Introducing Two Boars - Didn't Turn Out How We'd Hoped

flutterbye

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 5:00 am


Hi, hoping for some advice from anyone who's had a similar experience.

Background - BamBam's an approx 10month old boar who lost his cagemate and best mate nearly 2 months ago. He dealt with the loss brilliantly & I saw no signs of depression. Not wanting him to have to spend the rest of his days alone, we adopted Dougal (also a boar), who we were told is around 2yrs old. He stayed in quarantine upstairs for 3wks, both have had a MOT at the vets, and he's spent the last 2 weeks in a cage side by side to BamBam's so they can smell/hear each other.

D day was yesterday - I'd researched as much as I could & it was time to go for it. Took over 2hrs to make my living room in to a massive piggy pen, so they had plenty of space & 2 of everything. 3...2...1... Both pigs in... Munch munch on lettuce...Hello how are you? Let's smell each other's butts...Eat more lettuce...

My heart was in my throat but first signs were promising, nothing more that a few rumbles & sniffs. Then, for the next 1 and 1/2 hours Dougal (the older one) was obsessed - humping BamBam in every position possible - I felt sorry for BamBam but knew this was 'natural' so hung back. I was an inch away from seperating them because Dougal wasn't giving BamBsam ANY peace at all, not to eat or anything. When Dougal 'relieved himself' (and I had my first experience of Boar glue, which I later had to cut out of Dougal's hair), he chilled - left BamBam alone and went to lie down and relax.

At this point I'd have thought BamBam would have ran to eat hay, but no, after being violated for nearly 2hours he trotted over to Dougal, asked 'can I sit here'? Dougal said 'yep' and so he did! I've pictures to prove it!

The next hour was great, and I really thought we had a breakthrough - they were sharing the food, walking, talking, checking on each other, rumbling now and again but getting on fine.

Then it started again... Dougal humping BamBam non-stop & not giving him any peace, only this time BamBam decided he wasn't going to lie still and take it, and started trying to do the same to Dougal, who responded by chattering his teeth... I couldn't go to bed knowing they weren't 'at peace' with each other, and so 7 hours after putting them together they went back to their respective cages, mainly because through all this BamBam had been doing his 'I'm really worried & I don't like this' whining sound which normally is only for when I'm cutting nails.

When returned BamBam crashed out on his fleece, it was clear he was really glad to be home. Dougal on the other hand spent the next half hour chewing the bars of his cage trying to get to BamBam. I moved his cage away from BamBam's slightly and Dougal settled down & went to sleep.

I'm soooooo disappointed, gutted actually. The purpose of getting another was for BamBam's benefit - companionship, and it turned out to be quite an ordeal for him which I feel really guilty about now that it didn't turn out ok in the end.

I really thought they'd settled down after the first 'round', which was hard enough to watch, and now I just don't know what to do. Do I give up on the whole idea & leave them in separate cages? do I try again? do I risk making BamBam miserable just to try & get them to get on? I'm very confused.

If anyone has read this & can think of what I may have done wrong, or can offer any advice as to how I can help them be friends, I'd be very, very grateful.

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babytulip07

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:25 am


Sounds like normal boar behavior. It can take days for them to work through their dominance issues. My girls have been together for 3 years and they still bicker and chase each other.

Separating them will make it harder for them to work through their issues next time. You need to put them together and leave them together. The rule of thumb is not to separate them unless there is major bloodshed. It actually sounds like they were getting along quite well. It looks bad but its really pretty normal.

cfoster1966

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:33 am


It sounds pretty normal to me but I have sows. I would suggest putting them back together on neutral territory for a couple of hours. If this is the only behavior happening, then put them in the cage together (after cleaning it). I have found that the worst behaviors, after introductions, happen when they are placed in the cage together. I always plan to have them in the cage for at least hours before I have to leave the house or go to bed. If there is no bloodshed, just keep an eye on them but leave them together. Good luck.

liland

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:35 am


I introduced my two boys last week. There was a lot of humping in the new cage, no boar glue yet though. It is really hard with the teeth chattering, to just leave them to it, but they'll get there.

My boys love each other most of the time, but they are still bickering now, after a week. The fact that your boys sounded like they were getting on, lying down toegther, sounds like they will manage to work it out. Was Bambam the submissive in the original pairing?

It helped for me that the cage is right by my bed, so if there was anything bd going on, I would have heard it.

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BeanieBaby11

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:39 am


It sounds pretty normal. Try not separating them again, because then you will have to start from square 1. I would suggest redoing the neutral territory since they've been in separate cages overnight, and while they are in there, clean out their cage completely. Scrub everything down to get rid of smells and rearrange everything. This will make them much less defensive since it will seem like new territory.
Good luck! You seem like a great piggy mom with many worries! Intros can be very worrying, but don't worry, almost all matches have worked out beautifully in the end!

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Amy0204
We miss our sweet Oreo

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:45 am


Ditto on what everybody else said. I had a pair that would still whine at each other and hump periodically, years after they were placed together. You just have to resign yourself to the fact that the introduction period might be extended and there might (probably will) be some behaviors that make you feel uncomfortable. But unless there's bloodshed, leave it be. Otherwise, they'll never figure it out on their own. It sounds as if you have the makings for a good pairing. You're just going to have to be patient and drop back a bit while Bambam and Dougal work this out.

JensCritterDen
Guinea Pig Market

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:55 am


It sounds like normal Boar behavior to me as well, they just have to work through it which can take days to weeks. As long as there is no blood shed they should be fine.

When I have had stubborn boys that didn't want to get along I would put their two respective cages right up against one another so that they boys could smell each other and be close without being able to harm each other. If this makes you more comfortable, try that for a week or two so that they get used to each other and then try introductions on neutral territory again.

flutterbye

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:41 am


Thank you everyone for your kind words that are very reassuring. Those words were going round in my head for the whole 7 hours, 'this is normal behaviour, this is normal behaviour, leave them to it', but after such a long time I admit they broke my will.

I suppose the feeling I have about not actually wanting it to get to bloodshed stage before seperating is also pretty normal - keeping pigs has done absolutely nothing for my nerves! (that and the fact that I'm allergic and get 'piggy rash' if they snuggle to my face/neck means that I must really be a bit of a slave to still love them soooo much he he :)

liland - I think you may have hit the nail on the head with your question - in the original pairing Pebbles was ill for most of his short life so BamBam was naturally the boss I think, and took care of his mate. Whilst during the 'first round' BamBam gave in to Dougal's age and size and submitted whilst being humped continuously for 2hours, when it came to round 2 he'd decided he didn't really want to put up with that again - I think if Dougal had let him be they'd have been fine together, but he was just relentless and fixated on him. Every time BamBam rumbled at Dougal, Dougal would jump on his head, and hump him for what seemed like a very long time, in an 'I've already told you once, I'm
the boss' kind of way. I could actually hear BamBam's breathing become laboured a couple of times (maybe cos he was being humped on the head & Dougal's bodyweight was pressing on his chest) and I did seperate them when this happened, perhaps another reason why I wasn't comfortable leaving them together last night.

My partner was at work all day, but when he came home he saw the 'chilled out' phase where they were sharing, talking etc. and thought it had been a success. Then when round 2 started he said he didn't like what he was seeing at all and sees no reason why they can't be kings of their own castles, side by side, but seperated by grids so neither feels threatened or undermined.

I know everything I've read here says that they're better being paired, but I struggle to answer my partner's question on this point - if they're both happy, what advantage is there to having them in one cage rather than two side by side? Perhaps you who know a lot more than I could help me answer this one?

Today, BamBam's been going about his own business like he doesn't have a care in the world. He's happy. Dougal, has spent most of the day hiding, and when he has come out he has been more vocal than usual (he's normally quite a quiet pig) talking to BamBam through the cage - BamBam hasn't answered him yet so I doubt all is forgiven after yesterday.

I do want to give it another go, but only if both pigs will end up being happier for it - I guess nobody has a crystal ball for me to know that, but I do feel that I need to give each one individually the most contented life, in whatever set up that may be, rather than trying to push the issue of pairing them up, unless there are really major benefits of doing so. If anyone knows if there is, please let me know.

Thanks once again for all your posts :)

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 10:18 am


The encouraging prospect is the new, more aggressive pig is two years old - likely out of adolescence. So you have a better chance of them getting along.

You might provide some multiple run through, around, hide in boxes/tubes for a reintroduction. Oh, and hide food here and there too.

liland

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 11:00 am


If you do try again, an important thing that I've found after reading posts on here, is to change the cage around a lot. I move things around the cage, and swap toys and tunnels etc out every day for something different. Of course it's nice to do too for established pigs for more fun in their lives, but it really has helped keep my boys from irritating each other too much! I'm also not using any houses or cozies, only tunnels, as they have more than one exit.

My Chiral was always a very happy loving boy, but he's become much more pig-like in his behavior since we bonded him with a baby. I think he really enjoys it, they're always talking, and he has someone to snuggle with when he wants, not just when I'm there for him. Although he hasnt yet received any grooming from Tesla, he does give a lot of grooming, and Tesla follows him around like a devoted puppy.


After some arguments over food bowls (despite having two), I removed them completely and am scatter feeding for now.

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RavenShade
Thanks for the Memories

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 11:32 am


I would make the intended joint cage as big as you can, put lots of hideys and water bottles, food dishes, etc. in there and make sure that it's been scrubbed so it's neutral.

Even after years of living together, my trios would sometimes get into boarly behavior, especially after a cage cleaning. I wouldn't worry too much unless someone is hurt or someone is not able to eat (put the bottles/food so that no one pig can guard them all).

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Feylin

Post   » Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:49 pm


I think the only mistake you made was separating them, honestly.

If no one is loosing weight or blood, they are fine. Don't feel bad or think that one of them is unhappy!

They are unhappy until they have their herd all sorted out to their satisfaction.

Did you read the Boars Behaving Badly thread? The first part of that details exactly how to set up an intro to succede.

You might want to try next when you have 48hrs to hang around the house so you dont have to worry about leaving them alone together.

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