think my boars are fighting?

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pinklaces34

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My boars have been together for about 8 months now since justin was 6 weeks and snuggles was an adult when we introduced them, anyway we found a cut under justins eye the other day but we havnt heard them fighting or noticed any dominance behavior so we assumed justin had scratched himself, then last night i noticed another cut above his eye and this morning have heard a bit of teeth chattering and squeaking? What do i do? The relationship has been fine up to now x
 
"Serious aggression/fighting:
If the above events do not calm down fairly quickly, this can escalate into the pigs lunging or pouncing at each other, loud rumbling, obviously vicious bites rather than nips, a concentrated mixture of most of the above warnings (snorting, obvious rearing up on their haunches as if rearing up to fight, raised hackles, loud rumbling, yawning and loud teeth clacking - this noise is unmistakeable), and will likely result in pigs causing serious damage to each other - the pigs will have to be separated immediately."

This is the section to really take note of, especially snorting, lunging and teeth clacking (louder and more aggressive form of teeth chattering).

The boys do have to sort out their relationship and it is only if they are doing more than the occasional nip (being humped can get annoying) that I would intervene.

What size cage are they in? For boys it should ideally be at least 4ft x 2 ft over one level.

HTH

Suzy x
 
Hello pinklaces sorry to hear you're having trouble with your boys, i know boar pairing can be difficult!

It sounds like Justin is starting to hit his hormonal months and things can get difficult around this time.

Firstly how big is their cage?

You do need that little bit more space for boys so they have enough room to get away from one another, and plenty of space to let off some steam!

If you can try and introduce more hideys/ cardboard boxes with two exists so they cant bully one another into a corner, as well as being a safe haven to having some alone time away from one another cardboard boxes can be a great distraction. Make sure you remove any hideys/igloos with only one entrance- boars if feeling aggressive will corner the other boar and this may lead to the other one becoming trapped or hurt.

Another suggestion is get two of everything water bottles, food bowls, hay trays etc. so they don't have to start an argument over their food bowl. :)) With my boys I have two separate eating areas so that way they have some space to eat in private.

Mentioning munching....try and keep them entertained. Hay is a great way to do this, have two hay trays filled with hay, stuff loo rolls with hay and either throw them on the cage floor or dangle the loo rolls just above their heads on string. Put hay in a plant pot, in a box etc just so they have a different way of eating and playing too.

If that fails you could try a bonding bath, clean all the cage top to bottom with diluted miltons or animal safe cleaner include all toys, bowls and every inch of the cage. After doing so, rearrange the cage so it looks different. Then wash your boys with small animal shampoo and place them back in the cage.

:)

Laura x
 
Ohh and I forgot to mention if you do notice that they are lunging/pouncing and this is leading to the scratches it will be the best and most safest option to separate them.

If you can you could divide the cage or hutch using mesh or house them in separate cages but next to one another. This way they can still see one another and say hello.

Laura x
 
I would personally recommend observing them for a little longer before rushing in to seperate. If there are still aggressive signs/behaviours then the advice given already is pretty much what I would also suggest.

However, I would check first that there are no medical reasons why the cuts have appeared, I would rule out eye infection first as the piggy could be scratching his own face in irritation. I would also check for mites/lice which could cause discomfort. You could also check him over and see if there are any other bite marks.

Sometimes when one piggy is ill, the other will become a little more aggressive with it, I've noticed this happen many times before and can be a first sign something is not right. But obviously if health issues have been ruled out and the aggressive behaviour becomes more frequent, or continues, steps will have to be taken to settle things back down.

Seperating them should be a last resort for the safety of the piggy. It could just be that the hormones are kicking in.
 
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