Adding boars

Wiebke

Thread 'Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?'

1 Singles and Pairs
Singles: Challenges and solutions for different singles situations (link)
Pairs: A closer look all possible pairings (link)
2 Trios and More by Gender
Boars
- Trios and quartets - Why better avoided
- Large Groups...
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Wiebke

Thread 'Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?'

1 The hormonal teenage months
- What are the most difficult times?
- What are your boars' chances of making it together?
- What can help to boost your boys' chances?
- What does NOT work?
2 Fighting, bullying and when to separate
- What are the signs of a dysfunctional bond?
- How can I test whether a bond is no longer working?
- What to do if your boars had a bloody fight?
3 Life after...
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I've linked some threads for you to read through until a bonding expert comes along.
 
Sorry I meant to say yes you can bond your single piggy with a new friend but it is best to bond him at a rescue. That way he can choose his own compatible friend.
 
You can and you should! No guinea pig should live alone. The main thing you'll have to think about is whether you'll go with a female (often easier to bond with a single boar) or another male (this avoids pheromones in the room potentially straining the bond between the remaining boar pair). You'll have to make a guess based on your setup and the personalities of your piggies, and then find a compatible pig in a rescue. Permanently having two groups may not be what you hoped for, but once a bond has failed, there's nothing you can do
 
If you decide to have a mixed gender pairing, please get your boy neutered and wait 6 weeks post op, unless you find a sow who has been spayed.
 
As the single pig would need to live next door to the pair, that provides through the bar interaction so it’s not a case that you absolutely have to get another piggy for the single. However it would be advisable to do so if you can manage with four pigs.

I had four boars in two pairs. One pair broke down and lived side by side with each other (the bonded pair lived in an upstairs cage). Following the death of one of the bonded pair, I then had three singles for a couple of months. I managed to bond two of the singles meaning I had a pair and a single: they lived like that until the older of the pair passed away two weeks ago. I am now back to two separate singles living side by side and that is how they will stay as I am ending my piggy journey.

You would have to be careful if you neutered the single (and after the six week wait) and bonded him with a female - regarding sow pheromones being around the bonded boar pair (it can work out, but it can also cause a bonded boar pair to fall out by smelling her).
 
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