Sense check for arguing boars

string_pudding

string_pudding

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Hello,

We have two boars, Wicket and Chewie, that we re-homed from a rescue about 7 months ago. They are about 14 -15 months old (we believe Wicket is slightly older). They have a 2 x 4 c&c cage and the door is open so they can run about the room more often than not. They have two of everything in the cage/room.

Up until now they seem to have been getting on fine, Wicket is the dominant one despite being half Chewie's size. He will rumble-strut at Chewie on occasion and they would face off every now and then, but nothing major. They're not affectionate piggies towards each other or us.

Yesterday evening we went in to their room and they were chattering loudly at each other and Wicket would chase Chewie around the room with plenty of squeaking. We didn't want it to escalate so we separated them so that Wicket was in the cage while Chewie got a separate caged off bit of the room so they could still see each other. This morning they seemed better so we tried to re-introduce them in the bit of their room that neither of them had been allowed in all night. Things seemed ok for a few minutes but then the chattering started again and wicket lunged at Chewie, who ran away. So for now they are separated again. This is our next plan of action:

1. Move them both into a split temporary cage in the spare room for tonight.
2. While they are out, deep clean their room and extend their cage by 1 (to 5X2)
3. Give them a sponge bath to remove any excess testoterone - I have read about buddy baths and view seems to be split and they would HATE it. Hopefully this is a sensible compromise.
4. re-introduce them in the hallway (which their allowed into sometimes but not often and always together)
5. Hope re-introduction goes well and that the freshly cleaned room and bigger cage means it doesn't happen again.

Does this seem like a sensible plan of action? Do we need to do step three (they'll still hate it as we'll need to pick them up)? Are the timescales sensible?

Sorry for the essay, I wanted to give as much background as possible. Thank you for any help and advice!

Christine
 
string_pudding said:
Hello,

We have two boars, Wicket and Chewie, that we re-homed from a rescue about 7 months ago. They are about 14 -15 months old (we believe Wicket is slightly older). They have a 2 x 4 c&c cage and the door is open so they can run about the room more often than not. They have two of everything in the cage/room.

Up until now they seem to have been getting on fine, Wicket is the dominant one despite being half Chewie's size. He will rumble-strut at Chewie on occasion and they would face off every now and then, but nothing major. They're not affectionate piggies towards each other or us.

Yesterday evening we went in to their room and they were chattering loudly at each other and Wicket would chase Chewie around the room with plenty of squeaking. We didn't want it to escalate so we separated them so that Wicket was in the cage while Chewie got a separate caged off bit of the room so they could still see each other. This morning they seemed better so we tried to re-introduce them in the bit of their room that neither of them had been allowed in all night. Things seemed ok for a few minutes but then the chattering started again and wicket lunged at Chewie, who ran away. So for now they are separated again. This is our next plan of action:

1. Move them both into a split temporary cage in the spare room for tonight.
2. While they are out, deep clean their room and extend their cage by 1 (to 5X2)
3. Give them a sponge bath to remove any excess testoterone - I have read about buddy baths and view seems to be split and they would HATE it. Hopefully this is a sensible compromise.
4. re-introduce them in the hallway (which their allowed into sometimes but not often and always together)
5. Hope re-introduction goes well and that the freshly cleaned room and bigger cage means it doesn't happen again.

Does this seem like a sensible plan of action? Do we need to do step three (they'll still hate it as we'll need to pick them up)? Are the timescales sensible?

Sorry for the essay, I wanted to give as much background as possible. Thank you for any help and advice!

Christine
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

Sorry about the problem. Sadly some teenage pairs that have seemingly sailed through teenage can get into trouble right at the very end of it.

Please give the boys at least 2 days with a divider to calm down and for the hormone spike to die away again (these short spikes can continue into adulthood although infrequently in some boars). By that time, they should have cleaned themselves enough for the testosterone stink to have gone. A buddy bath is only advised if you want to reintroduce straight away - but in my own experience, a wait until the hormone spike has died down is always better!

Please be aware that if your boys decide that their differences are running too deep, they won't go back together when you re-introduce. Make sure that you have a longer term plan B in place. The end of a relationship doesn't always come with a big fight; it can also end in what I call a 'divorce' where two piggies decide that they do not longer suit and would rather have each their own territory although they will still interact happily and stay bonded through the bars.
We have got quite a number of 'can't live together but can't live apart' boar pairs on here... If you are lucky, they may come to tolerate shared lawn or run time on neutral territory some months down the line.
 
Hi Wiebke,

Thanks for the advice. In that case I will leave it until Sunday to try the re-introduction. And I'll not worry about cleaning the to avoid stress for them and us!

Will they be OK if they are moved to a different room for their time apart (in a divided c&c cage)? Or would it be better for them to stay in their own room? Sorry for all the questions, I want to give them the best chance possible of being friends again.

Christine
 
string_pudding said:
Hi Wiebke,

Thanks for the advice. In that case I will leave it until Sunday to try the re-introduction. And I'll not worry about cleaning the to avoid stress for them and us!

Will they be OK if they are moved to a different room for their time apart (in a divided c&c cage)? Or would it be better for them to stay in their own room? Sorry for all the questions, I want to give them the best chance possible of being friends again.

Christine
Click to expand...

Please leave them where they are with a divider and not put them under any more added stress, which will not help with any bonding attempt.
 
Will do! Thanks for the advice.

🤞 everything gets better. I'll let you know how it goes.

Plan B will be to set up two permanent cages for them next door to each other.
 
Thanks for all the well wishes. They seem to have done the job. Happy to report that the re-introduction went fairly well. There was a little chasing and teeth chattering to start but that calmed down and by the end of three hours they were peacefully sharing a large pile of grass together.

They're now back in their newly extended and thoroughly cleaned cage and we're keeping an eye on them. So far their behaviour seems pretty much back to normal.

Thanks again Wiebke for the advice.

:clap:
 
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