Separated Boars

[HannahPiggie]

Morning all! Sadly on friday night my boys had (almost) a fight. They had been doing the normal dominance behaviour (rumble-strutting, mounting etc) for the past 2 weeks. But then on friday it seemed to escalate and the one that was normally not the rumble-strutter started chattering teeth with raised hackles (Saga) and then they lunged at each other with heads held up etc. I separated them with a blanket and put Saga in a cat carrier for an hour in which time they sniffed around each other. I then tried putting them back together, which went ok for 20 mins but then all the same stuff started happening again. I was obviously very sad about this as I thought they'd work things out and love each other in the end. But I also didn't want them to injure each other.

So at the moment they have their own big cage each which are next to each other, as I don't want them to be lonely so this way at least they can communicate. But since the separation, although one seems a lot happier and popcorns around, the other one hides in his house most of the time and isn't eating much. And when they are both out they sit at the bars by each other chewing the bars and either wheeking or making a purring noise.

Can any one advise on what this means? I'm not able to boar date or get them neutered and have sows with them, as I am in rented accommodation and only have permission for two guinea pigs. Just want them to be happy

 

[Wiebke]

That is a real dilemma for you! You have got one boy who wasn't happy with his friend and one who'd rather like company.

You can either keep them next to each other for the future in the hopes that at some point when they are past the big hormones at around 15 months old they may at least like shared roaming time. I wouldn't try to push the issue too much as that could end up in a full blown fight and very definitely the end of the line.

Alternatively, you could contact one of our recommended rescues to talk about a "boar exchange", i.e. have one of your boys rebonded with a suitable rescue boar (or a rescue sow after neutering/post op wait) and surrender your other boy, so he can find a compatible friend and a new loving home through the rescue.

Admittedly, the latter is a major sacrifice of yours, as giving up a beloved piggy so it can find full happiness elsewhere is very hard; very likely harder than you expect! At least I found it so when I let one of mine go to a new home due to a very complex situation/major bullying and the sow in question not getting on with any of my other groups due to her own set of issues last summer. She is a very happy, healthy and relaxed piggy in her new home and with her new piggy family, so I know that I have done the right thing for her. But emotionally, it was like a little death for me and I still miss her very much.

Perhaps you could talk to your landlord and ask for permission to get another cage if the new one can go above the other so there is no more ground space use and mess for the flat?

I wouldn't rush into anything. Any decision must feel right for your boys and for you and that is not something that you can do in a snap!

 

[lauraboara]

Wiebke has given you some great ideas.
In the meantime, I would not think of their side by side situation as 'bad' - it is allowing you and them some thinking time. And they can still smell and hear each other. When i have had to separate boars, i have usually found that one tries to rather aggressively eat its way through the mesh back to its ex and the other retreats a long way back until it has worked out that the mesh really does work but I have had both trying to tear down the mesh! Keep watching their behaviour, hopefully the slightly sad one will rally. Weigh them both if you worried about food intake and I would encourage lots of handfeeding so they have lots of interaction with you.
I hope they settle down and you may be able to think about reintroduction but you have seen that there are other options if not. How old are they btw?

 

[HannahPiggie]

Thank you Wiebke and Lauraboara. They are currently only 12 weeks old. The sad one (Martin) has seemed to start eating more now, and I have worked out which fresh foods he likes the most so I make sure he has lots of them. He is such a lovely, cuddly chap. He barely tries to run away now when I get him out for lap time, and happily sits on me for 20 mins or so without trying to run away at all. He vibrates sometimes too, which I hope means he's happy to have cuddles. However, the other piggie (Saga) just seems to be a real strange one. He chatters his teeth every time I try to get him out, and he squirms around, pushing my hands and the blanket away with his head and trying to nip me and chew the blanket. And yet he is the one who eats food from my hands and will sit by me in the cage and reach up with his front paws on the edge while I talk to him. I am getting so frustrated with how he behaves when he's handled that I am tiring of trying as it is quite stressful every day. Any thoughts about that?

 

[Sara412]

I have been through this with all my boars, but not at such an early age usually around 8 months, I was told only to give them time out for 20 mins not separate them completely. But I ended up with 2 sets of 3 as it was obvious 6 together wasn't going to work.
My first two went through this (before the other 4 came along) and ended up best friends, so fingers crossed your two will calm down .

 

[Wiebke]

Some piggies just don't like being handled, but they enjoy interacting! Concentrate on building up a relationship through the bars and stop trying to pet him; it only stresses the two of you out. Once you have got his trust, you can train him to come into a pick up conveyance like a tunnel or a suitable cosy.

A couple of mine don't/didn't like being handled at all - it is like trying to keep hold of mercury. Yet both of them have/had no problems with climbing into my lap for a treat. They would get to tolerate the necessary grooming etc., as time went by. But to be frank, I don't have any less joy and fun just because they aren't cuddly! After all, piggies are not born as cuddly toys - they are often just reduced to it. There is a lot more to their personality than just cuddle-ability. Enjoy the cuddlers that you have and love the non-cuddlers for what you CAN have with them that is freely given!

The white piggy on my lap did not at all like being cuddled, but as you can see, it didn't keep us from enjoying each other. Bethan sadly passed away at the beginning of the year.