Bereaved piggy companion, is this normal behaviour?!

[Lazw]

Good evening all,

I apologise if there is a similar thread to this somewhere, I had a look and couldn't see anything so sorry if I've missed it.

My 3 year old piggy milly was sadly bereaved on Sunday as I posted in another thread, and she was withdrawn and rather unhappy, understandably. She now has an 8 week old sow, bramble for company. She arrived yesterday, and at first bonding appeared to go OK. My question is, how much dominance behaviour is normal/acceptable? Milly, my 3 year old doesn't appear to want anything to do with bramble, she won't share a bed with her and quite frequently is rumbling around the cage chasing bramble, but once she 'catches' her, nothing happens, it's end of and they move on. Is this OK, I don't want the baby being stressed out. If she is, she isn't showing it just yet. I've just fed them veggies now and milly is happily sharing her greens with her new buddy, which I was delighted about. But there is no grooming going on, and milly only let's bramble get so close to her before she lunges at her until bramble moves away. It doesn't look overly vicious, it's more like a mum telling her baby off if that makes sense?! Does all this sound normal? Sorry for waffling, I can't believe how much it stresses me out, I just want them both to be happy! Any advice or input greatfully received

 

[Piggies&buns]

I am sorry for your loss.
It actually takes around two weeks after initial introduction for them to fully form a hierarchy and relationship. During this time you will see dominance behaviours but as long as there are no obvious warning signs of failure, then you just leave them to it. I’m not hearing anything overly concerning here.
Guinea pigs often don’t share beds and not all will groom each other, that is not a cause for concern.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Lazw]

I am sorry for your loss.
It actually takes around two weeks after initial introduction for them to fully form a hierarchy and relationship. During this time you will see dominance behaviours but as long as there are no obvious warning signs of failure, then you just leave them to it. I’m not hearing anything overly concerning here.
Guinea pigs often don’t share beds and not all will groom each other, that is not a cause for concern.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

Thank you so much for your reply! So do you think the nipping milly does when the baby walks past or gets too close is nothing to worry about? I had them out for a run for 2 hours this morning and they started cleaning themselves next to each other so I figured they felt comfortable enough around each other at that point!

 

[Piggies&buns]

if they are otherwise getting on well, then I wouldn’t be too concerned about it. They really are only in very early stages so they have a lot to sort out. You do need to keep an eye on them and ensure everybody is happy.

 

[Lazw]

if they are otherwise getting on well, then I wouldn’t be too concerned about it. They really are only in very early stages so they have a lot to sort out. You do need to keep an eye on them and ensure everybody is happy.

Thank you for your help!