[Gpdd] Behaviour: RE: Fighting Boars

[Eve the Cavy Fanatic]

Hi there,

My advice to you is sometimes slow and steady wins the race.  I had a 
wonderful pig named Holllister and two littermates Hamlet and Ophelia (both 
boys).  Whenever I cleaned out one cage, I'd put the displaced piggies into 
the other's cage while their residence was being cleaned (20-30 minutes).  
Well, Hollister and Hamlet were both dominant and it always ended with 
Hamlet jumping out of the side of the cage onto the dining room floor  
(don't worry, the cage is at floor level, too!).  Ophelia and Hollister just 
acted like they didn't exist to one another.  That was the routine until 
Hollister's death.

When I adopted Paddington,  I did the same thing.  Paddington LOVED Hamlet 
and Ophelia!  Ophelia couldn't care less and Hamlet wanted nothing to do 
with him.  This time, however, Hamlet never jumped out of the side of the 
cage during the playdate/cleaning sessions.  They would just chatter and 
posture.  Well, that went on for 6 months.  One day, I put the boys in with 
Paddington, and Hamlet and him did that twirbly sound to one another like, 
'Hey, how's it going'.  No chattering, no posturing, no increasingly angry 
whines and squeeks.  Since Ophelia's death, Paddy and Hamlet have lived 
together with only the occasional nose bite if Paddy's being too familiar 
towards Hamlet.  I have recently seen them sleep *almost* cuddling together.

Maybe your pigs are both too dominant and they'll never get along.  At least 
they'll have each other's company through the bars.  But, I'd encourage you 
to let them have playdates on a regular basis for a while longer before 
deciding that's the case.  They might still work out their differences and 
be able to live together at some point down the road.

All the best!

Eve along with oldster Hamlet, Paddington the leaper and Agnes Nutkin my 
cuddlebug

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