Fighting Brothers fighting?!

[undefined838]

I have 3 boys living in the same cage: the dad and his 2 sons. The 2 babies (they're 3 months old now...) have lived together since birth, and with the dad since they were about 1 month old. Before they lived in the same cage as the dad, they were simply separated by a fence/wall, across which they could still see and smell each other.

Recently one of the babies and the dad have started fighting more often, and now the 2 babies fight as well. I don't know what to do! Is this normal?! They didn't used to fight or try to bite each other or try to put their parts in each others' faces. What can I do? If this keeps us, I'll have to rehome them = (

 

[bpatters]

How large is the cage? How many hideys/pellet dishes/water bottles do you have?

 

[undefined838]

The cage is pretty big. There are 2 logs to hide in and chew on, and there is a pigloo as well. They have 3 food dishes and 2 water bottles, although they only drink out of one of the bottles.

 

[bpatters]

Take out the pigloo (or cut another door in it) and any other hideys that have only one way in or out. You don't want any place in the cage, whether ramp or hidey, where a pig can get trapped. That's just an invitation to squabble.

How big is "pretty big?" And what shape is it?

 

[undefined838]

The shape is a rectangle, it's about 4x2 feet, a little bigger.

 

[CavyMama]

3 males in a 2X4 is a tight squeeze which is likely the cause of the fighting. Expand the cage to at least a 2x6 to alleviate squabbles. And by 2X6, I mean grids, not feet.

 

[bpatters]

Ditto @CavyMama. You've got eight square feet. Seven and a half is the recommended size for one pig. Thirteen square feet is recommended for three pigs, and more room is always better with boars. Wide is also better than long and narrow. They'll still have adolescent squabbles, but you don't have a snowball's chance in you-know-where for three males of that age to get along in that size cage.

 

[undefined838]

Ok, thanks so much. Any ideas on how to expand the cage? ...I don't have very much room at home, and I really don't want to put them in the basement because I've read that it might make them sick if it gets too damp. Our basement is finished but I would still prefer that they not be moved there.