Good Afternoon from Australia

[cherrysoda007]

Hi,

I have been here before, but had no piggies back then n didnt use my account.

Well, I am back and have two beautiful boys Pierre and Elfie. I am thinking of extending the piggie family but not sure whether to get girls or boys. I have been told that if I get girls that my boys will fight, even if the girls are in one cage and the boys are in another, (is this true?), so, don't really know what to do. I guess I would like some help on this situation.

A bit about myself
I am a mum of 3 children- 2 boys and a little girl. 2 dogs- a rottweiler and a chihuahua, a cat, a weiro named Harry, 5 chooks, and 2 boars - Pierre and Elfie. 
So, guess I am busy, especially on xmas holidays. We also live on a farmlet. 

Glad to join n be great to hear all your piggy experiences and stories  

[cherrysoda007]

Here is Elfie



And here is Pierre

[Bean]

Hello and a warm welcome to Wheekers. Your pigs are adorable and I just love their names - especially Pierre!

Some boys will still get along great when there are females in the same room (but obviously not in the same cage, that would be pushing it too far!), but others can get overexcited by the mere smell or presence of females, and it can be enough to set off a bit of competition.

I think space is a key factor, and two boys who get along well and have loads of room, will do much better than if they were in a smaller cage, as any minor over-excitement is far less likely to lead to conflict.

I had two boys who got along, but started squabbling when they hit the teenage years. I did have girls in the room at that point, and definitely felt that the times they were aware of the girls' presence which made them go a bit hyper and loopy. But I also had them in a standard sized cage which, with hindsight, wasn't big enough to give their relationship a chance.

But as my current boys fell out in a much larger cage and without any females around (they're brothers and they never actually fought but just weren't a good personality match and there was constant tension), I'm just more of the mind that male matches can be a bit more delicate! So many boars are sweet little things, and it's always been a swaggery alpha male type that's caused the upset in my pairs (randy and throwing their weight around on a daily basis!) - I don't know if either of yours are like that?!

We had the squabbling brothers neutered and they now both have wives and are very happy. But we notice that if you get out one female and then afterwards get the male from the other couple, the male goes mad sniffing you and looking for the other female. When you put them back they then tend to get over-amorous with their partner, so I think smells are a massive factor and you'd need to be careful of that kind of handling if it affected them.

I think in your shoes I'd probably have another male-male pair for the easy life! But others have probably had experiences which would reassure them that having females around would be no problem.

[cherrysoda007]

Cool. Thank you for the info Bean. I was actually leaning toward 2 males. Thinking it would b easier. But, we'll see ☺
My boys do fight a little, but Elfie is the younger of the two and likes to try and misbehave. Pierre is the older so he trys to keep him in line.
They used to try and argue while out of the cage but have sorted that out kind of. Sometimes it still happens

[3piggles]

Hello and welcome back I agree with Bean. I had two boys next to two girls, and the girls never caused the boys to fight. I've heard of exactly the opposite happening, so it really could go either way. I guess you need to decide if you have the space to have to separate the boys, get them neutered, etc., or if you'd rather just stick with boars. Even that can be a risk, as not all boars get along, and even if a meet and greet at the rescue goes well, getting them home and into a different setting is a completely new situation.

I have had good luck with boar/sow pairings, even with one boar and multiple sows. Of course, there was one sow who just couldn't seem to fit in with her sister or the boar. I've had good luck with sow/sow pairings. I've had good luck with boar/boar pairings, though I did get one boar who was so incredibly jealous of the other boar, he attacked the other boar all the time. Basically, there's no guarantee, so be prepared to have to house them separately, just in case.

Your babies are gorgeous! I especially like Pierre's beautiful markings Enjoy your babies

I forgot, we've had a couple of members who were very successful with multiple boars in one cage. Boars seem to need a lot more space than sows need. One kept her boars in a garden shed with levels and ramps that gave the boys a lot of good roaming space, exercise space, and space to just get a little privacy from time to time. The other had a really huge cage with a lot of different spaces, things to do, etc., to keep the boys busy.

I hope you find a good fit for more piggies

[cherrysoda007]

Thanks

[jolovespiggies]

WElcome back love, your piggies are just gorgeous.

Hugs
Jo xx