Revolution Male dominance and age

[sed2142]

Will younger male cavies develop to surpass the dominant alpha male? There is a definite dominant male in my herd; however, the younger male cavies are starting to become larger than the dominant male. Will relationships or hierarchies change? Currently, I have 3 males, roughly 3 months apart.

 

[bpatters]

Yep, they'll change. And along with that will come a lot of rumbling, chattering, humping, chasing, and stanking. You may even have to separate them for a while if one of them is just determined to be a real tyrant.

How big is your cage? Adolescent males need a LOT of space, and a wider cage seems to work better. If it's only two grids wide, or the equivalent distance in whatever you've got your cage built of, some pigs won't be able to go past one another in a narrow corridor without starting a squabble. If it's three or larger, they're able to get away from one another with fewer problems.

 

[IlovemyRhino]

Yep, they'll change. And along with that will come a lot of rumbling, chattering, humping, chasing, and stanking. You may even have to separate them for a while if one of them is just determined to be a real tyrant.

How big is your cage? Adolescent males need a LOT of space, and a wider cage seems to work better. If it's only two grids wide, or the equivalent distance in whatever you've got your cage built of, some pigs won't be able to go past one another in a narrow corridor without starting a squabble. If it's three or larger, they're able to get away from one another with fewer problems.

my male piggies fight over dominance and even when they are on my bedroom floor they chase each other with their nose in the others butt not necessarily chattering but making noise. the only time I found that they don't do that is when they are in the bath tub they huddle together. Also my piggies were only making noises and chasing each other at first, then they started humping, then chattering, and now they chatter chase each other around the cage and flip things over, i'm not sure if they fight however.

 

[sed2142]

Thanks for the input. I have a C&C and the base is 2x4 and their loft is 2x2, totaling 30sq. ft. So far, they all seem to get along, but there's been a lot more rumble strutting and chasing lately. Also, because my dominant male has been marking so much, I've had to clean his perineal sac weekly to avoid impaction. I can't help but think that if I switch over to fleece, his sac would be cleaner. Fleece is an entirely new world.

 

[inky rose]

This is such a useful thread for me, thankyou

 

[bpatters]

sed2142, marking has nothing to do with impaction. Impaction usually happens when a male is getting older and the muscles have less tone. Lack of exercise has something to do with it, also. Impaction is the build-up of poop in the sac.

What you likely have is just junk getting caught in there when he flips it open to mark the cage.