The New Territory of Boar-Sow Bonding!

[alexr]

Hi All,

Last month, I had all my piggies neutered. With seven boars to tend to post-op, it was quite a feat! Anyway they’re all doing well now which is the main thing. Well, apart from Herbie’s ongoing dysbiosis gut flora saga.

I have eight boars (two functioning pairs and four singles). The singles need to wait until 4th/5th March until they can find wives. At the weekend, I took in a 3.5 year old bereaved sow for a friend. She is currently living next to Herbie as a first-choice match when it’s time.

Bonding boars & sows is new territory for me. I’ve had mixed duos/trios historically but they’ve always come bonded from a rescue. It’s been boys only here for the last 9 years!

Do you have any tips? How will I know if there’s mutual interest? I have Herbie next door to the new lady but the interest currently seems one-sided. She seems very keen, keeps looking for him, sprawling seductively on her ledge and he doesn’t seem to care! He pretty much ignores her. I feel so sad for her as she literally lost her pal a few days ago and seems so eager to see him and looks dejected when he doesn’t even look her way.

Admittedly, his lack of enthusiasm could be that he is feeling rather sorry for himself with his stomach issues. His mushy poo has been going on for weeks but we keep persevering with course after course of Fibreplex. He was such a happy show-off before he lost Hamish. Now he just wants to hide away.

Could things change when they meet or does his reaction suggest she’s just not his type? I’d like to give him the choice first as he’s the oldest and closest in age to her.

Ideally, I’d like to find Rupert & Algy wives at the same time through a rescue as I think they’d be very upset knowing the other had a lady and they didn’t. Lastly, there’s young tearaway Erik who beat Uncle Herbie up! He’s approx 6 months old, full of beans and could perhaps do with a mother/auntie figure to take him under her wing.

Any thoughts on best approaches for bonding would be much appreciated!

 

[sport_billy]

@Wiebke is the piggy whisperer and may have some sage advice

 

[alexr]

@Wiebke is the piggy whisperer and may have some sage advice

I’m hoping she might.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi All,

Last month, I had all my piggies neutered. With seven boars to tend to post-op, it was quite a feat! Anyway they’re all doing well now which is the main thing. Well, apart from Herbie’s ongoing dysbiosis gut flora saga.

I have eight boars (two functioning pairs and four singles). The singles need to wait until 4th/5th March until they can find wives. At the weekend, I took in a 3.5 year old bereaved sow for a friend. She is currently living next to Herbie as a first-choice match when it’s time.

Bonding boars & sows is new territory for me. I’ve had mixed duos/trios historically but they’ve always come bonded from a rescue. It’s been boys only here for the last 9 years!

Do you have any tips? How will I know if there’s mutual interest? I have Herbie next door to the new lady but the interest currently seems one-sided. She seems very keen, keeps looking for him, sprawling seductively on her ledge and he doesn’t seem to care! He pretty much ignores her. I feel so sad for her as she literally lost her pal a few days ago and seems so eager to see him and looks dejected when he doesn’t even look her way.

Admittedly, his lack of enthusiasm could be that he is feeling rather sorry for himself with his stomach issues. His mushy poo has been going on for weeks but we keep persevering with course after course of Fibreplex. He was such a happy show-off before he lost Hamish. Now he just wants to hide away.

Could things change when they meet or does his reaction suggest she’s just not his type? I’d like to give him the choice first as he’s the oldest and closest in age to her.

Ideally, I’d like to find Rupert & Algy wives at the same time through a rescue as I think they’d be very upset knowing the other had a lady and they didn’t. Lastly, there’s young tearaway Erik who beat Uncle Herbie up! He’s approx 6 months old, full of beans and could perhaps do with a mother/auntie figure to take him under her wing.

Any thoughts on best approaches for bonding would be much appreciated!

Hi!

There is simply no way to safely predict who will take to who and who won't take to anybody (the latter often applies to sows past their ideal pup bearing age). All you can do is try and work down the list, starting with the most difficult to bond boy or sow.

