[Gpdd] Re: [CARE] Introducing piggies to one another

DebJonSara at aol.com DebJonSara at aol.com
Sun Apr 10 04:57:52 EDT 2005


Forest,

I am delighted to read that you have rescued a pair of piggies, but my heart 
really goes out to poor Wookie. You don't mention ages, nor housing 
arrangements, but the cuts and scratches worry me - if there is physical pain, there is 
probably emotional trauma as well.

I have only ever been able to house male pairs together if they have either 
been together from a very early age (eg either littermates or bought as 
newly-weaned babies together) or if I have introduced a very young male to an 
already-established and lonely adult male. I once tried to "add-in" a third 
newly-weaned male to a bonded pair consisting of an older adult and one introduced to 
him when he was a baby, but it just led to the bond being broken, lots of 
fighting and eventually three separate cages to be cleaned out instead of one!

I hope you already knew that introductions should be done on neutral 
territory, ideally during floor time? Whenever I have done introductions, male or 
female, I have always at least given the cage an extremely throrough clean and 
rearranged the cage "furniture", or, better still, replaced it with a completely 
new cage on the introduction day. If you are increasing the number of piggies 
to be sharing it, you really do need to increase the cage size at the same 
time.

Then, within every cage that accommodates more than one pig (apart from the 
one with two brothers, who have always been together), I always provide at 
least two separate "burrows", or hiding places. Some of these are purpose-built 
wooden ones sold by pet stores, some adapted wooden wine boxes, some plastic 
baskets with openings cut in and some just cardboard boxes with openings cut in. 
I would have to say the cardboard boxes are probably best, as they are free, 
can be replaced when soiled and the pigs love to throw them about. I have found 
the piggies are not possessive about which one they use, but they do like to 
have the option of not having to share the only hiding place with their 
cagemate all the time. Like humans, sometimes they just want to be on their own!

You ask for suggestions to get them to calm down. Well, what I would do is 
buy them a new, bigger cage. Put them in a large neutral area to play, which 
itself contains lots of hiding places plus food sources, whilst you set up the 
cage with all completely new stuff, including at least 2 hiding places and some 
favourite treats. Then, if possible, just leave the new cage where the piggies 
can find it themselves and get into it or, if this is not possible, put in 
one new pig, then Wookie, then the other new pig. Then just observe.

Rumblestrutting is normal and not really a cause for concern - they need to 
establish who is the Alpha Pig. Do you know whether Wookie or Chewbacca was the 
Alpha Pig before? Did the rescue tell you which of the two you adopted was 
the dominant pig? 

A bit of chasing about is also "normal" and should not worry you. However, if 
there does seem to be real fighting going on, I feel you should remove Wookie 
and put him back in his old cage. Keep the cages beside one another, and 
every day repeat the introductions at floortime, then try again putting all three 
in the same, cleaned-out again cage. 

If they really do not seem to settle down together after a fortnight or so, I 
feel it would be kinder to accept that Wookie doesn't want new cagemates, and 
just let them live side by side for the rest of their days. They will still 
"talk" to one another through the bars, so Wookie won't feel lonely, and poor 
Calvin and Hobbs won't feel too stressed. Remember, they will be feeling very 
bewildered after going through the experience of abandonment, neutering, 
shelter life and then rehoming. 

I do wish you the very best of luck. Please monitor the wounds for the 
development of abscesses, and make sure Wookie doesn't become jealous of extra atten
tion lavished on the new arrivals. 

Keep us informed as to how it all goes!

Debbie (and her 18 "Dolly Mixtures!") 



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