Aggression Overly Aggressive Pig?

[fgradowski]

I haven't posted here in a while. You guys don't even know that I got another pig this summer. Introductions went great. And yes, I did upgrade to a 2x4 c and c cage before getting Edison.

Anyways, things were great for a while. Jameson clearly wanted to be the dominant pig and Edison was okay with that. He never really fought him about. The most he ever did was chatter his teeth a bit, but Jameson wouldn't let up. I thought that maybe things could have gotten better with time since Jameson is so young, but now Edison chatters teeth any time Jameson is near him and runs away whenever Jameson approaches (even if he isn’t coming after him).

I guess what I need help with is my Jameson’s aggressive attitude. I have read that neutering him will not help, but is this true? Should I just separate the two boys or are there other things that I can do first? I would really hate to have to separate them.

Jameson’s aggression is not only towards Edison, but also towards people. He definitely likes to nip at you if you pet him the "wrong way".

I already have two food dishes, water bottles, and hidey huts that are on opposite sides of the cage.

Here is the link to a video I took of Jameson getting aggressive over one of the food dishes. This is probably one of his worse attacks on Edison. Edison frequently takes refuge in the hay bin.

 

[CavyMama]

The problem is most likely the size of the cage. A 2X4 is not big enough for two males.

It is true that neutering will not help to calm a pig but what you describe does not sound like an overly aggressive pig at all.

If he is nipping at people when they pet him the wrong way, has he been treated for mites?

Do your hideys have multiple openings. If you have igloos, I would remove them right away and replace them with step stools. But before even that, expand the cage to at least a 2X5.

 

[fgradowski]

The problem is most likely the size of the cage. A 2X4 is not big enough for two males.

It is true that neutering will not help to calm a pig but what you describe does not sound like an overly aggressive pig at all.

If he is nipping at people when they pet him the wrong way, has he been treated for mites?

Do your hideys have multiple openings. If you have igloos, I would remove them right away and replace them with step stools. But before even that, expand the cage to at least a 2X5.

He has never been treated for mites, but I haven't really noticed him being itchy or irritated. It's more of a "don't pet my chin or cheek or butt. I will bite" thing. He prefers top of the head or neck ONLY.
Interesting. When I purchased my cage I followed the guidelines given on the site that said 2x4 minimum for 2 pigs. Now, if I added the extra grids, is there a way that I can expand the coroplast I already have or do I have to get a completely new one?
I have a wooden hidey hut and a pigaloo. The pigaloo was a cheap buy this summer when I first got Edison. I have ordered two new hidey huts custom made from the OC Cavy Haven. I got them the sheriff's office and saloon.
Also, do you think two hay bins would be beneficial too? As it is now Edison will lay in the hay and eat while Jameson eats from the holes on the side.

 

[Lord Pigwidgeon]

So the minimum guideline is a 2X4 but full grown males tend to like more space than that. A 2X5 is minimum for three, but I've added a 2X2 addition to the side of it (kind of like a "T" shape) and there has been no aggression or issues with dominance at all. 2X4 is the recommend minimum size, but the more space, the better. Piggies like to run around, and males need a little bit more space. If you could do a 2X5, that'd help a lot. Also, having hideys with two entrances/exits makes it easier to prevent piggies from being trapped by the more dominant/aggressive male. I have a hay tunnel and another tunnel, and a hidey hole made of fleece. I also have a fleece forest for them to run through and hide in, and a log bendable thing that they can run through. It enables them to hide, but also to have an escape if another piggy tries to bully them.

Two hay bins could help, I have two hay bins and two water bottles for the guys so that they can eat at the same time. I also have two small trays for their pellets/veggies. I haven't had any of them fighting over food, so I assume it's working out haha.

As for the biting, it could be that he's a peculiar case of very picky petting, but mites are possible too. My friend had a piggy who would bite if you pet her sides, turned out that she had mites. You could scratch her head, but she flipped out about the sides. She took her too the vet, and turns out she has mites!

