A good sign?

Status
Not open for further replies.
helen105281

helen105281

Senior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
18,877
Reaction score
10,562
Points
2,155
Location
Herts
We have Jessica and Amelie in a Trixie Trun type thing in the living room where Gertie and Johnny have free run of the room. Gertie and Amelie are very interested in each other and Gertie has been washing Amelie through the mesh. Is that a good thing? She also sits sprawled out right next to them. Here is a pic of them together.

020.jpg


Poor little Jessica, her and Amelie are sorting out their hierarchy and it seems Amelie is the dominant one.

Also a pic of Amelie having a cuddle (not been able to catch Jess yet)

002-2.jpg
 
I think that the signs are good and that you can introduce them all on neutral ground etc.

There is always a bottom animal, that is how social groups work. Having a bottom animal is as important for the wellbeing of the group as having a leader - it is good to remember that! Apart from the place in the hierarchy, my two youngsters are leading completely happy lives and they do not look suppressed at all once the vital dominance has been sorted!

Your little sweeties are far to young to challenge Gertie and only add to her consequence as top sow of a proper group.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Wiebke. We are going to try intros at the weekend in the hall and hopefully the larger TrixieTrun will have arrived and they will all live in that with fee run of the living room (all hazards and gaps blocked off of course). I think Johnny should be ok he seems oblivious to what is happening as always lol.
 
Those signs are all good. As Wiebke said, all herds need a bottom animal. Hazel has always been bottom animal and has always been fine with it! They always run around in order of dominance too- Sorrel, Rosemary, Hazel! Even when Rosemary was bonded back into the herd after operation, she came back into number two! You have lovely guinea pigs by the way!x)
 
Thanks SRH, only just noticed your reply.

The dominance issues are still going on now they are all together as to be expected. Is occasionally Gertie but more the little ones still trying to establish their own little pecking order. Jessica seems to be the bottom sow but is getting much braver each day. Last night though they were both under the coffee table and had their chins raised and then Amelie tired to headbutt Jessica. All seemed ok this morning though and they were eating togehter. Johnny is a bit annoyed at having so many females around him though and went off in a strop when Jessica tried to nick his veg from his mouth.
 
We call it "handbags at dawn" when sows are squaring up to each other. It is part of a still ongoing dominance dispute.

Poor Johnny - Llewelyn feels for him; who said the life of a pasha would be easy?
 
Thanks Wiebke, will remember handbags at dawn when they do it then. Johnny just likes an easy life I think, he is spending a lot of time in the cage under the ledge but then he likes it there anyway, quite often when we just had the 2 we would get home and they would be opposite ends of the room. Both adults seem very aware that they are babies though and are careful around them which is sweet. Is lovely now too as when we chop the veggies all 4 come to the kitchen door and take a lettuce leaf.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top