male pigs fighting?

[gillhugh]

hi everyone,im new on here and 2 months ago i got 2 male piggies..eric and fergie.ive never had pigs before, i did all the research on them beforehand ie...food,housing etc etc... i only have 1 problem...they keep fighting and screeching at each other..when i see this it looks like eric is the bully as fergie runs away from him??? i know how important companions are to pigs but should i seperate them??

they are kept indoors have plenty of cuddle time with myself and my daughter and are perfect except for this neither have been injured... are they playing i dont know???

anyadvise would be appreciated

[Hugs-Cavies (Doris)]

How old are they?

[Tanya's Tribbles]

sorry but it sound like they may have to live along. were they living together when you got them.
Tanya

[michaelsmum]

Hi everyone! I have the same type of problem with my two male piggies. I've only had them for 1 1/2 weeks and Ben definitely "picks on" Sam, the smaller one. Ben sometimes nips at Sam or takes veggies from him (even when there's another perfectly good piece of veggie for him! : Now, when Ben walks up to Sam, Sam makes these warning squeaks as if to say, "Don't bother me!"

I was hoping they would both settle down, but I suppose I'd be quite happy if they kept on as they are and didn't get more aggressive. I think they are about 12-14 weeks old now.

ps-they do like to popcorn and can quite happily walk around the cage making contented noises, so I thik they are generally quite happy (and as I type this, Sam in doing major popcorns! )

[eppingstrider]

It sounds like they're starting to get along ok. My boys knew each other before I got them, but even so Fred is usually the one that starts the squabble and George used to move over. These days they're more likely to discuss it and both slink off!

Fred still occasionally takes something Geroge is eating, but sometimes George gets his own back. They've only ever play nipped each other though, no actual damage.

[PigPog]

Are Eric and Fergie related? Brothers are usually easier to keep together as they tend to remain together from birth.

Is there a lot of loud chattering from the teeth? Do they raise their noses up toward eachother while chattering? These are both signs of aggression and the louder and quicker the chattering, the angrier the pig.

Chasing and screeching sounds to me like one is purposefully showing dominance over the other. If you've had them for two months and the chasing and screeching hasn't subsided, then personally I would be wondering if they're just not going to get along. If they're not doing eachother an injury then that's a positive however, and boars who are really not going to get along have usually at least bitten eachother by now.

You could try bathing them in the same shampoo and cleaning their cage out to make them smell the same and make their territory neutral. You could also try putting a tiny bit of Vicks VapoRub above their noses to mask their personal smells while you're encouraging them to bond.

Also, give them two feed bowls and two water bottles. My paired boars do seem to get along a lot better if they both have their own bowl and bottle. I've been trying this idea for a couple of years and I do believe the results have been positive.

Make sure they each have somewhere they can retreat to, so a hidey hole at both ends of the cage should provide them each with somewhere to go when they're not getting along so well.

If all of this fails, then I'd suggest buying a second cage and putting the two side by side. They won't be able to chase eachother around anymore, but they will still have eachother's company and their own personal space. The best thing is you'll be able to keep them both, as I suspect you and your daughter are quite attached to them.