Sudoku - what to do with my puzzle boar?

[lauraboara]

Hello. Would welcome any thoughts on one of my boars. Sudoku is a chunky 2 year old boar - v healthy and lively. Very laid back with humans but not quite sure where he stands with other piggies.

When I first got him, he fell out with his then partner in very early stages of their relationship. Sudoku was very keen on humping even when very young and his cagemate got v fed up and battered him. They lived side by side for a while but it was clear they were not going to ever bond calmly again. So we went boar dating and Sudoku bonded with a young boar at a rescue.

All went swimmingly until the new partner reached 18months old and started thinking about challenging for top spot. I saw fighting, tried various things but Sudoku got injured again. So he is single once more.

So do i
1) Try with another boar date - but is there something in Sudoku's behaviour that cheeses off other boars? He is big and acts in a dominant way but has been battered by two partners now
2) Consider having him neutered and find a wifepig - but risks of operation, he is 2 now, etc. Also would have to move him out of my piggie room which is all boars and he and new wife would have to be in another room - this would cause agro with my own husband!
3) Look for a spayed female partner - I know they are very rare but I would be willing to pursue if it was more likely to work than a boar. I would also have to move Sudoku out of piggie room as per option 2!

Any thoughts? Thank you.

 

[Dusty_bugs]

what a pickle! When you say battered do you mean to the point of bleeding? I found with leeland and her deceased husboar that when they were introduced he would pester NO END. She would eventually snap and kick his ass. We gave it 4 days. He even earned a nip on the nose for trying to kick her off her favourite sleep spot at the time. But in the end he got super bored of trying and getting no-where. He even gave her first pick at the veggies and so it was obvious who wore the trousers after that.

If the fighting wasnt to the bleeding stage, just the 'tumbling mass of fur' stage there might still be hope. I've been told several times just to let things burn out. :/

 

[Stewybus]

I had a similar problem, but in reverse.

We got 4 year old Minnie to join our 3 girls but it didn't work out. 2 weeks ago we took her dating & came back with Mitch a one year old neutered boar and they've now been together for 15 days & have settled together really well.

Your option 2 would probably be the best for the piggies but no good if it's going to cause aggro with your husband unless you can persuade him that this is the best option.

Anyway, Good Luck!

 

[lauraboara]

what a pickle! When you say battered do you mean to the point of bleeding? I found with leeland and her deceased husboar that when they were introduced he would pester NO END. She would eventually snap and kick his ass. We gave it 4 days. He even earned a nip on the nose for trying to kick her off her favourite sleep spot at the time. But in the end he got super bored of trying and getting no-where. He even gave her first pick at the veggies and so it was obvious who wore the trousers after that.

If the fighting wasnt to the bleeding stage, just the 'tumbling mass of fur' stage there might still be hope. I've been told several times just to let things burn out. :/

I agree with you that it would be a lot less tricky if the two boys could re-bond. But i don't see that working to be honest. When they fought it was full on and Sudoku has several cuts on head area including a nasty one under the chin (mended fine). I am not sure I could ever trust the pairing again and they live in close proximity all the time so you want them to actually get on.
Still thinking about the other ideas but one of my other boars is poorly so will focus on that for now and then deal with these troublesome single ones!

 

[Wiebke]

If you could get hold of a spayed sow that would be certainly the easiest option; they don't come into season (hence no pheromones) and could therefore live in a boar room without any problems. However, spayed sows are rare. The only rescue that spays as a matter of policy is RNGP Welfare in Rugby. They will rehome further afield, but you would have to go on a waiting list, so it could take quite a while depending on whether they have any sows in or not.
http://www.rngp.org/
https://www.facebook.com/RNGPW?fref=ts

Sudoku is not too old to be neutered by a good vet - he is very much in the prime of his life; he will just heal up that little bit more slowly than a still growing youngster. The crucial issue is to find an experienced vet with a good track record in piggy neutering in order to minimise the sadly still rather common risk of post-op complications.
Sows CAN live in the same room as boars, as long as they are out of sight either at a little distance apart or below boars to prevent the boars from being upset by the female pheromones.
Perhaps you could ask Milhaven GP Rescue in Keighley which vet they use or is that too far for you?

I would recommend to go down the mixed gender route in one way or other with your boy after he's been at the receiving end of trouble twice. Cross gender bondings are the most stable of them all once the initial acceptence has happened.

 

[lauraboara]

Thank you Wiebke - that is really useful and just the kind of info I was after.
I had guessed that a spayed sow would be possible to introduce to a boar room but it is good to hear. I had assumed they would still produce some pheromones but as you say, they won't have surges of hormones during seasons to set off pressure points with boar pairs.

As for neutering Sudoku - my vet is good, particularly with surgical things but I will investigate how many piggie neuters they undertake. Milhaven's vet is a long way from here but good thought.
More information to find out but I agree that it would be so nice for him to have a calm settled pairing after the tension he has had with boars!

 

[Wiebke]

As far as I know, Rugby have just rehomed the last of the baby girls from the big baby boom after some backyard breeder dumped a lot of mostly pregnant sows on their drive last September, so you may be in for a bit of a wait, but it is always worth enquiring and worth the wait if neutering locally is not an option for you.

 

[boozyfruits]

Absolutely what Wiebke said.
Just a thought about why the bonding might not have worked. it sounds very like our Fat Harry, who is an enormous 1.4kg, so the other male piggies always see him as threat to their dominance due to his sheer size, even though he is happy to be subservient to them. There is nothing so sweet as him trying to get his head below the level of our self declared 'senior' pig blind Arthur, but failing as Arthur is a very petite 960g. Even ithn his head flat on the floor, his shoulders tower above Arthur.