3 piggies together?

[Poppy'sMum]

Okay so my dream is to have a mum & daughter together, am looking at a 1 1/2 year old mum & daughter 6 weeks old, but have also fallen in love with another younger one that won't be ready until a few more weeks, any tips on bonding the three as the mum & daughter are obviously already a pair what difficulties would I face & what would be the best way to introduce them all together?

I've never had 3 before only ever had two girlies, worried that three could be a crowd?

 

[flintstones]

Oooo exciting - in my experience (only had one trio) and I did find my girl Wilma developed a better bond with my boy Fred so I decided to get Pebbles her own husband. I find they get along better as pairs but it depends on the pig's I do think now Pebbles is more a loner pig although her and Patrick seem to be my most bonded pigs. I do think a Trio can work as pigs tend to do there own thing!

When introducing my boy to his two girls - I did it on the bathroom floor lots of veggies and hay it was the dullest introduction I've ever seen can't say I was complaining!

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do. xx

 

[Little Piggles]

I had a trio of girls and they got along brilliantly I added a baby to an established pair and they both took to her straight away

I would imagine you would have a pretty good chance of Mum accepting the other baby as she would not be a threat to her top spot and the hierarchy should evolve as the babies got older.

That's my theory anyway!

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

Three is a difficult number with guinea pigs as there's a much greater chance (especially if two are related) of having an outsider pig that's lonely. I find that trios are more difficult. Two, or four plus tend to work better, but obviously not everyone can have groups of pigs. With a group, outsider pigs are never alone because there's more pigs in the same boat as them that they can find company in.

It does also depend on the nature of the pigs as to how they are with other guinea pigs. If there's a mum, youngster and other youngster the mum will either take on the young one as a surrogate or wont be too happy with it. I have two mums and two babies together in a creche and at times the mums will spend time with each others babies but it's clear that their own baby is their favoured! Mums with younger babies can be quite difficult. A new baby is no threat, but mum will still be very maternal to her own. So it may be a case of accept but not include.

It would be worth seeing if the place you're getting the mum and baby from can try the youngster in? Or consider adopting both mums (if they're up for adoption) and babies if you have the space?

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Oooo lol I would love 4 not sure if OH is going to agree to three yet though!

Thanks, this is interesting, at least with girls it is a possibility, my friend has two girlies that were litter mates, they have never got on & she has them in two separate cages which is a shame, although they can see each other. I guess if piggie no 3 was not included then I could always get her a friend & then I would have 4 rolleyes omg lol x)

 

[CandyFloss]

I've got 5 girls living together. One is mum to 3 of the others and 1 is unrelated. The mum and the unrelated one were together before I got them though and one was pregnant and had 3 daughters so I didnt need to do any actual bonding as the unrelated sow stayed with the mother throughout the birth etc (and helped out),
Hope it all works out well for you whatever you decide
x

 

[*SRH*]

Three is a good number to have as they can easily live happily together without limiting space and if one dies early, the other will still have a friend without going through the stress of bonding again.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

My biggest worry at the moment is that the mum may be protective of her baby towards the other new one. Has anyone any experience of this? The babies are going to have about 4 weeks between them so their age gap is okay. I really don't want the other baby to be left out & the Mum & her own baby be cosying up to one another & the other one out on her own

 

[Wiebke]

Whether a trio works out or not, depends very much on the character combination. they can be brilliant - or a huge headache! However, in a few weeks, nursing (and protectiveness) of the mum will be over. On the whole, babies are usually accepted.

If you end up with an outsider problem, you can think about getting a fourth girl or a neutered boar.

 

[piggyfan]

I have two sisters and introduced Sophie. They all got along nicely and the sisters did not leave her out. They had to fight to establish who was the boss but once they did it went well. I say go for it!

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Whether a trio works out or not, depends very much on the character combination. they can be brilliant - or a huge headache! However, in a few weeks, nursing (and protectiveness) of the mum will be over. On the whole, babies are usually accepted.

If you end up with an outsider problem, you can think about getting a fourth girl or a neutered boar.

That's interesting! So for instance, in about 6 weeks time the older baby would be 12 weeks, Mum would no longer be as protective of her? She may be more accepting of the younger one? Should I introduce them all on neutral territory, ie a new cage etc? Thanks!