Introductions Introducing three adult boars? Good or bad idea?

Sorry, I just noticed there was another post like this just below!

UPDATE:

Just thought I'd share my experience introducing Roland to my pair, Alfie and Charlie! I decided to go with it because I was able to build a 3x4 C&C with a 6x2 upper level.

The introduction on neutral territory went eerily well. No mounting - which was a first! We left them out for 3.5 hours with lots of space, green leaf, and several hay piles. Alfie literally ignored everyone and just ate the whole time and took a nap at the end (as expected). Charlie, the trouble-maker, has given Roland (the new guy) a hard time on and off. Lots of chattering and chasing, but I'm assuming that's fine. There were a couple of stare downs while chattering which always puts me on edge, but since all was fine after 3 hours - we put them together in the cage.

In the cage, Charlie ripped out a tuft of Roland's hair, but hasn't attempted to do it again. Should I be concerned about this? There was no skin or anything at the base of the hair. I'm known for ending things too early because I can't handle the aggression lol so I figured I'd ask

There's still chattering and chasing occasionally, but if Roland and Charlie are on opposite floors, all is well. On his own, Charlie throws his usual temper tantrums and tries to dig up the fleece, but it's starting to die down now. Alfie just keeps eating and sleeping LOL. I have hopes that if the trio doesn't work out, Alfie can be successfully paired with either one of the other two.

Pigtures!!!!


Here's a view of the cage. We haven't put anything in except for some food, water, pillows and comfy stuff because we aren't sure how they will react.



Side-view. Ignore the mess, guys! We have a tiny condo in the city and basically the whole living space was used for intros today We haven't gotten around to cleaning yet!!!


Alfie laying down (LOL) and Roland hiding in the corner from meanie Charlie.

I will be weighing the pigs daily the next little while to make sure that Charlie is not bullying Roland and he's able to eat!

UPDATE: Charlie lunged at Roland and there is a shallow cut with very minimal blood. Nothing dripping, only noticed when I felt a bump and separated the fur... Should I separate?

I personally would keep them together. Even with the small cut it sounds like it's going fairly well. Just continue to keep a close eye on them.

sallyvh said:

I personally would keep them together. Even with the small cut it sounds like it's going fairly well. Just continue to keep a close eye on them.

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Alright. I'm keeping them together. I'm camped out by the cage with some snacks to keep myself awake LOL. It seems like Charlie is running at Roland almost every time he sees him, so I'm not sure how this is gonna go. There's been one more physical encounter (short), but no more cuts as far as I can tell.

I feel so bad because Roland is getting along so well with Alfie! They were cuddling!

UPDATE: Spoke too soon. Ball of fur... Checking both for cuts. It happened like twice in a row while trying to stop it.

I can't really give any advice as I had to separate my two boars, just wanted to say how awesome your cage is! Also, if they can't all live together the lone boar may happy living in an attached cage. I put a grid divider between my two pigs and they are now very content. They sleep and eat on either side of the grids, and "speak" to one another.

Thanks, @Tarams. I'm pretty sad because I ended up separating the top level into a 2x4 for Roland and a 2x2 kitchen for the pair. Everything is back to normal now, but poor Roland keep yanking at the grid dividers trying to get to the others. It feels so unfair since he was being cuddly and Charlie was the one attacking

Ahh, boars.

Aww Poor Roland. Do you think Alfie and Roland could be a pair instead? Even for just a short period to see how they like it. I think Roland deserves to have a chance with a buddy, especially since he and Alfie hit it off so well.

That's what I was thinking. Could it at least be tried? From what you say, I think maybe Roland and Alfie could be together instead of Alfie and Charlie.

(I'm sorry you lost Roland's buddy.)

Just my opinion but if Alfie is your "difficult" pig then maybe you should keep him with Charlie as originally was and find a new friend for Roland who seems easier to get along with. It may be hard to find a new friend for Alfie if he is the more prickly pig. I too was tempted to put my two laid back pigs together, but my prickly pig Nibblet would have no one. So I have kept him with his original cage mate Mocha and will try and reintroduce the new Sumo to them but if it doesnt go well then I will have Sumo by himself until I can find a new friend for him.

sweetpea123 said:

Just my opinion but if Alfie is your "difficult" pig then maybe you should keep him with Charlie as originally was and find a new friend for Roland who seems easier to get along with. It may be hard to find a new friend for Alfie if he is the more prickly pig. I too was tempted to put my two laid back pigs together, but my prickly pig Nibblet would have no one. So I have kept him with his original cage mate Mocha and will try and reintroduce the new Sumo to them but if it doesnt go well then I will have Sumo by himself until I can find a new friend for him.

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Yeah, I ended up adopting a baby to pair with Roland and left Alfie and Charlie together.

I think thats what I will have to do too. I wish that they all got along, but I am really nervous when Nibblet is chattering his teeth not stop. He didnt bite or anything, but that made me really scared he would so I have just kept them separate since then.

@sweetpea123, you shouldn't separate them if they are only chattering. This is the pig's way of showing dominance and telling the others that "I am boss." you only need to separate if there is blood. All guinea pigs chatter once in a while. They just need to get used to each other.

I currently have 5 boars in one cage, and they get along fine so long as there is at least one pigloo/hide per piggy, a waterbottle and bowl at the ends of the cage. When I first put them together, they fought a bit while trying to define dominance, once that was over the were fine.

Peanutncookie, I didn't know. I had read that constant teeth chattering meant time to separate, but I am happy to hear that I should try again! Thanks for the advise

Guineas Galore, 5 in one cage gives me hope. I didnt even get to the cage stage, I introduced them in a neutral territory they have all never been with no smells from their cages. But when I do get to that stage I already have 2 bottles and hideys and a makeshift hidey, so I will purchase the rest to make it even per pig. Hopefully that will help diminish disputes! Thanks for the advise