Trying to bond a baby girl with 2 adult females

[Mama Squeak]

Hi There. Any advice would be appreciated. I have two bonded sisters Biscuit (dominant) and Maisie. They are just over 1 year old and I am trying to bond our newest member of the herd, Piglet who is 6 weeks old female. She is soooo tiny compared to Maisie and Biscuit. I have done all the bonding techniques, swapped scent igloos, blankies for a few days, put them in the same room for a few days, then put them in a neutral cage with a partition whilst they squeaked to each other for a few days. Then I have been introducing them for 15 mins at a time. Maisie and Biscuit dont seem to be biting or hurting little Piglet but they keep chasing her all the time. She scarpers out their way and it twice as fast as them, hides for a few minutes then comes out again until they chase her again. Neither Maisie or Biscuit will just "be" with her. They lunge and chase. I have provided toys and foods for distraction but they still chase her and sometimes almost corner her. (She is so small she squeezes out between their legs). I keep the timings down to 15 mins because whilst they are not hurting Little Piglet, I think she has had enough of them chasing her (although you would not know to look at her, as she is squeaking away and popcorning inbetween running off). Should I stop taking her out after 15 mins and let Maisie and Biscuit chase her. Do you think the novelty will wear off and if I keep taking her out and putting her back in again it will never become normal. Also she is soo small I worry they will hurt her. I am unsure what is my next move. Any help please? Thank youxx

Also I have tried putting them in one at a time with Piglet, and they still chase her, so no difference with one or both.

 

[Piggies&buns]

When bonding it is a one time thing. You put them in a neutral territory bonding pen, and leave them to it for several hours. If all goes well after those hours, move them to the thoroughly cleaned out they are going to live in and leave them to it. You can add a hide which is small enough for baby to get into but not the older piggies - this will allow her some respite without interrupting the bonding.
Make sure the pen is neutral though - you can’t just remove a divider and allow them to wander into each other halves of the cage.

While you can stop a bonding with sows if you feel things aren’t going the right way (you can’t do that with boars) if it is just normal dominance there is nothing for you to become worried about and the more you interrupt their bonding the less they bond - they need to be together for several hours to get through the stages of the bonding process. 15 minutes doesn’t allow them to get through any of the stages and each time you separate them their processes end, put them back together they are back to square one so never get chance to anywhere.

Following the time in the neutral territory bonding pen and then moving into the cage, it then takes around two weeks for the relationship to be fully established.

If the bonding really isn’t working and they don’t accept her then that is obviously a different issue.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

 

[Swissgreys]

To be honest what you describe sounds perfectly normal behaviour to me, but you need to give them the chance to see it though to the end.
They will never get better if they aren't left to start to establish a headachy toigether.

It would be unusual for your 2 older girls not to accept a baby, but they also need to be quite clear with her about her place in the hierarchy.

When we introduced a baby to our other 3 pigs I was shocked at the chasing and squealing - it was all so dramatic, but they did settle down and it worked out well in the long run. They stayed in the bonding pen for about 24 hours, and then moved into a fully cleaned and rearranged cage. Overall it took around 2 weeks for everyone to be totally happy, but the chasing, shrieking and running away slowly decreased over time.
The older girls won't hurt her because she won't threaten them, and she will be too fast and agile for them.
Just make sure that any hides have 2-3 entrances so no one can get trapped.

 

[Mama Squeak]

To be honest what you describe sounds perfectly normal behaviour to me, but you need to give them the chance to see it though to the end.
They will never get better if they aren't left to start to establish a headachy toigether.

It would be unusual for your 2 older girls not to accept a baby, but they also need to be quite clear with her about her place in the hierarchy.

When we introduced a baby to our other 3 pigs I was shocked at the chasing and squealing - it was all so dramatic, but they did settle down and it worked out well in the long run. They stayed in the bonding pen for about 24 hours, and then moved into a fully cleaned and rearranged cage. Overall it took around 2 weeks for everyone to be totally happy, but the chasing, shrieking and running away slowly decreased over time.
The older girls won't hurt her because she won't threaten them, and she will be too fast and agile for them.
Just make sure that any hides have 2-3 entrances so no one can get trapped.Thank you so much Piggies&Buns and Swissgreys for the advice. Sorry for the delay in replying. Your advc

 

[Mama Squeak]

Thank you so much Piggies&buns and Swissgreys. Your advice was spot on and I left Little Piglet in with Maisie and Biscuit and did not take her out again after reading your posts. My husband swiftly made up 3 mouse houses (Piglet is as small as a mouse). We popped them in all over the cages (they have 2 sides of a room joined by a ramp and they all settled down immediately. Piglet just ran to a mouse house everytime they chased her and within one day they stopped chasing her and were happily munching grass together, sharing food, and sitting and hanging around together. Its been great to see, as I was so worried they wouldnt get along. Thank you so much again for your advice. It was brilliant xx