As for the coroplast, I think that depends on how you've constructed it. If you've glued it, then I think you're kind of stuck. Mine are folded and held up with binder clips, so mine are a little more flexible. Depending on how high you've made the sides, you could lay it down and have it be part of the extension. If the sides are only a 6 inch sides, then you might be stuck getting a new one. Instead of buying a whole new bottom though, you could purchase enough for whatever the extension is, be that a 1X2 or if you wanted to make it a total of a 2X6 cage and have the new coroplast be a 2X2. Whichever way, you could cut the side of each piece of coroplast so that they sit side by side as the bottom. For me, the 2X2 part was simple. I just bought a 2X2 piece of coroplast for it, and they hop between the two parts when they run around doing zoomies. XD silly piggies. But when they get older, I know they won't be able to jump as well, so I will cut the side of the 2X2 and the side of the 2X5 so that it's all one piece instead.

If that makes any sense at all. XD Anyway.

 

[fgradowski]

So the minimum guideline is a 2X4 but full grown males tend to like more space than that. A 2X5 is minimum for three, but I've added a 2X2 addition to the side of it (kind of like a "T" shape) and there has been no aggression or issues with dominance at all. 2X4 is the recommend minimum size, but the more space, the better. Piggies like to run around, and males need a little bit more space. If you could do a 2X5, that'd help a lot. Also, having hideys with two entrances/exits makes it easier to prevent piggies from being trapped by the more dominant/aggressive male. I have a hay tunnel and another tunnel, and a hidey hole made of fleece. I also have a fleece forest for them to run through and hide in, and a log bendable thing that they can run through. It enables them to hide, but also to have an escape if another piggy tries to bully them.

Two hay bins could help, I have two hay bins and two water bottles for the guys so that they can eat at the same time. I also have two small trays for their pellets/veggies. I haven't had any of them fighting over food, so I assume it's working out haha.

As for the biting, it could be that he's a peculiar case of very picky petting, but mites are possible too. My friend had a piggy who would bite if you pet her sides, turned out that she had mites. You could scratch her head, but she flipped out about the sides. She took her too the vet, and turns out she has mites!

As for the coroplast, I think that depends on how you've constructed it. If you've glued it, then I think you're kind of stuck. Mine are folded and held up with binder clips, so mine are a little more flexible. Depending on how high you've made the sides, you could lay it down and have it be part of the extension. If the sides are only a 6 inch sides, then you might be stuck getting a new one. Instead of buying a whole new bottom though, you could purchase enough for whatever the extension is, be that a 1X2 or if you wanted to make it a total of a 2X6 cage and have the new coroplast be a 2X2. Whichever way, you could cut the side of each piece of coroplast so that they sit side by side as the bottom. For me, the 2X2 part was simple. I just bought a 2X2 piece of coroplast for it, and they hop between the two parts when they run around doing zoomies. XD silly piggies. But when they get older, I know they won't be able to jump as well, so I will cut the side of the 2X2 and the side of the 2X5 so that it's all one piece instead.

If that makes any sense at all. XD Anyway.

I sure hope that mites aren't the case! I will be so mad at my vet. Jameson has been to the vet twice in the past year and Edison was literally at the vet a few weeks ago.

Your cage sounds like a boat load of fun! I'm always afraid to cram too much stuff in it. I like to give them plenty of open space to run.

My coroplast is only held together by tape...barely. Haha. So that shouldn't be too difficult for me to mess with.

 

[CavyMama]

He has never been treated for mites, but I haven't really noticed him being itchy or irritated. It's more of a "don't pet my chin or cheek or butt. I will bite" thing. He prefers top of the head or neck ONLY.

Mites are a condition which makes any touch painful to a pig. Painful enough for him to nip when touched. Imagine having tiny glass shards under your skin. You would probably be a little antsy about people touching you at all.

Mites can be treated at home and do not need to be diagnosed by a vet. They can be treated pre-emptively as a precaution.

Interesting. When I purchased my cage I followed the guidelines given on the site that said 2x4 minimum for 2 pigs

Males need more space in order to get along comfortably.

