I've posted on here before about my two rescue boars - and thank you for all the wise words you've given me before. They were adopted in June aged 4 and 6 months, so are now 7 and 9. We had a bit of mounting and dominance asserting in the first few weeks but they soon settled down and I was hoping all was well. But...
While we away for a weekend over the summer a friend looked after them and they both had a single puncture wound. No fighting/biting when we were back, so we assumed it was down to them being in their hutch too long as the friend hadn't been able to get them in their run.
But the older one has got a bit nippy with DD2 lately and has bitten her two or three times when she's been holding him awkwardly.
And twice in the last week, the younger pig has had a single puncture wound. Am sure it's a bit rather than just scratching - a single deep, bleeding wound both times.
So what do I do? All the forums seem to say you must separate if there's any blood, but I've never seen them fighting and they often choose to sit next to each other when they're in the run and they seem to like each others company. The problem does seem to be when they're in the hutch alone for too long (it's 5x2). So it's only going to get worse come the winter. Do we need to separate them for a few months, do you think?
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Am I going to need to separate my boars?
dotty2 · 16/09/2013 10:43
Try them with more space and more in-house entertainment . Boxes, tunnels, deep hay.
Toilet roll inner tubes stuffed with naice hay.
It seems a shame to split them . As you say it might have been with them being confined more.
(My original pair had a nasty bust-up but we kept them seperated at night and out in the Pighouse by day. Their winter night cage was split with a heavy grid. That was the first winter. Last year they were fine together)
I've noticed my DD GO (GP1) is getting a bit more "bitey" . He pulls clothes more and can catch skin. But he doesn't mean it nasty. DD can put her finger right in his mouth and he's 
. If he wanted to bite he could !
Mine (GP1 is 3 next month GP3 is about 15 weeks now) will have a little snipe at each other if they are confined.
Usually if we have them in the carrier after a cuddle and I'm doing supper. GP1 thinks it's the little boys fault if I'm not quick enough.
In their Pighouse they just shove each other out of the way (they are ill mannered little pigs really 
)
I'm having to rethink the winter night cage by splitting the top and bottom to give 2 areas 2'x4' but shallower.
Otherwise I think there would be a Teenage Rampage (to quote The Sweet old gimmer alert )
Trouble is this time of year it;s more difficult to throw them out in their run to let steam off 
at teenage rampage. Am wondering if two small indoor cages for winter nights might be the way forward - we haven't sorted indoor winter arrangements yet - will look at costs and ponder.
Last year I put 2 boxes of hay, some veg and a water bottle in our 4'x2' cage. They had their own area and slept happily.
This year (with our pigling approaching his Terrible Teens and growing at a rate of knots) I'm going to butcher alter the cage so that the plastic tray (with a door cut in it) can go up against the wire part.
So they'll have a tray with newspaper and catlitter ( water/food) then the wire bit full of hay.and a tarpauline base.
Hopefully with enough space we can get through the winter. Which everyone says is going to be rough this year
Oh that's but I guess you get to the stage where you worry about the boar that's being picked on and think "Is it worth all the 'andst' to keep them together?"
At least even if you do have to keep them seperate they can still interact vocally and know each other is there.
When my boys are in their Pighouse they sit apart and when they do sit close together it's when they trundle over for food.
There's sometimes a bit of in-house bickering going on though. (More head-flicking and the odd swipe but no teeth involved)
Are your guineas getting equal shares of the food? That for me would be important too. I can accept and tolerate that there'll be spats as long as they're not serious. And yes my GP3 still tries to bonk GP1
But if I thought one of the guineas was being chased away from the food by the other (and now my GP3 is getting big and bolshy my GP1 seems scrawnier and smaller. I'm sure it's an optical illusion, he's still a pig boar) .I'd have thought it would be GP1 doing the bossy breeks behaviour but seems not.
See if you can get the Playhouse sorted for them. Completely neutral.
See if a new start will calm them down.
But if their behaviour escalates then sadly you might need to reconsider their sharing.
I know everyone says about same sex pairs but in "the wild" male guineas wouldn't live together. It would be a male plus females.
I've just remembered who my boys remind me of. - Steptoe and Son
GP1 is the wily demanding dad and GP3 is the put-upon Lothario Harold.
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