2 year old boar with new boar

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Georgeatron

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Hi,

I have had a search around regarding housing multiple boars together but most of the time these relate to younger (1-8month) pigs.

We inherited a single 2 year old boar from some friends whom wanted to send him to a rescue. He has always lived on his own and was relatively shy but we get him out on the carpet every night and he seems to be getting more confident.

We would like to get another pig to keep him company but are not sure what to get. A young neutered boar, a young neutered female, rescue boar/female?

Please give some advice because we do not have enough room to have multiple cages if they do not get on as we already have the biggest single cage we could have in our house. I understand that it depends on the pigs but what would be the best way to maximise the chances of them being housed together successfully?

Thanks,

Georgeatron.
 
Hi welcome to the forum :)

Although I don't have experience of pairing boars up you have do have options :)
You could find a cavy savvy vet and have him neutered then after 4-6 weeks when he wouldn't be able to get a sow pregnant you could introduce him to a girl (or more).
There is also the possibility of introducing him to a younger boar or another laid back older boar.

If you could contact a piggy rescue in your area they would be able to advise on how best to introduce him to another piggy. They also might have a suitable piggy in need of a new forever home and may be able to help you with matching a pig and bonding them.

Not many places spay sows as I believe it's not a straightforward op and neutering a boar is the safer option. As far as I know neutering a boar doesn't change his behaviour it just stops his ability to reproduce.

It's great that you're thinking of getting him a friend they are lot happier in pairs or groups.

Natalie
 
Hi there and welcome to the forum. I would recommend you contact a local rescue so that he can go to find a friend - of his own sex and hopefully around the same age. The rescue should be experienced in bonding single boars as we all get so many come in. They will try their best to match him to a suitable pig - it may take a few different piggies before they find the right combination. If an adult boar isn't the solution for him then perhaps a baby boy that he would adopt will work.

If you let us know where you are based, there is probably a rescue in your area.

Suzy
 
The best thing is if you could find a guinea pig rescue within your reach that will allow you to take your boy for some "boar dating" to find the right friend for him. Some rescues will even bond your boar for you. They will also give you support and advice during the settling in period. Two guinea pigs need a minimum of 2x4 ft space, three 2x5 ft. It is advisable to give two boars more than minimum space.

Otherwise, you can have your boy neutered by a good and experienced vet (that makes a big difference in terms of risks and outcome). He can then be introduced to one or two sows after the appropriate 4-6 weeks wait. Cross gender pairings are usually very stable once the introduction has been successful.

Alternatively, you can try to bond him with a baby boar yourself; there is a chance of a fall out when the youngster hits puberty and the big hormones. If this happens with a rescue boar, you will be able to contact the rescue again and work out a solution.

Here is a list of reputable guinea pig rescues in Britain. It is worth ringing up all rescues within your reach to ask whether they have a suitable companion and whether you can bring your boy with you. Start with the most promising one. If you could tell us your area, members may be able to give recommendations.
http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp
 
Thanks a lot for the advice guys.

We have talked about getting our boar neutered but after hearing about some bad experiences with them dying through complications with the operation we do not want to risk getting our guinea pig neutered. It seems silly to risk when he is perfectly healthy and happy rather than getting his potential companion neutered that we have no emotional attachment to. I hope that doesn't sound callous but that is the way we thought about it.

We live in the Leeds area.

The cage we have is 2ftX3ft and it is really the biggest we can fit in our living room as we only have a small house. That is why we get him out as much as we can which is every night for at least 1.5 hours.

We were thinking of getting a young boar and having him neutered, although getting an older boar that is already neutered from a rescue may be a better option.

Thanks.
 
Georgeatron said:
Thanks a lot for the advice guys.

We have talked about getting our boar neutered but after hearing about some bad experiences with them dying through complications with the operation we do not want to risk getting our guinea pig neutered. It seems silly to risk when he is perfectly healthy and happy rather than getting his potential companion neutered that we have no emotional attachment to. I hope that doesn't sound callous but that is the way we thought about it.

We live in the Leeds area.

The cage we have is 2ftX3ft and it is really the biggest we can fit in our living room as we only have a small house. That is why we get him out as much as we can which is every night for at least 1.5 hours.

We were thinking of getting a young boar and having him neutered, although getting an older boar that is already neutered from a rescue may be a better option.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Please be aware that unlike rabbits neutering a male guinea pig is only necessary if you want to put him with females. Neutering does NOT change their temperament or instincts, it only takes away the ability to make babies.

You have a better chance for piggy dating with a specialist rescue. Most RSPCA branches I know are not keen on people bringing their pets with them.

You can always post in our "rescue wanted" section and rescues on here that rehome further afield can contact you if they think they have a suitable piggy for you.
 
Ah, I thought getting them neutered would be similar hormone control, and thus aggression control, as in other animals.

I've had a look at the Milhaven Rescue, that is quite close to us.

I'm going to email them today and explain our situation and see if they have any pigs that would be suitable. We don't have the recommended minimum 4X3ft cage though but hopefully we could come to an arrangement.

Georgeatron.
 
Guinea pigs, boars in particular, need at least 4x2ft for a pair. Have you concidered constructing your own c&c cage for him and his new friend. You can design them to fit the funny corners and shapes that most normal cages don't fit in and they can be as tall with multiple floors. Here the link to some of the c&c cages some people on here have made.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53210
 
Yeah, I've already looked and found the C&C stuff on ebay and was going to buy some and construct my own cage before I purchased this one but like I said we don't have much space and this cage fits in perfectly.

We can construct a larger cage but it will be in a small 'spare room' we use as an office/book shelf room but we do not spend that much time in there. We thought he would be better downstairs in the living room because we spend most of the time in that room so we can keep an eye on him and it gives him someone to talk to when we get back from work/uni.

If we get another then we may move them both upstairs into a bigger cage in the smaller room. I know for a fact that he has a much better life now than he did before so regardless of us getting another I feel better his situation has improved.

Thanks,

Georgeatron :O)
 
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