thefourpoogies
New Born Pup
Hi, I’m new to this forum, so bare with me. Feel free to skip any parts. I just want to take the best shot for advice.
I have owned about three boys for a couple months now; one was adopted at 2-3 years old and the other two at less than 1-2 months. I’ve had KitKat (2-3 years old) and Hershey (4-5 months old) the longest, and Twix (4-5 months old) was adopted a month afterwards. Admittedly, my family is very impulsive and only one boar was adopted with actual intent and planning. They get along EXTREMELY well, EVEN NOW which surprised me because Hershey and Twix are in the age of when testosterone really hits (but it gets worse at 6 months, right?). I was happy with just my three little potato rodents.
Currently, they live in a 21 square foot C&C cage.
But anyway, my mother had brought home another boar (York, 3-5 months old). And I’ve already been worried about the bond of the herd being screwed over by inevitable hormones, but I’m even more stressed now. I’ve read so many articles about bonding over the past week.
I put them all in an exercise pen (although I searched more and saw that the space should’ve been BIGGER, sigh) with some hay and gave them lettuce after 10 minutes. The three oddly accepted him after half an hour and they all just,,, slept? I left them for another half hour, but they just relaxed and didn’t care anymore. I was so scared they’d start fighting because boar bonding looks so scary, but they just completely stopped after Twix (the most dominant pig) cooled off. The funniest part is that KitKat DIDN’T EVEN CARE. He just ate his hay, laid down, and walked over to me to get chin scratches. When I put them all in the actual cage after cleaning it, they just chilled together and ate their dinner. Twix even forced York out of a hidey so he’d go out and eat (something he does with the other pigs from what I’ve noticed, like he doesn’t start eating unless everyone’s there ?). And the youngsters all sleep next to each other now, while KitKat sleeps near the hay like he wants you to draw him like one of your French girls.
KitKat - EXTREMELY calm, laid back, cuddly with humans, has really HUGE eyes whenever he’s scared or excited, sleeps outside of the hideys sometimes, greets people whenever he sees them; honestly, he’d get along with most pigs
Hershey - the FOODIE of the group, always wheeks first and every time he hears me, always first to the food even though he’s not dominant, oddly a genius as he figures out things really quickly that the others can’t, slightly skittish but he’s getting A LOT better, “kisses“ you if you put him near your face, grooms the other pigs
Twix - rumblestruts at any given moment (even when I come and say hi), EXTREMELY talkative (like, if you say something to him, he oddly responds; I tested it out by talking nonstop and he talked back nonstop, and then, I stayed quiet for a while and he was just silent,,, then, I talked again and he talked again), plays around the most when it comes to the pipe and tents, skittish but he’s also getting better, dominant when it comes to the other pigs
York (he’s new, but from what I’ve noticed) - gentle and friendly with humans, adjusting pretty easily with the schedule and his surroundings, extremely curious, likes exploring, popcorns A LOT
Boars can be so aggressive when they reach adolescence and it’s just scary. I’m open to separate them if needs be, but it’ll be such a shame since all of them get along right now. I want to know people’s opinions and just get some advice. I also just want to know if I did the bonding process (mostly) correctly. If you’ve had an experience where your baby boars were getting along, but grew up hating each other, I’d love to know your experience. Actually, I’d love to know everyone’s experience with bonding boys in general.
Thank you.
Background Information
I have owned about three boys for a couple months now; one was adopted at 2-3 years old and the other two at less than 1-2 months. I’ve had KitKat (2-3 years old) and Hershey (4-5 months old) the longest, and Twix (4-5 months old) was adopted a month afterwards. Admittedly, my family is very impulsive and only one boar was adopted with actual intent and planning. They get along EXTREMELY well, EVEN NOW which surprised me because Hershey and Twix are in the age of when testosterone really hits (but it gets worse at 6 months, right?). I was happy with just my three little potato rodents.
Currently, they live in a 21 square foot C&C cage.
But anyway, my mother had brought home another boar (York, 3-5 months old). And I’ve already been worried about the bond of the herd being screwed over by inevitable hormones, but I’m even more stressed now. I’ve read so many articles about bonding over the past week.
I put them all in an exercise pen (although I searched more and saw that the space should’ve been BIGGER, sigh) with some hay and gave them lettuce after 10 minutes. The three oddly accepted him after half an hour and they all just,,, slept? I left them for another half hour, but they just relaxed and didn’t care anymore. I was so scared they’d start fighting because boar bonding looks so scary, but they just completely stopped after Twix (the most dominant pig) cooled off. The funniest part is that KitKat DIDN’T EVEN CARE. He just ate his hay, laid down, and walked over to me to get chin scratches. When I put them all in the actual cage after cleaning it, they just chilled together and ate their dinner. Twix even forced York out of a hidey so he’d go out and eat (something he does with the other pigs from what I’ve noticed, like he doesn’t start eating unless everyone’s there ?). And the youngsters all sleep next to each other now, while KitKat sleeps near the hay like he wants you to draw him like one of your French girls.
KitKat - EXTREMELY calm, laid back, cuddly with humans, has really HUGE eyes whenever he’s scared or excited, sleeps outside of the hideys sometimes, greets people whenever he sees them; honestly, he’d get along with most pigs
Hershey - the FOODIE of the group, always wheeks first and every time he hears me, always first to the food even though he’s not dominant, oddly a genius as he figures out things really quickly that the others can’t, slightly skittish but he’s getting A LOT better, “kisses“ you if you put him near your face, grooms the other pigs
Twix - rumblestruts at any given moment (even when I come and say hi), EXTREMELY talkative (like, if you say something to him, he oddly responds; I tested it out by talking nonstop and he talked back nonstop, and then, I stayed quiet for a while and he was just silent,,, then, I talked again and he talked again), plays around the most when it comes to the pipe and tents, skittish but he’s also getting better, dominant when it comes to the other pigs
York (he’s new, but from what I’ve noticed) - gentle and friendly with humans, adjusting pretty easily with the schedule and his surroundings, extremely curious, likes exploring, popcorns A LOT
Concerns
Boars can be so aggressive when they reach adolescence and it’s just scary. I’m open to separate them if needs be, but it’ll be such a shame since all of them get along right now. I want to know people’s opinions and just get some advice. I also just want to know if I did the bonding process (mostly) correctly. If you’ve had an experience where your baby boars were getting along, but grew up hating each other, I’d love to know your experience. Actually, I’d love to know everyone’s experience with bonding boys in general.
Thank you.