Now, if I added the extra grids, is there a way that I can expand the coroplast I already have or do I have to get a completely new one?

If you taped or clipped your coroplast corners together, it's easy to expand by adding a small coro sheet to make the extra room.

 

[fgradowski]

Mites can be treated at home and do not need to be diagnosed by a vet. They can be treated pre-emptively as a precaution.

It is ivermectin that they are treated with, right?

 

[Lord Pigwidgeon]

With tape, that should make it easier to do! They also have this sale section on the coroplast store on this site that sells a group of misc. coroplast for about 22 bucks for 5 sheets of it. I'm considering getting that because then if I make changes, I have extra stuff on hand. So if you end of needing more, they have extra on their site.

Something I do to make sure it doesn't get too cramped is switching their hideys around. If I have the logs set up, I take out the cardboard tunnel. If the fleece is out, it's because I put the straw tunnel in. It changes things up, which is exciting for them, but also makes it so that they have space to run around.

But I think the aggression will calm down once there is more space for them. That's the one thing that sucks about minimum requirements -they're definitely minimum, and more often then not need more. But I'd also suggest the hay racks. I saw the video, and it looks like he might just want his own bowl/hay rack untouched.

 

[fgradowski]

Something I do to make sure it doesn't get too cramped is switching their hideys around. If I have the logs set up, I take out the cardboard tunnel. If the fleece is out, it's because I put the straw tunnel in. It changes things up, which is exciting for them, but also makes it so that they have space to run around.

That is something that I have thought about doing with everything in their cage. They tend to get bored of their new stuff after about a month. Tunnels or chew toys that they quit using!

I saw the video, and it looks like he might just want his own bowl/hay rack untouched.

They do have their own food bowls though. He just happened to be guarding his when Edison ate from it.

My other issue is that I am using the fleece flippers. If I add a 1x2 section what size flipper do I buy for just that section?

 

[Lord Pigwidgeon]

I'm not so sure about the flippers since I'm using wood pellets with fleece over it. I'd imagine making a smaller flipper, maybe? I don't know if you make them or buy them, or if there is a way to extend yours?

 

[Lord Pigwidgeon]

And also, I recommend changing it up! It keeps them guessing and eager.

 

[fgradowski]

I'm not so sure about the flippers since I'm using wood pellets with fleece over it. I'd imagine making a smaller flipper, maybe? I don't know if you make them or buy them, or if there is a way to extend yours?

I have bought one set and made the other based off of the dimensions from the one that I bought. I'm flipping between websites and it appears that a "piggy patio" sized flipper should be the right size...I hope.

 

[CavyMama]

It is ivermectin that they are treated with, right?

Yup! You can get Ivermectin over the counter in just about any farm supply store. It's marketed for livestock but can be used for guinea pigs if dosed properly. https://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html

 

[Lord Pigwidgeon]

I think it looks along those lines, definitely read the dimensions though, just to make sure. I'm working on a patio up above for them when the grids arrive, and I have a kitchen that I got off of this site. It's a 1X2, so if the flipper is for their 1X2 kitchen or loft, then it should be right!

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Whereas mites can cause a pig to be "touchy" about being touched, there are also some pigs who are just stinkers about being petted in certain areas. Pigs have distinct personalities, and there are aggressive ones that will act that way no matter what.

I've had a few dominant males who acted dominant even with me.

Certainly a larger cage, and take out the pigloos and wooden houses with only one entrance. Two water bottles, two food dishes, two hay areas.

 

[fgradowski]

My extra cage parts arrived today. That was super fast. I went ahead and added a 1x2 section on and threw a towel down. The coroplast and extra fleece are still on the way.
I haven't seen Edison hiding in the hay bin at all since I added on. I haven't heard fighting. Although I did just hear something, but it also could have been Jameson running around like a nut. He does that sometimes. He'll run all over the cage, popcorning and making all kinds of noise.

 

[Lord Pigwidgeon]

That's good! It's crazy how sometimes just a little bit more space can make such a difference