While cross gender bonds are the most stable of all, there is one huge hurdle - and that is acceptance right at the start! Acceptance by sows is usually much more common if they are sub-adult/young adult as you basically working with their biological instincts, which is not exactly so much the case with older sows. However, acceptance or failure can happen at any age as character compatibility and mutual liking come long before age/age difference.

Another aspect that you may come across is fear-aggression, especially in sows that feel insecure and tend to overreact.
You can find a chapter on it in our bonding guide, but here is also more information: Moody guinea pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

Our comprehensive bonding guide has got a chapter on mixed gender bondings: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

I hope that Herbie is much more interested when he is feeling better again! But glad that everything else has gone well.
After 5 weeks, you can try them on your lap together expect when you notice the lady being in season and just see how they react to each other there - whether there a interested overtures or whether a piggy is totally stiff.

 

[alexr]

Hi!

There is simply no way to safely predict who will take to who and who won't take to anybody (the latter often applies to sows past their ideal pup bearing age). All you can do is try and work down the list, starting with the most difficult to bond boy or sow.

While cross gender bonds are the most stable of all, there is one huge hurdle - and that is acceptance right at the start! Acceptance by sows is usually much more common if they are sub-adult/young adult as you basically working with their biological instincts, which is not exactly so much the case with older sows. However, acceptance or failure can happen at any age as character compatibility and mutual liking come long before age/age difference.

Another aspect that you may come across is fear-aggression, especially in sows that feel insecure and tend to overreact.
You can find a chapter on it in our bonding guide, but here is also more information: Moody guinea pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

Our comprehensive bonding guide has got a chapter on mixed gender bondings: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

I hope that Herbie is much more interested when he is feeling better again! But glad that everything else has gone well.
After 5 weeks, you can try them on your lap together expect when you notice the lady being in season and just see how they react to each other there - whether there a interested overtures or whether a piggy is totally stiff.

Thank you @Wiebke for your helpful response. I think all the singles are difficult ones to pair so I suppose the order of pairing won’t matter greatly. I think Rupert & Algy have settled a lot in their adulthood but have historically been pretty aggressive. I think they will love the idea of meeting a sow! I can’t wait to see their reactions when they realise. Erik might be a tricky one as he’s still so young, hyperactive and thinks he’s Mr Big Shot! He might benefit from a calming influence but we’ll see.

Things are looking slightly more hopeful with poor Herbie. I’ve started feeding them on their adjacent ledges and he seems happy to sit near the sow whilst munching. I held her up to his cage last night and he was a bit shy but eventually came for a sniff. He did a bit of shy purring and then presented his eye for licking before casually strolling off. He’s playing it a bit cool but time will tell! Madame was desperate to join him in his cage but I had to spoil her fun! I might try lap time next week as long as Herbie doesn’t attempt humping!

I’ll report back on the dating progress!

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you @Wiebke for your helpful response. I think all the singles are difficult ones to pair so I suppose the order of pairing won’t matter greatly. I think Rupert & Algy have settled a lot in their adulthood but have historically been pretty aggressive. I think they will love the idea of meeting a sow! I can’t wait to see their reactions when they realise. Erik might be a tricky one as he’s still so young, hyperactive and thinks he’s Mr Big Shot! He might benefit from a calming influence but we’ll see.

Things are looking slightly more hopeful with poor Herbie. I’ve started feeding them on their adjacent ledges and he seems happy to sit near the sow whilst munching. I held her up to his cage last night and he was a bit shy but eventually came for a sniff. He did a bit of shy purring and then presented his eye for licking before casually strolling off. He’s playing it a bit cool but time will tell! Madame was desperate to join him in his cage but I had to spoil her fun! I might try lap time next week as long as Herbie doesn’t attempt humping!

I’ll report back on the dating progress!

Allowing her to kiss him means that he is actually accepting her and is interested in friendly interaction. the rumblestrutting is also a very positive sign that he is starting to channel his inner boar.

 

[DMS260820]

When I had dot and bernie next door to eachother, Bernie would hop on his cottage roof and look for Dot, and Dot would sniff and look through the bars at him, so I knew there was interest there. Dont think this helps but I now have boar and sow together for just over a year now. I wouldn't say they have bonded but they get along enough to be together.

