Rumble strutting, mounting and chasing

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maharvey83

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I took both my female pigs to the vets yesterday as I noticed they were off their food and there was potential blood on the sawdust mixed with urine. The vet asked me to separate them in their hutch for the night to try and work out which one if either it was coming from in orde to give them anti-biotics for a UTI.

We put up a makeshift grill over night so they could still see each other etc. this morning we have put them back together. One is now chasing the other, rumble strutting constantly and trying to mount the other who is just making her usual chattering sounds. Any advice? Is this a bond breaking down?
 
Did you just remove the grid or did you put them in a neutral area? If the latter she may see it as invading her private space, even if it was only overnight. It could also be she is asserting her dominance. You say the other is making chattering noises. Do you mean teeth chattering or squeaking in submission? Is she allowing herself to be mounted?

I would put them in a neutral space with just a pile of hay. See how that goes and hopefully they’ll be okay together again.
 
:agr: Any separation will cause this kind of behaviour upon reintroduction. As long as it remains normal dominance then they should be ok and will settle down. It’s best to carry out reintroductions on neutral territory.

In terms of the health aspect, ensure you weigh them both daily so you can monitor hay intake more closely and step in with syringe feeding the poorly piggy if necessary
 
I put them in their playpen thing that we have - is that neutral? I’m not sure what submissive squeaking is? It’s definitely not teeth chattering. I thought it was her usual little squeaks that she does when we hold or stroke her. She runs away when the other mounts her but I did just see her try to mount snowy (the usual dominant one) as well
 
Yes that’s neutral. Just put a pile of hay in the middle, no hides. Give them several hours while you thoroughly clean out and rearrange their cage.
 
Still some rumbling going on but no more chasing and mounting. Poor cookie seems a bit terrified though - squeals when we go near her but hoping that’s a combo of having to give her medicine and the vet trip yesterday and possibly being a bit poorly rather than anything too scary
 
Piggies&buns said:
:agr: Any separation will cause this kind of behaviour upon reintroduction. As long as it remains normal dominance then they should be ok and will settle down. It’s best to carry out reintroductions on neutral territory.

In terms of the health aspect, ensure you weigh them both daily so you can monitor hay intake more closely and step in with syringe feeding the poorly piggy if necessary
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They both seem to be eating hay and their wicker hidey - is this a good sign? Just seems strange they would rather eat that than their veggies
 
maharvey83 said:
They both seem to be eating hay and their wicker hidey - is this a good sign? Just seems strange they would rather eat that than their veggies
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Hay is the biggest part of the diet so eating lots of it is what you need

It doesn’t sound like things have broken down between them though, just a little dominance upon reintroduction
 
Piggies&buns said:
Hay is the biggest part of the diet so eating lots of it is what you need

It doesn’t sound like things have broken down between them though, just a little dominance upon reintroduction
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I hope so. How long do you think the rumbling will last? Just when I think it settled down, it all starts again. Just put them back in their hutch together for the night. Fingers crossed they are ok til the morning
 
They weren’t apart for long so hopefully they will settle reasonably quickly but it could be a few days, there’s not really any way to know, and then of course if it coincides with one being in season etc then that may increase things.
if it’s only rumbling, then try not to be overly concerned but do keep an eye on them
 
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