Advice on introducing new pigs

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Ronnie

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Hi, I'm new to the forum so I hope I've put my post in the correct section, apologies if not. Sorry for the long winded post but here goes.....

Up until a few days ago I had two happy 2 year old sows that lived together in a large hutch/run combo from babies, never any issues at all. Sadly, one became ill and died suddenly on Monday at the vets. My vet feels the problem was something sinister.

This leaves my poor little remaining girl on her own so I've brought her inside in a guinea pig cage so she doesn't feel so alone (hopefully) and so that I can keep an closer eye on her well being. I've been offered a pair of rescue sows (exact age unknown but young) to collect next week to be her new friends. Now, I realise this probably won't be all hearts & flowers and I really really want to get this right and would appreciate ANY advice that you could possibly give me on how to go about introducing the girls together. Would I be right in buying a large indoor rabbit cage with a divider to let them sniff and see each other for the first few days? I would be more than happy to buy one this weekend if this is the right way to go. Or, should I put them all together in the outdoor hutch? My only worry with this is, if any fighting broke out I might not notice straight away. How likely is it they will fight, do you know? :/

Again, sorry for the long post, I just really want to get things right as much as I can. Thanks
 
There are quite a few threads on this topic and I'm sure some of the more experienced piggy owners have better advice for you but a few things I've read but never would've thought to do are let the 2 new guinea pigs settle in at your house for a week or 2 before you introduce them. Make sure you introduce them on "neutral" territory and if all goes really clean out the cage you are going to put them all in before putting them in it.
 
Hi and welcome!

Preferably keep your newbies alongside your girl for a day or two, so the newbies can get their bearings in the new home and the piggies can meet through the mesh. That will take a lot of the additional stress factors out of the equation.

It might be a good idea to stage the intros proper on neutral ground (run on the lawn, kitchen or bathroom floor (provided they are wipeable and there are no nooks that piggies can get stuck under).

You can let them bond over a nice big flat plate of grass or food. If you have hideys, don't put any that haven't got two exits. As soon as acceptance has happened (which is usually within the first 15-20 minutes), the girls will move on to the dominance phase in order to establish a hierarchy; that phase can take days. Never separate unless there are bloody fights or a piggy is becoming stressed and losing weight due to excessive mobbing (being kept from eating, drinking and sleeping). Undersows often squeal their submission loudly - it is not in pain! However, with your new girls being smaller and younger, there shouldn't be any major problems.

When you transfer them to the hutch, make sure that you have completely cleaned it, including walls and "furniture", so it is as neutral as possible.

Here are more tips for introductions and sow behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561

Best of luck!
 
Brilliant, thanks for the advice! The hutch has been stripped down and I'm spraying and scrubbing it each day to try and neutralise it. It's being left to air at the moment.

Fingers crossed Ronnie eventually likes her new friends!
 
3 sows will need a minimum of 2x5 ft living space as per RSPCA guidelines. If you can, stage the initial phases indoors, so you can keep a better eye on how things are going. If necessary, improvise with runs and inddors cages, cardboard boxes etc..

Make sure that you do intros at a time when you have ideally a free day so you can supervise the piggies. Usually, any problems with girls tend to show pretty much straight at the beginning during the acceptance phase.
 
OK, that's great, will do that. I have plenty of time and space, I plan to observe how they interact with each other in the house. Should I allow the 2 new girls to settle for a few days first or try to start the ball rolling when i get them?

Sorry if my questions seem silly, I have kept Guinea Pigs before but never had to introduce any - always had them from babies and they grew old together. This is a real learning curve!
 
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Please let them settle in first for a few days. I have found that intros go much smoother if they don't have to cope with additional stress factors like a new home, new routine/smells/sounds, new human as well as new piggies. Too much at once can occasionally lead to overload and an aggressive overreaction.

If you keep Ronnie next door to the new girls and let them have pre-meetings through bars, you can also better judge how things are going to go. By the time you conduct the intros proper (that is when you HAVE to commit since piggies work to a strict protocol and any separations mean they have to start right back in square one again!), the initial excitement will be over, so things should be more relaxed alround.

Are you getting your new girls from a guinea pig rescue?
 
Thanks for the advice, it's all going in.

Yes, getting them from a rescue, I'm sure they will give me plenty of advice too!
 
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