Whats best for my Boars?

[daisyd]

Sorry in advance this is a bit long...

I have a father/son pair of Guineas living together. I was planning to get the Dad, Apollo, neutered last summer so he could happily live with my girls without having any more babies but after struggling to find a home for one of his baby boys, Spirit, I decided to keep them together as a pair as they had bonded so well. They both have a very laid-back personality and love being together, getting quite upset when one or the other disappears.

Today however I took a day off work to do some spring cleaning and was bathing my Guineas when I noticed a large cut (aprox 2 cm) on Apollo’s lip. I watched the boys interacting most of this afternoon and have seen some teeth chattering and general bristleness between them but no definite aggression and also the normal good behaviour of palling around, sharing food etc...

Obviously if they've been fighting and hurting each other I will have to separate, but is it likely they'll settle down and are just going through a fractious patch as Spirit is now 10 months old and fighting for dominance or because it’s spring?

Is there any way I can give them a chance to work through this safely - I don’t want to risk either being seriously hurt, but also don’t want to split them up if their friendship can be saved...

Any suggestions?

 

[sophiew (EAGPR)]

Have you read this, lots of useful boar info!

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

If they've shed blood (if it is a bite wound) then it is more difficult to get them back together, but there is a chance. Unfortunately boars do hit the 'teenage' phase and can fall out, even if they have previously been ok. Lots of things can spark it off - being moved to a new cage, etc.

Hope the link above helps - it helped me!

Sophie
x

 

[daisyd]

Yeah I found that post this afternoon - I think its all true and very helpful, but wondering if their aggression is here for good or just a phase.

It’s especially tricky as I haven't actually seen them flying at each other so don't know for sure how the cut happened... I'm worried if I separate them they'll never go back together and will be lonely, but if I leave them to 'work things out' they'll seriously hurt each other... Thinking the solution may be a temporary partition so they cool off without totally losing their friendship and if that doesn't work I could get them both 'done' and they can have 3 girlfriends each!

 

[madmush]

I've only ever had boars & when they become teenagers they can become very hormonal! :{ They suddenly realise they can try & assert their dominance & show signs of aggression, bottom wiggling, growling, mounting. They do tend to calm down, but it can take a while - I'm talking a few weeks, although each piggy is different. Try and be patient & give them alone time in the day. :x That does seem to help them calm down & is kind of like a time out!

Keep an eye on Apollo's ear for signs of infection - redness, swelling, pus (gross but true!) and good luck!

Mostly importantly - boars are fab! Well, most of the time anyway!!

Michele & my manly quintet - Legolas, Jerry, Pippin, Billy & Bobby!
xx

 

[Roo3]

I've got 2 boars who lived together happily for the first year of their lives, but then the chattering started, soon after that they started fighting. One day my boyfriend heard them fighting and turned to look at them and Zippy had a mouthful of Fuzzy's fur in his mouth.grrrr We had no option but to seperate them. They have now lived apart for 2 years, but their hutches are right next to each other so they can see each other all the time. They are both happy piggies on their own.
Hope you can get your boars loving each other again soon.

 

[gracie]

get them neutered? rolleyes
this fighting won't stop because of their hormones- now the son is growing up, they're rivals, not just father and son.
imo it's kinder to neuter boars if they're not breeding; baxter is so much happier now he's been snipped and although he's always been a grumpy chap his behaviour is noticeably more laid back and less frustrated.