{"id":8464,"date":"2021-03-22T10:04:51","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T10:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/?p=8464"},"modified":"2021-03-23T17:08:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T17:08:26","slug":"how-to-make-pigs-stop-attacking-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/how-to-make-pigs-stop-attacking-you\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make Pigs Stop Attacking You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pigs are very strong animals, so it stands to reason that you want to do everything you can to prevent them aggressing toward you as they grow<\/a>. In this article, we provide smart tips and advice on how to make pigs stop attacking you. Read on to learn more in this guide that is to help you prevent your pigs from attacking you.<\/p>\n

Pig Aggression Has Many Negative Effects<\/h2>\n

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Aggression in growing pigs is the subject of a great amount of study. Both aggressive sows and boars can be problematic. Even when swine aggression does not result in injury or death to humans, an aggressive mindset in pigs can lead to reduced productivity and reduced meat quality, along with injury to stock and increased veterinary bills.<\/p>\n

Sows May Be Naturally Aggressive<\/h2>\n

Sometimes when sows with piglets are housed together, aggression can become a problem. This is because it is natural for them to want to establish a pecking order. Generally speaking, the largest sow will become dominant. She may pick on other sows and their young.<\/p>\n

Additionally, an older sow may tend to aggress toward younger ones. Most of the time, this will manifest as bluff and bluster rather than injuries. Even so, the resultant stress will impact your herd negatively.<\/p>\n

Small or young sows that are bullied may exhibit signs of fear and avoidance behavior. They may become afraid of approaching the feeder, and this may result in their missing meals and failing to thrive.<\/p>\n

Even if a bullied sow is not afraid to eat, she may have trouble converting the feed she does eat into weight gain. Additionally, the stress caused by bullying can lead to young sows losing their litters.<\/p>\n

To avoid this sort of aggression and the resulting problems, you should always keep a close eye on your herd. When you introduce new pigs to the group, watch them very carefully for the first two days.<\/p>\n

You can expect to see some mild aggression as they regroup and settle their pecking order. If they are not able to resolve their differences within a couple of days, you may need to change the grouping.<\/p>\n

How Can You Keep Sows From Attacking?<\/h3>\n

Large sows may also become aggressive toward you or other people working with them. This is especially true when they are nursing young. A sow with piglets may try to bite when you need to handle the piglets.<\/p>\n

This behavior can be reduced by keeping the animals in a very low stress, non-threatening situation. Too many animals on site, too much activity and noise and other common stressors will increase aggressive behavior in sows.<\/p>\n

It’s also important to realize that if one sow is distressed, others around her will become distressed. When other sows hear distress vocalizations as you attempt to work with the piglets of an aggressive sow, they will become upset.<\/p>\n

This can lead to piglets getting crushed, reduced milk production and disrupted suckling patterns. All of this amounts to reduced productivity.<\/p>\n

Additionally, pigs that are upset may attempt to bite you or other workers through the bars of their pens or through their feeding containers at feeding time. All of this demonstrates that every effort should be made to keep sows calm, quiet and contented.<\/p>\n

If you notice that sows that are kept in farrowing crates are biting and chewing the bars and\/or the feeders, it is an indication that you may expect to be attacked. These animals are not content.<\/p>\n

If you do not keep your sows in farrowing crates, they naturally will have more opportunity to attack you when they have piglets. In this sort of system, you need to build in a number of factors to help prevent aggressive behavior.<\/p>\n

Begin by choosing sows from a bloodline that is known for calm, quiet behavior. Strive to maintain a quiet and stress-free environment for them, and always be sure to deal with them in a confident and assertive manner as they grow from gilt to mature pig.<\/p>\n

Making sure that they understand that you are the dominant creature right from the start will go a long way toward preventing them attacking you in the future.<\/p>\n

Aggressive Boars Are Challenging<\/h2>\n

Boars (intact male pigs) are naturally more aggressive than sows, barrows (castrated adult males) or young pigs of either gender. Boars must never be housed together, and it’s best to not house them near each other. They will constantly aggress toward each other and attempt dominance by trying to mount one another.<\/p>\n

This sort of behavior results in injury to the boars and also produces an extremely stressful situation that can lead to aggression and stress among adjacent sows.<\/p>\n

Boars that are constantly engaged in one-upmanship against each other are naturally stressed. This can result in weight loss, injury, lameness, failed feed conversion and even breeding failure.<\/p>\n

A breeding boar kept alone can be aggressive towards its handlers. When keeping an intact boar, it’s a good idea to start with a very young piglet and assert yourself by behaving confidently with it right from the get-go.<\/p>\n

As a mature, intact male, your boar should always be kept busy and distracted with interesting and unusual materials to consume and play with. For example piles of:<\/p>\n