[krystia]

We have two girls who live in a split cage (3x4, so each has a 2x3). This is because when they lived together, one of the pigs would harass and bully the other pig at all times, so that the older pig lost visible weight because she wasn't able to eat. Eventually our vet told us we had to keep them separate for the older pig's good. Currently they live in a split cage, where they can see each other, and they enjoy it much better than being alone. It's not optimal, though, and eventually we want them move in together again. They get along very nicely, like best friends, as long as the "harassing" pig is unable to get to the other pig's food and hay, and is unable to bite or nip the other pig. We're still trying to find a solution to this.

Because we have two boys who live in a different room, we're constructing a semi-permanent "floor time" area that's far away from all the cages. We were wondering whether the girls could still play together on the floor (it's much bigger than the cages) because they'd have enough space to run around without dealing with each other, or if that would be too stressful and they should be taken out separately. Which do you think is better? The younger pig is very nice to the older pig, except when she feels her territory is being challenged. If it helps: we think she's so pushy because she came from a bad background where she was housed with many males, plus she had a litter in the shelter before we took her in.

Also, I've heard it's stressful for pigs to live in split-cages, but our girls seem to enjoy it, and the "bullied" pig has come out of her shell entirely since the change in cage divisions (where before she stayed inside her house until the other pig inevitably shoved her out). Is this true? We think they're happier this way, but we'd hate to accidentally be doing the wrong thing. Thank you!