Dominance Had 2 boars, got a new baby boar, they don't get along!

[Kirtini]

Hi all, I just have a couple questions about how groups of boars get along. My boyfriend and I got a pair of boars who were caged together, back in January. We decided to add a new baby pig to the family, and since a sow wouldn't have worked out, we got a baby boar. We caged him separately for a few days, but since he has a vet guarantee, we figured we'd skip quarantine since that's generally for medical issues as far as we know.

Well, my boyfriend started introducing them slowly, put the baby's cage up next to the other two's cage. They chattered a bit and squeaked a lot and tried to shove their little faces through the bars, we figured that was normal. So he went ahead and set them all together in the main cage, and the more submissive one immediately tried to mount the baby! Then the dominant one swooped in and started grooming the little one!! Guinea pigs are bizarre.

But now that boyf has been letting them run around together daily, the behaviour has gotten worse. The submissive boar is still trying to mount the baby, the baby is now trying to mount the dominant boar, and the dominant boar is trying to mount his submissive brother! When my boyfriend separates them into their respective cages again, our original two guinea pigs start chattering at each other. Apparently they've gone to biting, but my boyfriend hasn't mentioned any blood.

Please, I really don't want to cage them all separately or give them up, can anyone give me advice?

 

[PeanutnCookie]

Ok first off, introductions need to happen on neutral territory, where none of the pigs have been before. Before you even get here, though, you will need to clean out the cage where they will be living. When I say clean, I mean REALLY CLEAN! Everything: the floor the bars/grids of the cage, bowls, water bottle, and all non wooden toys. If they are wood, just take them out for a few days or clean them as best as you can.

Once they are in the neutral territory, make sure they have food and at least once hiding place per pig with at least two entrances/exits. They will chase and mount each other, but this is all normal behavior. Only separate them if they draw blood. Also, this introduction should only happen once. It really stresses them out if you separate and put them together repeatedly, because they have to establish dominance each time. This is especially a problem with males.
Another problem might be that the cage is too small. Boars need more space than sows, and they like to have their own space. How big is the main cage that all three will be living in?

Once you put them in the main large cage, make sure there is one food bowl and at least one water bottle on each end of the cage, so they won't block each other from getting to the food. Also put hay all around so they can easily access it. I wouldn't let them run around until they are used to each other in the cage. Other people have noticed that floortime for the pigs can cause them to be more dominant acting, or even aggressive. I hope this helps!

 

[bpatters]

Adding a third boar to an established pair doesn't usually work, even if the new pig is a baby. And it would have been a good idea to have read about guinea pig introductions before putting a new pig into an established cage. See https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html for the best article I know on guinea pig introductions.

You've got three adolescent boars, and they're going to be fighting for dominance for the next year or so. You might get by with it if you have a huge cage and are prepared from some drama, but if you've got them in pet store cages, it'll never work. See the Main tab at the top of this page for recommended cage sizes, and remember that bigger is always better when dealing with boars.

You may be better off rehoming the new guy, or getting another pig and putting the two of them together. But there's no guarantee that your original pair will ever coexist happily together again. It's one of the big risks in trying to add a third pig to a bonded pair.

 

[Kirtini]

Thank you for all the responses! I guess I have some reading to do.

We have the original two in a 4 grid by 4 grid cage, with a bathroom that cuts it into 3x4 and 1x4 areas. The new one is in a large rabbit cage from the store. I'll talk to my boyfriend about this as soon as I get there(I am visiting this weekend), but we won't be able to do anything other than clean the cage for a day or two. (no car)

Thank you all again!

 

[AmberCalzone]

Don't clean the cage until you're ready to do the introductions and put all 3 pigs in it for good. Once the cage is completely cleaned out, no pig can be in it until the introductions. You're trying to make the cage neutral by cleaning it.

 

[Kirtini]

Yup, tomorrow we're going to do introductions downstairs, I'll watch them while boyf takes care of the cage and everything in it. He's planning on re-doing the corrugated plastic as he isn't happy with our first job of it, so we won't have to worry about residual smells. My only worry is that he'll startle the pigs on his way up the stairs with the new plastic(stairs are right next to the room we can use), but they'll probably be fine.

Thanks again to everyone, I definitely should have done more reading before we got a new piggy! :crazy:

 

[Kirtini]

Hope this photo works - we've bathed them and put them in the biggest neutral area we could make. I know one of you suggested two-entrance hidey holes, but we have none and the LiveJournal article specifically said to have none as they cause drama.

Behaviour wise they are being spectacular, we're 20 minutes in and barely any mounting and rumblestrutting is happening. They're getting pretty snuggly by teenage boar standards. Some popcorning is happening too. Unfortunately, we can't control outside sounds, so they do freeze up now and then.

Boyfriend is currently cleaning everything in the cage, then he's out to buy new corrugated plastic as we miraculously have his uncles van for the weekend. If people are interested, i'll post another update once they're in their newly cleaned and re-built cage.

 

[bpatters]

Cute! Glad they're getting along.
Upside down shoe boxes with holes in the ends make good open hideys. So do dollar store step stools.

 

[Kirtini]

So the original two got in an actual fight today. Bolvar is always rumblestrutting and mounting the new baby Arthas, and Dovah will go break them up. The older two will then have a chatter fest with chin-contests and the occasional lunge, but this is the first time they really fought.

My boyfriend and I now have the two out of the cage, each of us has one across the room from each other. Arthas is in a hidey in the cage, probably terrified as the fight broke out right next to him. We're currently deciding how to proceed.

He says since the baby's presence is causing the fights, we should put him in our old rabbit cage again and keep him across the room. Once we get our own place and have more than one room, he'll get a big C&C cage too.

Does anyone have different ideas? Should we keep them in the big cage together and risk coming home to an injured piggy? Should we remove a different pig? The rabbit cage is too small for the older pigs, even alone.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kirtini]

Quick update, even without the baby in the cage, the two fought. Could be the residual scents. Dovah is alone in the cage and chatters now and then.

 

[Kirtini]

We set them all up in separate cages with the extra coroplast we had. If a mod/admin could delete this thread I'd appreciate it, but I'm not sure how that works on this forum so no biggie either way.

 

[lissie]

We usually don't delete threads, as this could help others who are in the same situation.