Adding a female to a room w/ boys?

[4boipigs]

This is likely not going to happen, but I'm curious. My oldest boy lost his partner and I've wanted a girl for quite a while. I'm hoping I could find a spayed female somewhere to bond him with, since he is older and neutering would be risky. I have another, seperate pair of boys in the room. They are in a cage w/ a divider as they got into too many fights. My lone boar is in a cage on a table over the seperated boys. If I got my lone boar a spayed female, would that upset the boys below him when they smell her?

 

[Wiebke]

This is likely not going to happen, but I'm curious. My oldest boy lost his partner and I've wanted a girl for quite a while. I'm hoping I could find a spayed female somewhere to bond him with, since he is older and neutering would be risky. I have another, seperate pair of boys in the room. They are in a cage w/ a divider as they got into too many fights. My lone boar is in a cage on a table over the seperated boys. If I got my lone boar a spayed female, would that upset the boys below him when they smell her?

Hi

Spayed sows don't come into season anymore but they still are sows and produce sow pheromones and all the typical sow behaviours. It can cause an established boar pair to get into trouble or even fall out.

Please be aware that spayed sows are not all that common.

While boars growing up and living constantly around sows produce a calming compound this is not present in boars- only rooms; hence the risk of over-reaction as the introduction awakens the competition for being chosen by sows in a group to breed the next generation, which - while by no means as fierce as in the wild guinea pig species - is still there lurking below the surface as soon as you switch from a 'bachelor' to a 'husboar' environment. Ideally you keep boars only pairs/groups out of reach of sow pheromones.

Please see our detailed practible options re. boars and sows in the same room in chapter 3 (dos and don'ts) of our Boar Guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[Siikibam]

It shouldn’t upset them given they are living separately. If they were still bonded then that could have potential to cause issues.

If you do end up doing it (if you can find a spayed sow) then I’d advise you have the boy and his girlfriend on the lower floor and the other two upstairs. Just for their peace of mind and not getting them ramped up! You’d also have to be careful with cage security. A boar will become pretty agile if there is the hint of a sow nearby.

 

[Bluebell]

Mine are all in one room indoors currently and are both sows and boars - I've never had any problems or fights, but they are all used to being around each other and I very rarely buy in adults who might have been kept isolated.