Two boars fell out suddenly

[JuliaGuineaPiggy]

Hey everyone! So I have 6 pigs and they’re all boars. I have two sets of pairs (so I have Benny and Charlie as a pair and Bailey and Rodney as another pair (they’re brothers)). My issue is, I have two that used to be a pair but they have fallen out.

I know you’re not supposed to separate them until blood has been drawn but I don’t want to let it get to that point they started clicking their teeth at each other out of nowhere one day and one has lunged for the other one time, but they’ve never actually had any form of fight. The cages are set up in a way that they can still see each other through the bars, but I never hear them clicking teeth at each other even though they have clear access to smell each other though the bars.

I don’t want to risk putting them together and one of them get hurt, but then I also don’t want to keep them separate from each other if it’s not necessary

 

[Wiebke]

Hey everyone! So I have 6 pigs and they’re all boars. I have two sets of pairs (so I have Benny and Charlie as a pair and Bailey and Rodney as another pair (they’re brothers)). My issue is, I have two that used to be a pair but they have fallen out.

I know you’re not supposed to separate them until blood has been drawn but I don’t want to let it get to that point ☹ they started clicking their teeth at each other out of nowhere one day and one has lunged for the other one time, but they’ve never actually had any form of fight. The cages are set up in a way that they can still see each other through the bars, but I never hear them clicking teeth at each other even though they have clear access to smell each other though the bars.

I don’t want to risk putting them together and one of them get hurt, but then I also don’t want to keep them separate from each other if it’s not necessary ☹

Hi!

How old are your boys?

With teenagers and young adults, a two day separation is often enough to get them through a sudden hormone spike without a permanent fall-out, as long as you always conduct any formal intros on neutral ground outside the cage. You will quickly know whether the bond is still viable or not. Never go between piggies on edge with your bare hands.

Please take the time to read the very detailed practical information in the guide links below:
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble (the gender neutral version of the same basic advice for all ages)

How to stage a formal re-intro:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[JuliaGuineaPiggy]

They’re between 8-9 months now. They’ve been separated for like a month now but like I said, they don’t click at each other through the bars. I don’t want to risk putting them on the floor together and then they have a fight, because they’re both very very dominant so it’d be a pretty big fight

 

[JuliaGuineaPiggy]

Hi!

How old are your boys?

With teenagers and young adults, a two day separation is often enough to get them through a sudden hormone spike without a permanent fall-out, as long as you always conduct any formal intros on neutral ground outside the cage. You will quickly know whether the bond is still viable or not. Never go between piggies on edge with your bare hands.

Please take the time to read the very detailed practical information in the guide links below:
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble (the gender neutral version of the same basic advice for all ages)

How to stage a formal re-intro:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

I forgot to mention you in my comment above x

 

[Wiebke]

They’re between 8-9 months now. They’ve been separated for like a month now but like I said, they don’t click at each other through the bars. I don’t want to risk putting them on the floor together and then they have a fight, because they’re both very very dominant so it’d be a pretty big fight

When you read the teenage guide, you will find that it is one of the trickier periods during teenage.
Please follow the advice in the guide. It is very comprehensive, including your various fall-out options for boars that are not going back together.

 

[JuliaGuineaPiggy]

When you read the teenage guide, you will find that it is one of the trickier periods during teenage.
Please follow the advice in the guide. It is very comprehensive, including your various fall-out options for boars that are not going back together.

Thank you for your help. You honestly are so so helpful on this website. You really know your stuff! Me and my piggies thank you x

 

[GuineaPigGrandma]

Sorry to hijack this thread, I’m in a similar situation but our boar pair are around 14 months. We’ve had them since feb and there’s been the dominant one and the submissive one. But the past few days have been incessant with the poor submissive one just looking so sad all the time at being humped, lots of chattering and objection to it.

I separated them this morning (c and c cage split) and now the dominant one is really peed off bar chomping and floor scratching and the submissive one is just eating and getting on.

they have /had a 4x2 with a loft, separate everything, plenty of hides etc. There’s been a few grazes. But these past few days have been something else.

so what happens if you have one pig happy with the separation and one not?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Sorry to hijack this thread, I’m in a similar situation but our boar pair are around 14 months. We’ve had them since feb and there’s been the dominant one and the submissive one. But the past few days have been incessant with the poor submissive one just looking so sad all the time at being humped, lots of chattering and objection to it.

I separated them this morning (c and c cage split) and now the dominant one is really peed off bar chomping and floor scratching and the submissive one is just eating and getting on.

they have /had a 4x2 with a loft, separate everything, plenty of hides etc. There’s been a few grazes. But these past few days have been something else.

so what happens if you have one pig happy with the separation and one not?

Its exactly this (one being happy and one not) which can help you determine whether a bond is working. The dominant will always be upset by a split but it is never the dominant’s reaction you use as a gauge. Instead, it is always the submissive piggy’s reaction - if the submissive appears happier once they have been separated then that is the answer you need to determine that the relationship is no longer a happy one and that the split needs to be made permanent.

If they are to stay separated, then you will need to look to increase each of their cage sizes (If youve split the 4x2 in half giving each one a 2x2, then it isn’t big enough - each piggy needing a 4x2 of their own and the cages need to be side by side. A 3x2 each is the absolute minimum cage size they can be in.

The guide below gives further details on determining whether two piggies want to be together

Bonds In Trouble

 

[GuineaPigGrandma]

Thank you.
That was the answer I suspected. The submissive one just carried on munching and snoozing.
He’s much more food orientated then the dominant one.

I reintroduced this morning in floor time and it does seem calmer now they are back in their cage.

Yes don’t worry if it’s a permanent split or longer than a few hours I would make it bigger for each of them. It was just the quickest easiest way I could do it yesterday when I felt enough was enough.

 

[GuineaPigGrandma]

Thank you again

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you.
That was the answer I suspected. The submissive one just carried on munching and snoozing.
He’s much more food orientated then the dominant one.

I reintroduced this morning in floor time and it does seem calmer now they are back in their cage.

Yes don’t worry if it’s a permanent split or longer than a few hours I would make it bigger for each of them. It was just the quickest easiest way I could do it yesterday when I felt enough was enough.

Any reintroduction needs to be done on neutral territory but it’s good they seem calmer now. Sometimes a reintroduction will fail within moments of them being put back together. If they are calmer now then that is good but you will have to see how things go.