Fighting: Sudden Agression?

[Rob G.]

I have two, 2 year old boars (Oscar and Shaggy) and a 6-8 month old boar (Leo). I introduced Leo roughly 3 months ago and it went well, they all got along fine. The C&C they share is 2x6 and they all have seperate bags, dishes, and water bottles.

On Wed. last week Shaggy and Leo stareted getting increasingly agressive at each other. Today I had to separate them as Leo had pulled out a pretty sizeable chunky of Shaggys hair.

What could the possable cause be? They do not fight during floor time and it seems that Oscar doesnt play a factor in this. Perhaps Leo is going through puberty and is trying to establish dominance?

I guess my main concern is I would prefer to have them live in the same cage, is there any way I can accomplish this?

[Paula]

It does sound like a dominance issue with the younger pig. I'd guess that they get along at floor time because the space is larger.

Has there been any blood drawn? If not, it would be better to leave them together and let them work it out.

As for cage space, do you have any way of making it bigger? 2x6 is fine for many boys but not all pairs will be okay in that size.

[Rob G.]

No blood from biting has been drawn, only from a piece of hair being pulled out. They are still in the same cage but there is a plexi divider down the middle so they can't fight. I want to let them sort it out but I can't supervise as I have a job.

I am considering making their home bigger and also rebuilding the coroplast part with new materials and washing all of their dishes, fleece, and baggies so that the cage becomes "new".

I just have to figure out where to put the larger cage. The basement would be perfect short of the fact that it gets cold during the winter and I play in a band and I don't want to kill them with volume.

[Rob G.]

They seem to be getting along better, but, I still can not leave them together at night. This is when they fight most. Is there any reason they would fight more at night?

[Rob G.]

Okay, so I formulated a game plan. This weekend I am: giving Shaggy a clean cut, building a new larger "L" shaped cage/cleaning all pigwares, and then giving them all a bath to give it a fresh start. Maybe I'm just being hopeful but I think it will work?