The Pigglingtons

Merab's Slave said:
Sorry the bonding didn’t work out for you and Bertie.
Maybe one of your other options will.
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I am going to ask permission to try them. The rescue will probably want to be here to supervise as at the moment he's still their piggy. They are so full I think they would be happy to free up a space. The next step I think for Bertie will be to go for residential bonding where there will be more time to try a bigger variety of piggies until (hopefully) they find one. Bertie is a difficult boy, but then it's a long time since I had one that wasn't! To be honest I'm not surprised he's so dominant he has been on his own since 2 months old and he's now in the midst of the dreaded teens.
 
Red liked Muffin, Muffin decided after more than an hour together he didn't like Red! So sad Muffin has to go back to his foster home, he fitted in here so well.
Tom's arriving later with 3 more boys for Bertie to try. The rescue is very full and they are desperate to make some room. Fingers crossed Bertie finds a friend this afternoon.
I'm excited to see what today's piggies look like. I know one is black with beige speckles like Freddie, he's the fallen out brother of one we tried on Monday. The other's I have no idea!
 
An interesting afternoon! Tom brought 3 piggies. He tried a young one about 9 months old, both teenagers so we expected it to be a quick not going to work decision. They were together for hours, lots of dominance but no real aggression, they shared food, they washed and laid together, all seemed well. Suddenly they started teeth chattering and Bertie got a bite to the mouth, so that was that. Bertie was obviously too wound up to try any one else today and Tom had given up another long afternoon to us so we left it there. Tom has left another gorgeous boy with me who is living beside Bertie at the moment, I've split a 6x2 C&C. We shall see how things go with them side by side for a while and let Bertie's mouth heal before attempting him with anyone else. We have a new room fragrance, it's called Odour of Boar!
One good thing is I have the middle of the living room floor back, with Bertie having a neighbour he no longer needs to be next to Red and Brillo, I just have cages at two sides of the room.
 
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What a carry on! These piggies are such strange little creatures aren’t they with their likes and dislikes 🙄
Hope you are coping with Eau du Boar! 😂
 
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Mint, Bertie's next sparing partner. We are trying them side by side for a while before trying to bond them this time. I extended my 5x2 cage into a 6x2 and taped on a spare off cut of corex so they've got 3x2 each (the beauty of flexible C&C). Initially there was a lot of bar biting and rumble strutting along the divider but today they are quiet and cautiously eyeing each other now and again. Mint's face looks like Freddie. I keep doing a double take thinking Freddie is on the wrong side of the room looking out at me.
 
Good luck! Mint is one gorgeous boy. How long are you going to keep them side by side and are you going to swap them over or pop Mint smelly stuff into Bertie's half and vise versa?
 
Betsy said:
Good luck! Mint is one gorgeous boy. How long are you going to keep them side by side and are you going to swap them over or pop Mint smelly stuff into Bertie's half and vise versa?
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I don't think the swapping smelly stuff is recommended? I read the bonding guides last night and will reread again later to check and probably another ten times over the weekend! Not sure how long I will keep them side by side but at least until the hole in Bertie's lip has healed. It's not bothering him at all, he's eating okay but it must be sore.
 
Unfortunately it was a big no from Mint. Mint is very fear aggressive and reared up snapping and ready to attack every time Bertie went near him. They are back in the cage and chatting away as if nothing had happened, no aggression with a divider at all. Not sure where to go from here, 6 failed bonds a mixture of ages from 9 months to 6 years. Still I didn't go into this with my eyes closed, I knew it would be hard given his age and back ground. I didn't want an inexperienced family picking him up and thinking they could just buy another piggy to put with him. There are still a few options, we will do whatever it takes to give Bertie a happy life.
 
piggieminder said:
Unfortunately it was a big no from Mint. Mint is very fear aggressive and reared up snapping and ready to attack every time Bertie went near him. They are back in the cage and chatting away as if nothing had happened, no aggression with a divider at all. Not sure where to go from here, 6 failed bonds a mixture of ages from 9 months to 6 years. Still I didn't go into this with my eyes closed, I knew it would be hard given his age and back ground. I didn't want an inexperienced family picking him up and thinking they could just buy another piggy to put with him. There are still a few options, we will do whatever it takes to give Bertie a happy life.
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I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out yet. Don’t these boars realise it’s for their own good. Good luck
 
Viennese Furbabies said:
In Austria, we usualy try to bond a lone adult boar with a baby boar (ideally an early neutered one).
It's a shame you can't try a girl after neutering Bertie.
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The rescue doesn't have any baby boars at the moment and I really don't want to buy one and find they don't get on. Vets here won't neuter under 4 months old. Neutering Bertie is not out of the question, it just means he won't be able to live here with girls and it will feel like I've given up on him if I rehome him. I will do whatever I have to to give him a friend though. There are still more options yet, the rescue sadly isn't short of single boars although I do feel guilty for taking up so much of their time.
 
piggieminder said:
There are still more options yet, the rescue sadly isn't short of single boars although I do feel guilty for taking up so much of their time.
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I know how that feels, but don't - they're doing everything they can to find their lone boars a home, and all it means is their boar hasn't found someone yet. We never know how they'll react til we try them and boars can be, well. Boars. 🤷‍♂️
 
The foster boar we had here this week to keep Bertie company side by side has gone back to the rescue today, he has another date in the next few days. A new boy has arrived. This little piggy was a failed bond with Bertie last week. He has been unhappy at his foster home as they couldn't fit him up with a neighbour and he was lonely. I've made up 2 2x4 cages today so they can be side by side with a small gap rather than a divided cage. Bertie has a long thin nose which he was putting through the grids at the last boy. I can't trust this one not to give him a well deserved hard nip for being annoying! The rescue are expecting more single boys soon, we aren't giving up with finding Bertie a friend. We've just had a loud thunderstorm, that stopped the rumble squealing for a bit. Hope they settle down soon, they are both so excited to meet again!
 
Betsy said:
As they are both excited to meet again, albeit through the bars, do you think they'll get on this time? Could it have been a bit of fear aggression the first time around?
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The person who was doing the bonding from the rescue doesn't think trying again would be a good idea and I agree. There was no fear aggression with this one, just aggression! The aggression between them is ramping up now I've put perspex over the grids to stop the incessant bar biting. I'm hoping they settle in the next day or two.
The fear aggression was with the little black one who went back today.
 
This little guest is very different to the last two. The first evening he was very confident, running up and down and bar biting. Since then it's as if he's been spooked, he is staying in his house and hardly venturing out. I've covered the cage with a blanket, hay and food is disappearing so he must be coming out when no one is around. I've taken the perspex off the cage in case that upset him. We did have a thunderstorm the first afternoon but he was okay after it. I wish he could tell me what's upset him, it's early days, I hope he will get used to us. I think he is going to be here a while, he has failed quite a few boar bondings so he is on the list for neutering but he is a way down the list. I like the way this rescue tries to bond single boars with boars before neutering, it gives people with single boars a chance to find a friend for their lone piggy.
 
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