Fighting my bonded first pair started fighting

[gess789]

so i got my first two piggies about 4 months ago and after a small case of ringworm the two boars got along great. so i wanted to expand my herd and i started look for another male bonded pair i found them and bought them and two days before i picked them up my original 2 boars started fighting badly. i separated them and hoped to try again but then i was focused on the new piggies. after they were done with isolation i tried intorducing all of them but the original two piggies started fighting again lunging with teeth bared, so i split them again.
so i introduced the new piggies to one of them. and those three were fine for about 2 weeks. but now they are fighting. do i need to get 3 separate cages for my 4 piggies?
my cage originally was 6 ft by 10 feet now with the separation its 6 by 6 and 4 by 10. if i do get more piggies how do i find ones that will work with my piggies?

 

[ItsaZoo]

A group of boars will not work. They may work in groups of two, but when they are young they get testy when they hit their “teenage” years, which is probably where yours are at right now.

Two together will need a very large cage, several hideys with two exits so no one gets cornered, two sources of water and food, and fleece fringes or something hanging to block direct view across the cage so they don’t always see each other. Be prepared to end up with separate cages if things don’t work out.

 

[Smileandnod]

Although an upper floor does not count towards cage size, I encourage anyone with squabbling pigs to make this addition to their cage if they can for more harmony between them. It gives everyone their space and allows them to be out of sight of each other when needed.

Just be sure to make this upper floor:
1. safe & secure - make sure to use plenty of zip ties with a C&C cage to create a secure structure and make sure that there are grids and coroplast all the way around so a pig doesn't fall or jump from a second level. If you can't make it as safe & secure as the bottom level... don't include it. Don't risk having a sagging, unstable upper floor.

2. Big enough in length and width (so no 1 x anything sizes!). You want to make sure they have room to run past another pig with lots of buffer zone and no one can get trapped in a small, confined space. If you have a big enough bottom level, you can even make an L shaped upper level to add an additional option for pigs to be out of sight of each other (again, just be sure it is stable and supported to prevent a collapse!)

3. And include at least 2 ramps. Again, prevents a pig from trapping another one because there are 2 exits. There is always that one pig whose favorite spot is right at the top of the ramp...this prevents anyone else from going up or down unless they want to risk getting nipped as they go by. But with at least 2 ramps this isn't a problem. Make sure the ramps have side walls on them and create a gradual incline (don't make it too steep). Also make sure there is enough room at the bottom of each ramp on the main floor for a pig to comfortably have room to maneuver away from the ramp without being squashed up against a wall.

Good luck!

 

[spy9doc]

@Smileandnod...great advice!

I'm a big advocate of an upper floor/loft on a cage. The loft has duplicates of everything on the main level and is like a penthouse apartment. I don't have room for a very large cage and this is about the best I can do with the space I have. It's a 5x2 with a 2x2 loft and you're are so right that a 1x anything loft is just not workable. My boys are still quite young and the cage size is adequate for zoomies.

One of the benefits of having two ramps is that they can run laps and include the loft in their "track space". I'm still trying to figure out a way to expand the cage, but considering that they already occupy nearly one-third of my small home office, it just may not be possible.