length on time); reportedly with no problems. Both boys were in terrible condition when they arrived at the rescue, with extensive infected wound sites, having come from two separate hoarding cases which involved mass groups of piggies kept in boxes.

I'll contact the rescue that I got the boys from originally and see if they've got any single boars looking for cage mates.

Thanks again,
them.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

Was this a rescue on our recommended rescues list or another one? Please be aware that we can guarantee only for the carefully vetted and approved rescues on our list. Anybody can call themselves a rescue or a breeder in this country without licensing or regular supervision/control. And while the RSCPA have now centralised welfare standards for each species, by far not all branches are necessarily all that piggy savvy.

As to your longer term options, please have a look at these guide links here.
The first discusses all your possible options with their various pros and cons in detail in the last chapter.
Our neutering guide is very comprehensive and contains all necessary information for you to make an informed decision re. that issue; including a detailed discussion as to what neutering does and doesn't as well as all the questions round an operation.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care

 

[Climbing_Em]

also.

They can’t be reintroduced to each other if they don’t like each other. Neutering them isn’t going to change anything between them - they will still dislike each other when neutered.

Your eldest is friendly, he was just paired up with the wrong piggy. A successful bond is all about mutual liking and character compatibility and sadly your current two don’t have it.
You don’t say how big this hutch was (when they were living together), but If you have two boars living together they need to have a large cage - 6ft x 2ft. Too small of a cage can cause problems.

Hello again,

Before they were separated they were kept in a 6 x 2ft hutch with access to a small external run that is covered (different one to the big run that they go out into during the nice weather). So, I don't think space was an issue. Unfortunately, based on what you're saying it sounds like they just aren't compatible.

them.

 

[amy104]

Have you tried contacting the rescue for help? We try to carefully vet our pairs before rehoming but if there was ever an issue we would work with the owner to resolve.