Should I Have Separated?

[reggiespiggies]

I recently adopted two sows who are sisters, Rosie and Ladybug. The previous owner said they were both about a year and a half old and have lived together their entire lives. Ladybug is the dominant pig and is much larger than her sister Rosie. I had them for about a week and I had noticed some dominance behaviors that were questionable (constant teeth chattering, not allowing Rosie to get food, hard nips with tufts of hair pulled out) but I knew I should leave them to work it out, they were probably stressed from traveling. Unfortunately, I had to hide them so they wouldn't be taken away from me and I had to put them in separate cages for about a week.
When I got them back together, I put them on new fleece with a pile of food, hay, and two bowls of pellets. There were 4 scuttles, each initiated by Ladybug when Rosie moved. I figured she was being territorial so I put two of everything and Ladybug would still teeth chatter and lunge at her every time Rosie would try to go eat something. Eventually things settled down (~1.5 hrs later) when Ladybug would get tired and take a nap, Rosie finally could eat some hay and pellets. As soon as Ladybug woke up, the whole thing would start over again. I figured they would just sort it out in the cage, but when I put them both in there, Ladybug kept cornering Rosie, chasing her around the cage, lunging at her, and there was a lot of teeth chattering from Ladybug. Rosie would squeak loudly when she got nipped, Ladybug always pulled out tufts of hair each time she bit her, I don't think she was bleeding though. I finally decided that I didn't want Rosie to constantly be in fear of being attacked and I wanted her to get enough food since Ladybug won't let her touch it sometimes, so I separated.

Was this the right thing to do? Rosie seemed a lot happier when she was by herself in her cage, she would come out more and make noises when they were separated, but I might be biased. Please help, I want the best for my piggies.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Squeaks of protest are quite common and I think are the piggy agreeing to be submissive. It sounds quite stressful so isn't necessarily the wrong thing to do to separate them. Everytime you separate and put them back together they need to start the dominance dance all over again. Do you have a neutral space you can try bonding them in? I once tried to put a female back in after separating from the others for a month or two and it was full on lunging which was terrifying. I was able to set up a bonding pit in the spare room and bond them by adding one extra pig at a time over 2 days and they finally settled down again but this isn't necessarily going to happen with your girls.

One way to keep an eye on it if you do put them in together is to weigh them both regularly at the same time of day so that you can see if the submissive one is actually being bullied or not. If she is being bullied and not allowed to eat enough you will notice the weight fall.

Another suggestion is to look at any good rescues near you who might be able to help you with the bonding side of things. Try the rescue locator on the top bar to see any that are nearby.

 

[Wiebke]

I recently adopted two sows who are sisters, Rosie and Ladybug. The previous owner said they were both about a year and a half old and have lived together their entire lives. Ladybug is the dominant pig and is much larger than her sister Rosie. I had them for about a week and I had noticed some dominance behaviors that were questionable (constant teeth chattering, not allowing Rosie to get food, hard nips with tufts of hair pulled out) but I knew I should leave them to work it out, they were probably stressed from traveling. Unfortunately, I had to hide them so they wouldn't be taken away from me and I had to put them in separate cages for about a week.
When I got them back together, I put them on new fleece with a pile of food, hay, and two bowls of pellets. There were 4 scuttles, each initiated by Ladybug when Rosie moved. I figured she was being territorial so I put two of everything and Ladybug would still teeth chatter and lunge at her every time Rosie would try to go eat something. Eventually things settled down (~1.5 hrs later) when Ladybug would get tired and take a nap, Rosie finally could eat some hay and pellets. As soon as Ladybug woke up, the whole thing would start over again. I figured they would just sort it out in the cage, but when I put them both in there, Ladybug kept cornering Rosie, chasing her around the cage, lunging at her, and there was a lot of teeth chattering from Ladybug. Rosie would squeak loudly when she got nipped, Ladybug always pulled out tufts of hair each time she bit her, I don't think she was bleeding though. I finally decided that I didn't want Rosie to constantly be in fear of being attacked and I wanted her to get enough food since Ladybug won't let her touch it sometimes, so I separated.

Was this the right thing to do? Rosie seemed a lot happier when she was by herself in her cage, she would come out more and make noises when they were separated, but I might be biased. Please help, I want the best for my piggies.

Hiya - what you are witnessing is normal dominance behaviour as your girls are re-establishing their hierarchy and therefore their group in a new territory. Please don't separate and let them get on with it and sort it out.

Sows generally don't get into fights with serious bites and as they are wired to live with other sows, are usually careful to not cross the line. The worst you get is a mouthful of fur, or a glancing/shallow gash if a swipe or nip has been miscalculated. It is not considered the end of the road by the companion on the receiving end.

Nipping is a very carefully judged gesture of power. A guinea pig just lets the underpig feel its teeth, but does NOT hurt or injure it. The correct response to that is submission squealing, which is NOT pain, but is better translated as "Don't hurt me, I am not contesting your claim to the top spot!" It is actually a very effective deterrent.
Dominance behaviour lasts on average about two weeks, but depending on the bond, it can go on for longer or shorter. With sows, it can make a reappearance when they come into season.

You will find these two links here helpful in understanding what is going on:
Sow Behaviour
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

We have got a number of guides for new owners, which you may find useful for having a good start into your piggy life. You can find them via this link here: " Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners