aggresive boars?

[kaileylane]

Hello all,i just rescued two Abyssinian boars from someone that did not want to care for anymore.kinda dumped on me because of short notice of a neighbor moving out of town.lets just say they were in a itty bitty cage(18 inch long) in pine bedding that was completely soaked and hard,no house,no hay .....it was sad:(

The guy i got them from said they have had them for 2 years and they get along fine and have never fought, or so he says.well i got them home,put them in a much larger cage and although they seemed thankful to be on dry bedding they starting clicking and swaying and later even got into a scuffle but no blood drawn.some thing to add is the black and white one is completely missing one of his nails.....no root or anything, it gone.not sure if it got stuck on something or what,i dont think that would happen in a fight but correct me if im wrong .so i have witnessed them clicking and swaying 3 times and its been about 3 hours.i was concerned and have separated them,was i right to do this?i plan on making them a much larger c+c cage.my thoughts are that the cage is too small for the two of them ,it is 40in L X 21in W X 18in H(this cage is 2x the size they were in before),this has to be too small still.should i keep them separated until i can make them a larger cage? or would that risk them getting into a fight when they get reintroduced? also they lay down alot.....is this normal?one of them seems to intimidate the other every time food is around or it approaches the other..... i had two bowls and house but they still were clicking.one of them drink weird,he puts his mouth piece of the water bottle all the way in his mouth,not sure if hes playing or what(i had a rat that did this for no reason).Is it the cage size? the new house? stress? or a combination.i think its partially the new hut/house,the brown one would go in the hut and would start clicking when the black and white one came close,they just seem very tense around each other.



They got some veggies .....they had only been getting those once a week at there old home now they will get them everyday.They never had a hut/house so they have those now.i got oxbow food and hay ,and carefresh bedding.i was worried he maybe didnt even know the sex's but i checked that too and they are boars. either way i think they are happier,they were trying to dig in the bedding on the way home and they couldn't, it was so soaking wet and nasty.....it made me so sad...now they can dig and seem happy.anyway any advice would be great.

[3piggles]

Relax and take a breath! They've been in the old cage, which no matter how horrible, was the environment they knew. They established a dominance hierarchy in THAT cage. Now they are in a completely new cage, not just on clean bedding in the cage they've always known. Dominance HAS to be reestablished.

It looks mean and bullying, sometimes, but unless blood is shed, or one is being kept from the food/water or obviously so afraid they aren't functioning, don't interfere. They will sort it out.

There are also a lot of new thing, like the houses, ample food they no longer have to fight over, and clean bedding they used to hide in, but no longer need to. Let them adjust to their new surroundings, then try changing things regularly. Maybe Pile a towel or other piece of fabric in the cage for them to play in/on. Try stringing some cardboard toilet paper rolls together and hanging it on the side of the cage as a chew toy. Cardboard boxes make fabulous piggy toys. Cut openings in as many different places as possible, and let them play through it, sleep in it, chew it, etc. Paper bags are great that way, too. Just cut a back side door for a second opening.

You can remove the houses and drape hand towels/dish towels over the side of the cage. They can play through, stop for a nap drag a veggie treat in to eat in private, etc.

Lastly, two of everything, water/pellets/houses. Make the hay a shared experience, but give them a chance to get away from each other, if they need to. They can play through one cardboard box or paper bag, one pile of fabric, but it's best not to make them share the other things.

You will do just fine!

[jolovespiggies]

Please keep us in the know love, you are doig a really fantastic job.

Hugs

JO xx

[yodelpig]

Piggies always have to sort out the dominance afresh in any new territory. As long as there is no blood drawn, you are alright. I hope that they will settle into their big cage soon and learn to enjoy life!

Great that you are giving them a new chance!

Please don't hesitate if you have any questions about piggy care or behaviour.

You are welcome to open a blog-like thread about your boys in our "meet the piggies".

[jenbonjovi]

What a sad story with a happy ending because you are now giving them everything they need. Good luck. X

[kaileylane]

thank you all so much for the help.i just built them a 4ftx3ft cube cage because i just couldn't wait,they are super happy and not fighting at all .it seems now that they have more room they dont bicker as much,if one is being huffy the other just goes in one of the hiding places/houses and that ends it,iv been watching them like a hawk of coarse,my bf even set up a web cam on them so i can watch from the living room on my laptop lol:)im learning as i go and spoiling the piggys with veggies(not to much of coarse) fresh hay and love everyday:)


3piggles your advice helped alot,i gave them a few boxes with holes and paper bags along with there houses.i made the toilet paper roll toy and they seem to like it!they are having a ball running through everything and chewing it all up:)they have 2 of everything on opposite sides of the cage,it seems to be working well,they have fabric in each corner they sleep on all the time now .thank you so much

[3piggles]

Glad it helped. I haven't found much of anything my pigs like more than a good chewable cardboard box with lots of entrance/exit options!

[kaileylane]

well things have changed since the last post.the black and white guy(gizmo)got his butt handed to him a few time:(after about one day of hiding and no fights something changed, no matter what the situation yevguinea would stalk gizmo all over the cage.....he would not stop for hours until he cornered him and would attack,during the attacks the gizmo just kicked and screamed...not really fighting back at all.gizmo was never once the one fallowing he was only being chased none stop.it was no good.there was blood shed and lots of fur ripped out,poor guy.i broke up the fights asap.i have them separated now in there own 2x3 c+c cage's.now gizmo is healing from being attacked,nothing to major but lots of cuts on his hind end,but to be safe hes going to the vet tomorrow.is it possible they just are not going to get along? was i too fast to separate them? i really felt gizmo was being completely beat on.i believe they are brothers.let me know if you have any input.

[dd]

YAY happy guinea pigs
good job <3

[3piggles]

The most common reason for boars to fight that way is puberty, raging teenage hormones that make them barely socially acceptable. In the wild, they would have had older boars to nip them into line, and been able to get away from each other when needed. Just the two of them in a cage doesn't allow for any of that. If one or both is/are under a year old, there is an end to puberty in sight!!!

Keep them separated long enough for the victim to heal physically and emotionally. Then try them together in highly supervised neutral areas. Keep a towel ready to toss over Yevguinea if he starts attacking Gizmo. Even watch for him to try to trap Gizmo in a corner, and stop it before it happens.

There are dominant pigs that seem obsessed with dominance. My Momo is that way. Morty is too big for her to attack, so Momo took out her dominance obsessions on Mia. Same situation as your guys, with Mia all bitten up on her back and butt, hiding in corners crying. They were separated for a good year before Momo decided she could play nicely with Mia. So far so good having all three back together. Momo still bullies Mia, but she no longer bites her constantly. Mia allows a certain amount, then uses her size and weight to stop it. Not ideal, but it works for them.

[kaileylane]

thank you 3piggles, according to the last owner they are over 2 yrs old,are hormones still a factor at that age?They seem alot happier separated,well gizmo at least.He is finally able to sleep without being ambushed.gizmo had his vet check,a few of the bites were pretty deep.He is healing well and on anti biotics and cream for this wounds.im spending alot of time with them since they are separated.Gizmo did come with a few scabs/bald spots and scars on him when i brought him home originally..i assumed they were maybe fighting from being in a tiny cage,well a bigger cage did not help much...i have a feeling poor gizmo has been getting beat up for a long time:(the vet confirmed they are cuts from the fights,he has no mites or skin issues.

That is so interesting about your guineas that used to fight,it give me hope there is a chance.i want them to have cage mates but i do not want gizmo being pick on so well see how this goes once he's healed.

thanks again!

[3piggles]

Just reread your first post, and no, they are way past puberty, so that's no longer an issue. The other issues still exist, mainly how they perceive survival based on what they've known for 2+ years. They aren't just reacting to their new surroundings v. their old surroundings, but to the training they gave themselves to survive in the old surroundings.

Animals create survival methods to get through horrible conditions and treatment. Your boys did that, each his own way. Their living conditions changed overnight, but their understanding of what it takes to survive may never change, or may change slowly over time.

If you want to try them together, once Gizmo has healed physically and emotionally, I would try a much bigger cage, possibly two levels or one level with lofts. Give them as many ways to get away from each other, and to get together when they want to, not because they have to. If that doesn't work, I think they just need too much space to put in one cage.

For now, let them both heal, physically and emotionally. Keep the new surroundings good for them: clean bedding, fresh hay/pellets/veggies/water. Plenty of play things to keep each one entertained, and lots and lots of love and snuggles. Good luck!!!

[doodles]

Hi Kaileylane,

I agree with 3Piggles, give them time to adjust to you and your home and the way life will be with you. Let them live separately for a while to recuperate/rehabilitate from their previous home.

Let them learn they can trust you & your home/their new environment and relax. Their behavior may change a lot after some decompression time. It sounds like the previous home was ill-equipped for keeping happy piggies, and like 3Piggles said, they had to learn to function there. Now, they have a chance for a happy life, but maybe don't understand that they are safe now--that they are in a home where they will be properly cared for. After time I believe they will learn to trust their new situation and maybe some of the aggression and hostility and probably just plain frustration will dissipate over time.

Hang in there & give it all time. It sounds like you are doing everything right!

[kaileylane]

3piggles that is great info and your teaching me alot,were giving plenty of one on one time with them since they got separated,they really enjoy it and they are way spoiled with veggies and hay and new bedding:)thank you doodles.they are doing great on there own.gizmos cuts have healed completely and im hoping his hair grows back.They both seem to be coming out of there shell more and not hiding as much.ill come back to you guys when it comes time to try and reintroduce them.but it wont be for a while.thanks for helping get me through this so far:)

[3piggles]

You are welcome, and good luck!