2 pairs or make it a herd?

aly13

aly13

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi Ive had two girls aged about 3 for a couple of years now. I just got a couple of new girls who are about a year old. I'm really unsure on whether to try bonding all 4 or just keep it two pairs. Its still the same amount of work if they are separate, just have to make a barrier in their playpen during floortime or outdoor time in two seperate pens etc.

My main concern is I dont want to risk it ruining the bond my two older girls have. The idea of 4 girls all interacting and being together is nice but idk if its maybe just less riskier and a better idea to keep them seperate as two pairs. Until one passes and then of course introduce the lone girl to the others.

Anyone have experience of separate pairs or female groups or have any idea what I should do? :) Thanks
 
aly13 said:
Hi Ive had two girls aged about 3 for a couple of years now. I just got a couple of new girls who are about a year old. I'm really unsure on whether to try bonding all 4 or just keep it two pairs. Its still the same amount of work if they are separate, just have to make a barrier in their playpen during floortime or outdoor time in two seperate pens etc.

My main concern is I dont want to risk it ruining the bond my two older girls have. The idea of 4 girls all interacting and being together is nice but idk if its maybe just less riskier and a better idea to keep them seperate as two pairs. Until one passes and then of course introduce the lone girl to the others.

Anyone have experience of separate pairs or female groups or have any idea what I should do? :) Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi

You can never predict the outcome as it entirely depends on the personalities involved and whether one of the leading sows defers to the other or not.
You always have to introduce piggies on neutral ground. See how it goes. If the bonding is taking a wrong turn, then please abort and keep the two pairs in a cage each. Sows don't usually fall-out but if you notice a stressed leader start picking on their mate, then it a good indicator that the bonding is not going well. The piggies won't fall out if you stop promptly.

Here is our step-by-step bonding guide, which guides you through all stages of the complex bonding process and includes group bondings and a special chapter on the specifics of sow bonding. Both guides cover the two weeks post-intro group establishment phase (or dominance phase) that many people are not aware of and what behaviours to expect. You will hopefully find it very helpful as it details what behaviours and dynamics to expect for every stage and which ones tell you that the bonding has failed at any of the stages.
Here are the links:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
All the best! As long as you have the option to keep them in their pairs, you can only gain. However, if you have considerable anxiety issues and cannot tolerate sitting through any amount of acceptable dominance behaviours (absolutely crucial for establishing a hierarchical group as the very core of guinea pig society) without interfering, then please leave it be.
 
Good luck if you decide to merge the pairs. 🤞🏻
 
Aw I have 4 girls who all love together. I love my little tribe haha
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

You can never predict the outcome as it entirely depends on the personalities involved and whether one of the leading sows defers to the other or not.
You always have to introduce piggies on neutral ground. See how it goes. If the bonding is taking a wrong turn, then please abort and keep the two pairs in a cage each. Sows don't usually fall-out but if you notice a stressed leader start picking on their mate, then it a good indicator that the bonding is not going well. The piggies won't fall out if you stop promptly.

Here is our step-by-step bonding guide, which guides you through all stages of the complex bonding process and includes group bondings and a special chapter on the specifics of sow bonding. Both guides cover the two weeks post-intro group establishment phase (or dominance phase) that many people are not aware of and what behaviours to expect. You will hopefully find it very helpful as it details what behaviours and dynamics to expect for every stage and which ones tell you that the bonding has failed at any of the stages.
Here are the links:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
All the best! As long as you have the option to keep them in their pairs, you can only gain. However, if you have considerable anxiety issues and cannot tolerate sitting through any amount of acceptable dominance behaviours (absolutely crucial for establishing a hierarchical group as the very core of guinea pig society) without interfering, then please leave it be.
Click to expand...
Would neutral ground have to be a freshly cleaned mat and not one my pair have already been using during floortimes too?
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

You can never predict the outcome as it entirely depends on the personalities involved and whether one of the leading sows defers to the other or not.
You always have to introduce piggies on neutral ground. See how it goes. If the bonding is taking a wrong turn, then please abort and keep the two pairs in a cage each. Sows don't usually fall-out but if you notice a stressed leader start picking on their mate, then it a good indicator that the bonding is not going well. The piggies won't fall out if you stop promptly.

Here is our step-by-step bonding guide, which guides you through all stages of the complex bonding process and includes group bondings and a special chapter on the specifics of sow bonding. Both guides cover the two weeks post-intro group establishment phase (or dominance phase) that many people are not aware of and what behaviours to expect. You will hopefully find it very helpful as it details what behaviours and dynamics to expect for every stage and which ones tell you that the bonding has failed at any of the stages.
Here are the links:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
All the best! As long as you have the option to keep them in their pairs, you can only gain. However, if you have considerable anxiety issues and cannot tolerate sitting through any amount of acceptable dominance behaviours (absolutely crucial for establishing a hierarchical group as the very core of guinea pig society) without interfering, then please leave it be.
Click to expand...
sorry for the double reply but i just remembered i was also wondering if bonding could be done outdoors in a pen? seeing as that would be a fresh area for everyone. My girls are used to being out but i dont think the new ones are. I would wait until spring of course
 
Neutral territory is somewhere they don’t see as part of their normal space.

You can do it outside but they need to be in a bonding pen for hours so not only does it need to be warm enough (so at least May), you need to be able to supervise them.
Also, if the bonding pen is to be on grass, then you also would need to have acclimatised al their tummies to grass (all piggies need to be prepared for grass each year after a winter off of grass)
 
I bonded 2 pairs of sows and used a paddling pool as a bonding pen.
I covered the base with towels and put a pile of hay in the middle.

I kept the forum bonding guide open and that, along with support from members kept me sane.
It was exciting and took about 2 weeks for the middle 2 girls to sort themselves out.
I count myself lucky that my herd worked out.

Hope all goes well for you if you decide to try.
Have a plan B in case it doesn’t work out.
Also advisable is having chocolate and coffee ( or wine ) at hand!
 
I usually plonk one of my foldable outside runs on a fleece in the kitchen if the lawn is not ideal but you can in a pinch even use your bathtub or your shower floor with a large beach towel for grip.

Guinea pigs are territorial. A neutral space describes anything that is not part of their usual cage and set-up in order to avoid the hostile invader reflex.

You can find more very practical tips in our bonding guide in the chapter 'setting up an introduction'.
Here is the link again: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
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