Very defensive sow... advice?

[Abi_nurse]

Hey guys.

I just wanted a little advice. Ive just taken on a lovely Abysinnian sow called Autumn around 11/12mnths old. I was hoping to get her introduced into my herd of 6 sows and neutered boar. I have put her in a pen of her own divided by C&C grids with the herd. Everyone wants to make friends with her but shes not very interested. She will sniff at there noses and then go to nip them.
I popped her on the sofa with my youngest 'Crumble' (4/5mnth old aby sow), they sat quite happily together. When i happened to touch her bum she spun around and bit me in defence. I'm guessing shes been bullied quite a bit and hasnt really had much socialising. I then tried her with another gentle sow 'Parsley' Ive never known Parsley to be aggressive. She was fine sniffing her but as soon as my sow went near her rear end she turned around and nipped her loads and started teeth chattering. I'm not sure how to approach this?

I can see shes a very worried and defensive sow but how do i get her to calm down and realise that everyone wants to be friends with her. Any advice guys? I would love her to come around to being friends. If it doesnt work out i may have to think again about keeping her.

Here she is...such a beautiful girl.

x.

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

I have noticed that my Abbys are the most sensitive piggies, ESPECIALLY around their bum area. So if she's a shy guinea pig and doesn't like being touched, that may explain her defensive nature. If she's been bullied before then at 12 months old it's going to be something that she's grown up with it'll take her quite a while to settle in and realise that your piggies aren't out to get her. It definitely sounds like nervous aggression that you witnessed with the serial nipping; it will take her time to get over that. She's feeling very threatened and although there's no need with your other sows, it's what she's grown up to expect I would have thought!

We've got a piggy that is very nervous and bites in nervous defense, and she will be living with but separated off from my herd when they're all in together. I fully expect the process of getting her settled to take months rather than weeks; although I may be surprised.

She is beautiful. x)

 

[Claire W]

Aww, Autumn is beautiful.
All I can say really is to give her plenty of time and reassurance. It sounds like she has probably been through a lot and needs time to adjust to her new surroundings and to realise that she is now safe.

Just take things slowly with her. Introduce her to the rest of our herd in neutral territory and only separate if things turn nasty. Please do not introduce on your lap. I made this mistake and now realise that I was forcing one of my pigs to be friends when she clearly didn't want to be. You could try bathing all your pigs including Autumn so that they all smell the same. This may help Autumn to relax if the rest of the crowd smell the same as her.

There are many people on the forum who have had difficult bondings so I am sure one of hem will be able to help you further.

Good luck and I am sure things will be fine with a little patience.

 

[CandyFloss]

Awww she's gorgeous - hope things work out for her
x

 

[Lady Kelly]

Oh bless her, she is adorable! My ginger and white aby doesn't really like being touched near her bum lol which made for interesting times when I was bathing her yesterday as she sits in her own wee which stains her fur rolleyes

I really hope she settles down soon and realises that not everyone is going to hurt her and I hope you are successful in bonding her with your tribe

 

[Abi_nurse]

I love your photo! Its PETER! I miss him!

x.

 

[Lizzie]

I would leave her separate for a couple of weeks to let her settle in, could be that she doesn't like big changes and the whole thing has set her right on edge. OR she's a mare and doesn't like anyone at all! I have one like that...I just tried her in the run with my girls whilst I was cleaning out...she's been on her own for about 3 weeks now, but she was still chasing them and being a bully - so, some sows are just like that, and there isn't much you can do about it! If the neutered boar doesn't settle her down within the group, then she might need her own boar (if she accepts your lad by himself without the rest of the ladies), alternatively if she is like my sow then she'll have to stay on her own and will probably be ok with just a C&C cage partition so that she has some company.