Strange aggressive behaviour. Is he ill?

[vazzledazzle]

Hello,

I had 2 boys to begin with Jekyll and Hyde. Both are brothers and about 9 months old now.

I got another firend for them called Nemo also male he is about 3 months old now. They all got on like a house on fire when i first got him.

But over the last couple of weeks, Jekyll has been showing dominance over nemo (Hyde is the big boss) and Hyde has been protecting nemo from him. Which cuases jekyll to challenge Hyde etc.

But ive noticed hes been acting VERY aggressive today. Ive been watching them whilst they are having floor time.

Jekyll and Hyde have started viciously chattering teeth at each other and showing off teeth. Jekyll even leapt at him! Jekyll rumble struts all around the cage and he has been separated from the group. Hyde and nemo stick together most of the time and jekyll is on his own.

I wondered if he was acting so aggressively because he feels left out or he is ill?
I'm aware that some animals try to cover up weaknesses (my partners cat did it when he was seriously ill).

I remove jekyl from the playpen everytime he shows very aggressive behaviour and stick him in a covered box for 5 minutes solitary confinement, then introduce him back in. All settles down for a while and the he starts off again. I even had to take him out the cage last night because they were scrapping so much (thankfully no rips or blood).

They only time they get on is when they have a fleece to hide and sleep under :/

Please help! I dont want to get rid of him

also....he did this weird thing where he was lying down and then starting wiggling his bum in the air and rumbling. it almost looked like he couldnt get his front end off the floor? but he walks fine. his weight is fine. hes eating okay. drinking okay. Clean ears, eyes, mouth and nose. Dry bum. No redness around the genitals. BUT all my pigs pee is cloudy. Jekylls seems to have white deposits in it though. Is this something to worry about?



Sorry about the essay! >.<

 

[Rilenceny]

What cage are you using? Usually a trio doesn't work out at all.

If you're using a C&C cage, maybe you'd build a 2x4 for 2 boys whom gets along and have a 2x3 for another boy, with them being able to look at each other.

 

[vazzledazzle]

unfortunatley i dont have the space for a C&C atm. But that will be changing once ive moved house in a couple of months. Currently they are in a bloody huuuge 4 tier cage. and they get plently of floortime everyday to make up for being in a cage. I always use the same 2 play fleeces aswell, so their smells are always there :/

 

[Pebble]

I don;t think it;s illness. Given their ages I think this is a hormonal dominance problem between your two elder boys..that has been precipitated by the addition of the younger one.


If blood hasn;t been drawn then there is no eed to separate yet. If it has then please do ot put the two piggies concerned back in with each other.

I will ask for this thread to be moved to" behaviour" forum as you will get some more responses.

HTH
x

 

[Suzygpr]

It certainly sounds like you've got yourself a bunch of hormonal boys.

Adding a third male to hormonal teenage pigs is nearly always a recipe for disaster, sorry to put it so bluntly but there is no other way to say it. Many people see their pair of boys getting along so nicely that the idea of creating a larger group is very appealing, until they try it.

A trio of boys will need a single floor area of at least 5ft x 2ft - ideally double that - to allow the extra space for three lots of testosterone. Having their housing split over different levels doesn't count I'm afraid as the floor area they share has to be big enough for them all to be in at the same time.

Are you absolutely certain that the third member is male? The addition of a female is guaranteed to cause problems with virile young boars. The pee colour is normal for pigs so don't worry about that, as is the odd behaviour - all part of the dominance display and wafting their stinky boy scent through the air.

HTH

Suzy x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! The big hormones are always a consideration for any boars between 4-12 months, but many think that the time around 8-10 months old is the worst of it. Sadly, very few boar trios make it past the hormones to more settled adulthood without at least one permanent fall out. Most stable trios consist of boars with quite an age difference between them. If there is evidence of bloody fights with bites or bullying with weight loss/depression, you need to separate. If you are in doubt, separate out a boar that is causing you concern and watch the behaviour over the next few hours - do they all want to be together again or is one party suddenly looking rather happy and relieved?

Here is more info on boar behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

Boar problems: http://www.susieandpigs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/optionsmenu.htm, also see links bullying and separation on the index to the left