Bonding Dominance Issues For A Year

[Peanut_Butter2]

I've had my two boys for about a year now. And they've been fighting since day one. I don't know if this is a common occurrence or boars usually work it out by now. Does anyone have any advice on how to make them Bond better? My black and white piggy Oreo is the dominant one, however peanut butter still fights with him all the time. For about a week there was a dominance switch it was great they wouldn't fight and they would snuggle up next to each other. But that time is over another back to fighting. Will they ever get along? When I say fighting I mean rumble struts and nose ups and mounting. They are very agressive with mounting esp Oreo who will take his entire body on top of Oreo.

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[chloej]

Have they ever bitten each other? Have they ever broken the skin? If the answer is no to both of these questions - then this is perfectly normal boar behavior. Boars are always announcing who is dominant to the other pig. And if they are both dominant, then it is a never-ending dance to figure out who should be top dog. I have had all of the things you describe happen with all of my boar pairings once the younger boys hit puberty. I've had four boars total in my life, and paired off boars that lost their cagemate to old age with a younger boar. The dominant behavior you describe is completely normal based on my observations.

You can try to alleviate the dominant behavior with a few things -
During feeding times, give them two bowls of food at opposite ends of the cage. They can't be in two places at once.
Make sure their cage is large enough. I noticed more dominance behavior in a 2x4 C&C cage, so if yours is around that size, you may want to size up to 2x6 or larger. I currently have a 2x6 cage for my boys and they can get away from each other if they need to.
Make sure they have more than one place to hide.

No matter what, though, you are going to continue seeing the same behavior. It's just the way boars do things.

 

[Peanut_Butter2]

Have they ever bitten each other? Have they ever broken the skin? If the answer is no to both of these questions - then this is perfectly normal boar behavior. Boars are always announcing who is dominant to the other pig. And if they are both dominant, then it is a never-ending dance to figure out who should be top dog. I have had all of the things you describe happen with all of my boar pairings once the younger boys hit puberty. I've had four boars total in my life, and paired off boars that lost their cagemate to old age with a younger boar. The dominant behavior you describe is completely normal based on my observations.

You can try to alleviate the dominant behavior with a few things -
During feeding times, give them two bowls of food at opposite ends of the cage. They can't be in two places at once.
Make sure their cage is large enough. I noticed more dominance behavior in a 2x4 C&C cage, so if yours is around that size, you may want to size up to 2x6 or larger. I currently have a 2x6 cage for my boys and they can get away from each other if they need to.
Make sure they have more than one place to hide.

No matter what, though, you are going to continue seeing the same behavior. It's just the way boars do things.

I'm working on getting a bigger cage and two entrance hideys thank you for aleivating my worries!

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[chloej]

For hideys you can also just throw a couple of old towels or fleece blankets over the sides or tops of the cage. My boys LOVE to hide under towels and fleece.

 

[Peanut_Butter2]

For hideys you can also just throw a couple of old towels or fleece blankets over the sides or tops of the cage. My boys LOVE to hide under towels and fleece.

I do that all the time! My piggies love it as well!

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[CupcakeCavy]

All of the behaviors you listed are completely normal for guinea pigs. It really isn't fighting, and you should keep them together unless blood is drawn.

 

[onefutui2e]

What you can do for hideys is to take a cardboard box and cut arches in them. it does the job well and sometimes it seems like if they can't see each other, they won't fight as much. They might chew it up after some time, but it's cheap enough to replace.

 

[Peanut_Butter2]

What you can do for hideys is to take a cardboard box and cut arches in them. it does the job well and sometimes it seems like if they can't see each other, they won't fight as much. They might chew it up after some time, but it's cheap enough to replace.

Thanks! My piggies are big chewers so I'm sure they will love eating the cardboard as well as hiding in it

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