Dominance Do Females Display Dominance?

PiggyMamaInNC · Jul 6, 2015

We just adopted two female piggies (today!) that we were told were surrendered by the same owner (on the same day). I thought this meant they were together; but they may have been in separate cages. The older one, Grace, is 2. Lulu is 1. Grace will sometimes block Lulu from the Hidey Hut. She makes a low, purring, grumbly sound, and moves her bottom back and forth; then she jumps at Lulu to chase her out. It doesn't happen all the time. Just every once is awhile.

Is this a female dominance thing? Grace us def more outgoing and "feisty." Lulu is calmer.

We are definitely planning on getting a 2nd cozy (fleece) hidey so they can each have a separate spot. For now, we just have a small fleece blanket in there that Lulu has been burrowing under.

Thanks!
Darcy

LifeAsItMayBe · Jul 6, 2015

I have a mom and her two daughters in one cage and they constantly bicker over who gets which hideout, even after three years together. I use footstools now instead of igloos or huts because they can run away from each other in any direction from under one, and they seem to feel just as safe under them as a regular hideout.

Pigglet_pose · Jul 6, 2015

My Piggie uses Fleece Forests as a hidey and they can run out from any way so you could use that as another hidey as well. Or cut another hole in a pigloo so it has to escape routes (but make sure to sand the edges so it's soft)

CavyHouse · Jul 6, 2015

Yes, females will definitely display dominance. SOme of our females have been just as hard, if not harder, to get to bond than the males. OUr all-time champ for being hard to bond due to aggression is a female.

We've been frustrated so many times by potential adopters coming to us saying that they only want females because they're read that "All males fights and all females get along". It just isn't so.

PandaPiggle · Jul 6, 2015

And even females who get on most of the time will often get pesky when they're in heat. I've got a herd of sows who get on like a charm, except two of them are fond of mounting each other for a day here and there, so I've come to assume that's when they're in heat. I got rid of all the pigloos and swapped them out for tunnels and fleece forests so nobody can get trapped when they're being moody.

PiggyMamaInNC · Jul 6, 2015

Thanks, ya'll! They are so funny. It has only happened a few times. I added a fleece blanket in the corner (edges drooping down to make a hidey/cavey type thing), and the same thing happened again. The older one runs in there first and tries to claim it as her own. Haha! I went on etsy this afternoon and ordered a cavy tunnel. And our hidey hut has two holes, so that helps, too.

Thabks again for the replies! I really like it here!

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Dominance Do Females Display Dominance?

PiggyMamaInNC

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LifeAsItMayBe

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Pigglet_pose

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CavyHouse

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PandaPiggle

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PiggyMamaInNC

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