pig's fighting!

[tinkerbell]

I have had my two boys for about 3 months now ( they are brothers) and they have never fought before. but now they are fighting all the time! nothing serious or anything, no blood or bite wounds but I was wondering should I split them up or just let them figure it out for them self? The bigger one (Melmen) is alot more aggressive towards Joey the smaller one and he ( Joey) is starting to get really skittish when ever I try to handle him.

please any suggestions and comments would be great. thanks ----Tink

 

[Amanda]

I am having some major fighting problems as well. Almost everyone on here is telling me to leave them together to sort out dominance unless there is bloodshed. I myself decided to separate. Everyone seemed to be happy like that. I noticed that they were missing each other after a bit and I took the divider down. A fight began and Axle is now sitting in my lap bleeding from the foot. Bad idea. Mottley is now going to be a lone pig.

 

[TheAlmightyMiko]

If there is no blood shed, please try to let them work things out on their own. Seperating them now only means having to go through the process of reintroducing them later on. It sounds like they are simply trying to work out the pecking order between the two of them, which is completely normal. I know it's tempting to seperate them because it seems like they are fighting, but sometimes pigs just need time to work out dominance issues; especially males. Only seperate them if you notice injuries or they become one floating, shreiking mass of fur.

How old are the brothers? If they are under a year, they could be going through puberty, in which case the fact that they previously got along could change because they are now "teenagers" and are both trying to establish dominance within the group.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

I am going through the same thing, only one of the dominant females is chasing the other semi-dominant female away from the herd. So now they are split 2+2 and only get floor time together until they settle down.

 

[LiciaMommycott]

Animal fights can look very scary and far more serious than they actually are. A lot of it is noise and posturing and pushing that allows them to establish dominance without anyone getting seriously hurt. If no blood is being shed, I think you can probably leave them to sort it out for themselves. They'll be happier in the long run if they establish a relationship that will allow them to be together rather than you separating them before they get that chance.

 

[Amanda]

That is what happened with Mottley, puberty. Axle was running and hiding, not fighting back and has bites all over his rear. He was sick and the stress was making him worse. I had to separate.

Tinkerbell, if you think that there is enough danger (only you would) then separate. Only you know your boys enough to make that decision. If there isnt any bite wounds or blood, it should be fine to leave them together.

 

[tinkerbell]

My boys are about 6 months old. so I should just leave them then? I only have a 2x3 cage right now but don't worry I'm going to make it bigger within 2 weeks. In the end there cage will probley be a 2x4 cage with an upperdeck. could the cage size also be why their fighting?

 

[Slap Maxwell]

Boys need lot of room to establish territory, it could have something to do with it.

 

[TheAlmightyMiko]

Often times with boars, they do seem to act out if they are living in a more confined space. A change from a 2x3 to a 2x4 can often make a world of difference. I would give it a shot, and at the very least they have a bit more room, even if they havn't quite sorted out the dominance problem.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Part of the problem is space, part of the problem is puberty. Don't separate unless there is bloodshed. Making their cage a 2x4 or even larger if you can manage will help the problem some, but until they get all the way through puberty will things totally settle down.

 

[Amanda]

How long does puberty last in piggies?

 

[tinkerbell]

that's exacily what I was going to ask

 

[DocDolittle]

I believe that puberty is most apparent from 4 months to eight months. Please, don't separate them. it just makes things worse in the end. Unless there's blood, don't separate them. I agree, the problem is puberty and the small amount of space. As long as they work it out without blood it should be fine.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

There are other cases to seperate them. If they are causing th other pig not to eat they need to be seperated.

 

[kurzon]

Would you consider pulling hair serious? That's what my 2 pigs were doing because one of them has very long hair. I came back into the room one time and saw one of my pigs with a tuff of hair in his mouth while the other was chattering and clearly agitated. Is that just dominance or is it serious? I'd like to know because I really wish they would get along so I don't have to separate them.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

Would you consider pulling hair serious? That's what my 2 pigs were doing because one of them has very long hair. I came back into the room one time and saw one of my pigs with a tuff of hair in his mouth while the other was chattering and clearly agitated. Is that just dominance or is it serious? I'd like to know because I really wish they would get along so I don't have to separate them.

No, it is not too serious, don't seperate them. Only seperate them if one is chasing the other away from food or their is blood drawn.

 

[tinkerbell]

well I thought that if I give them more floor time then they wouldn't have to be borthered by the other one any more. it kind of worked! I just finished giving them their very first REAL floor time ( didn't have space before and wasn't allowed ) and they loved it, I put them in our master bathroom( bigger then my room)

at first they just followed each other around and were still sort of nasty to each other (no blood though) and when they finily realised that they had this whole area to them selfs well lets just say they popped more then popcorn does!

I belive that if I give them more floor time untill I get their new cage built then things it the Klatecki house will be alot better.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Hair pulling isn't serious. Taking a huge bite out of the other pig would be serious.

The large floor time space and them getting along better indicates to me that they will do better with a larger cage as well.

 

[tinkerbell]

thanks for all your help! I will be sure that I give them more floor time untill I can build them a bigger cage.

 

[Kerri]

Hi,
I've got two male guinea pigs, P.J. (about 5 or 6 years old) and jerry (about 2 years). I had tried putting them together when I got jerry, in a 2x3 cage and they fought alot. It had seemed to me that they had slightly bitten each other on the nose as there was a speck or two of blood on each of their noses and figured i'd ought to seperate them. So currently (about a year later) they each have their own 2x3 cages which share a wall. However they are always calling each other and appear to really really really want to be with eachother. Then when i let them on the floor together jerry mounts p.j. like crazy and then the fighting begins, usually ending with tuffs of hair in each others mouths and me putting them back into their designated cages. If i combined the two 2x3 cages together, would i have better luck with them being housed together? I really want them to get along so they aren't so lonely but i don't want them injuring each other.
What do you suggest?