Urgent help fighting pigs

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

scarysarah

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
59
Reaction score
1
Points
150
Location
southampton
Hi I have just recently lost two of my old pigs so rescued a 5mth old girlie to go in with my gang!
I currently have 2 5 year old females and a 1yr old neutered boar!

The new girl has been in a separate crate in my current pigs house as they have free range of the shed! She has been there over a week and they have all been talking through the bars fine!

Today I completely cleaned out the shed put new bedding down and let her out!
To begin with she was fine getting on well with my females but my boar and her just had a full on fight and she got injured! She is now separated again! Her wound is fine (I'm a vet nurse so no need for vet attention at the moment!)

Advice needed! Will she be able to go in with the others or is it best to try to rehome her with just girls!

One of my girls is really upset by this and keeps hiding so don't want to stress any of them out!

Thanks Sarah x
 
I read somewhere that once there is bloodshed there's no way they will ever be able to live together. Sucks I know :(
 
did you try making them smell the same? boars get protective of their wives, but maybe if she smelt the same as the others it would help? sorry i can't be of more help x
 
I've successfully introduced guineas before bit never had them have a full on fight! Was horror! Feel bad now as well as one of my older girls is really scared! The new girl has been in her cage with the others and they have been talking through the bars so would have thought there would be some smell to her!

I think I may have to rehome her as don't think I can risk them together! And wouldn't be fair to put a partition in as wouldn't have as much room as I would like them to have!
Thanks for your advice so far!
 
Unfortunately some pigs just dont get along, but once blood has been drawn the best thing you can do is separate them - perhaps the problem/friction between your boar and the new sow was induced by them meeting in 'their permanent home' as opposed to meeting in neutral territory?
 
I have always introduced new pigs the same way and never had. Problem!
But maybe they arnt compatible! Hopefully I can find her a nice new home!
 
This may sound really patronising but I don't mean it that way. Did you put them down on neutral territory before putting them into their home?

Having only ever introduced boars before I know that I put them in an outside run (that they had never been in before) with lots of grass and distractions for an hour or so while they get used to each other. (Sometimes they are out there longer if I am concerned) Then I do a through clean out and put them in the cage supervised for another hour.

I really hope you can get them to work things out. Who knew you would be marriage councelling for guinea pigs in your spare time!

Amy
x
 
Is it worth leaving it just a few days for things to settle down and trying again on neutral grounds? It might be worth a try but be prepared to jump in if need be.
Good luck
 
Hi not patronising at all! I've only ever introduced girls before! So do * think if I leave it a few days then put them in an outside run with grass (I have a 4 ft x4 ft run for grass areas that the boar has been in before but not for a few mths) to see how they get on? Just really worried the little girlie is going to get hurt!

Thanks for all ** advice!
 
I guess only you can decided how bad her injuries were. If blood was drawn then no, I wouldn't risk putting them together again. If the injury wasn't too bad, then yes, leave them to cool off for a few days and try again in the run where none of them have been before but be prepared to jump in if necessary. You could also try giving them all a bath together.

Don't feel bad if it doesn't work out. I introduced a boar to my three girls and it wasn't meant to be. Two of my girls took to him straight away where as one of them was having none of it. There was a full on fight between the two. Ellie wasn't injured but the boar ended up with an open gash on his head and various other cuts. One of my other pigs who was only a baby at the time ended up with a cut under her eye too where she had obviously got in the way. It was an upsetting experience as the boy got hurt and I had to give him back to the rescue and my girls were very quiet for a good few days. I ended up rescuing another baby girl and Ellie took to her straight away and all was and still is well.

I hold my hands up that I did make mistakes during the bonding but Ellie was bred from in the past so I also think that may have something to do with it. Plus she can be quite dominant even though she isn't my top sow.

Good luck with whatever you decided to do xx
 
Thanks for your advice Claire I think I'm not going to risk it as her wound is fairly large and he did draw blood! There was also no warning he just full on attacked her! So don't think it's fair to put her at risk!

I'm really upset as she's a lovely girl!

Just wanted to add a few more girls to my gang as used to having 5 piggies and there cage looks so empty! They have free range in the shed with a 6ft by 4ft area!

Do you think I will be able to introduce some more piggies to my gang?

Thanks again!
 
I see no reason why you won't be able to. It just looks like this girl and your boar didn't like each other.

I know how hard it is to make this decision but if her wound is bad, it isn't worth taking the risk and you are doing the right thing for the guinea pigs.

Next time though, try introducing in the rum instead of the piggies house :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top