When they travel in the same carrier to the vets they will huddle up together, but that's the only time they will, just that safety in numbers situation

 

[VickiA]

Sounds positive for Herbie if he’s allowed her to lick his eye. But as Wiebke says, it’s all about compatibility and any hang ups they each may have. At least with a number of neutered boars your little sow will have a choice if Herbie doesn’t work out in the husboar stakes.

 

[alexr]

Allowing her to kiss him means that he is actually accepting her and is interested in friendly interaction. the rumblestrutting is also a very positive sign that he is starting to channel his inner boar.

It was strange rumblestrutting. More quiet purring and wiggling compared to how he shows off for the lads. He seemed quite shy. I agree it was good he presented his eye for kissing but laughed that he didn’t return the favour. Bloomin’ men.

 

[alexr]

When I had dot and bernie next door to eachother, Bernie would hop on his cottage roof and look for Dot, and Dot would sniff and look through the bars at him, so I knew there was interest there. Dont think this helps but I now have boar and sow together for just over a year now. I wouldn't say they have bonded but they get along enough to be together.

When they travel in the same carrier to the vets they will huddle up together, but that's the only time they will, just that safety in numbers situation

That is the thing - Herbie was always craving Hamish’s attention but I think Hamish found him a bit irritating so wouldn’t let him sit next to him. Herbie was very shy and unsure with baby Erik but eventually started emulating how Hamish was with him and was doing well in his “parenting” role. Until the Boxing Day uprising. I don’t know if piggies think as deeply as humans but I wonder if he’s being shy and cautious because he’s scared of being rejected or losing another pig he loves. I would ideally like him to have a close relationship rather than one of indifference but maybe she’ll win him round!

 

[alexr]

Sounds positive for Herbie if he’s allowed her to lick his eye. But as Wiebke says, it’s all about compatibility and any hang ups they each may have. At least with a number of neutered boars your little sow will have a choice if Herbie doesn’t work out in the husboar stakes.

I hope it does work as she seems smitten. I held the dashing Rupert up to her cage when I had him out and she looked completely disinterested. Herbie’s obviously winning her affections currently. Roll on 5th March when I can try them together.

 

[Wiebke]

It was strange rumblestrutting. More quiet purring and wiggling compared to how he shows off for the lads. He seemed quite shy. I agree it was good he presented his eye for kissing but laughed that he didn’t return the favour. Bloomin’ men.

Sounds a bit on the fearful side...

 

[alexr]

Some progress has been made! I came up with an idea last night. The lady who had rehomed the new sow to me gave me a fold up garden run. I brought it inside (it took about an hour of working out how to construct it ), put lady pig inside and let Herbie loose in the kitchen.

Thankfully, he showed much more interest. He was busy strutting up and down for her through the bars. It looks more promising for their official meeting!

 

[alexr]

I do think there’s probably quite a psychological element involved in Herbie’s unhappiness in addition to his dysbiosis. When we lost Hamish before Christmas, Herbie was the only pig who refused to go near his body when I showed them. He was then very depressed. Even with the arrival of young Erik, his personality changed - he seemed a bit shy and unsure somehow and I felt that he was a bit half-hearted about it all. I think Erik eventually picked up on Herbie’s weakness and took advantage.

Since their split, I’ve tried placing him next to various pigs. He shows initial interest at whoever it is and then can’t be bothered and hides himself away. I really hope this keen lady can lift his spirits.

I feel awful keeping on referring to her as “the lady pig” or “the sow.” She arrived as Cadbury but I like human names and she is lilac & cream so I don’t think her name suits her. I’m trying to hold off on her new name until I get her paired up so I can see what names go well.

 

[alexr]

With Herbie being 4.5 weeks post-neuter, I braved a lap meeting, ensuring he went nowhere near her rear end! He seemed quite content, stretching out and purring away but she seemed rather uneasy. She snapped at him a couple of times when he was trying to cuddle up and sprayed him when he sniffed her bum. She seemed to be looking around and sniffing out her other options in the room.

I guess I won’t truly know until 5th March when they can truly meet. I mean Hamish used to snap a bit at Herbie so I don’t think it’s game-over. We’ll have to see!