Sian25
Adult Guinea Pig
Not quite sure where this question should be but I messaged a recommended rescue to see if they do piggy dating and I got this reply 
Just wondering if anyone agrees?
Just wondering if anyone agrees?
Better To Bond Pigs At Home Than A Rescue?
- Thread starter Sian25
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flintstones
Senior Guinea Pig
I know quite a lot of rescues that bond on there property. I suppose it's just a difference of opinions. I imagine if it works, it'll work anywhere as it's the personalities that match.
Veggies Galore
Senior Guinea Pig
I will drag up an old saying ....
"There's more than one way to cook an egg"
The advantage of taking a boar to a rescue for dating is that he can meet several boars and any bondiing can be done with the one he best gets on with .
That doesn't mean bonding can't be done at home.
"There's more than one way to cook an egg"
The advantage of taking a boar to a rescue for dating is that he can meet several boars and any bondiing can be done with the one he best gets on with .
That doesn't mean bonding can't be done at home.
Not every piggy clicks with every piggy, and that also includes boar-baby bondings. The advantage of boar dating at the rescue is that your boys can find "Mr Right" there from hopefully several candidates.
There are also several ways rescues bond.
"Full" or residential boar bonding means that a boar stays generally at the rescue for about a week, during which time he is introduced to up to three boars, but always with a cool-down respite in between and some time to meet the next boar through the bars first.
Whenever things go well, the bonding is then let to proceed over a couple of days and it is usually also stress tested to make sure that it survives the trip to new surroundings. By far not all rescues can offer this very time consuming service that also requires a lot of experience, but it allows the boars to get most of the crucial bit of the dominance phase out of the way before they come home. A resulting bond is generally as stable as a sow-sow bond. Fall-outs upon homecoming are rare.
"Speed-dating" at a the rescue (the dating variety Rainbow Rescue refers to) means that any boar is introduced to potentially several boars to find one he clicks with in the course of an afternoon, but this kind of dating looks only at initial acceptance and not at working through the dominance phase. The majority of rescues that offer boar dating only offer this kind due to their resources in terms of time - all rescues are volunteer run, and most of them do their volunteering next to a full job.
It means that you get the first hurdle (instant liking) out of the way, but not the second (dominance), and that there is always a certain smaller risk of things going wrong during the dominance phase. Boars, especially hormonal teenagers, generally go humping mad when meeting new friends of either gender, but you get exactly the same with intros at home, too. Bonding success usually depends on how humping much the more submissive piggy is willing to accept. A bond fails when one of the pair is fed up with being humped and is fighting back, the two boys cannot agree on taking turns or the humping from one of the boars becomes so excessive and incessant that it amounts to bullying.
By speed dating at the rescue, you can generally weed out the pairings where you have got two boars that are too dominant for each other and that clearly don't have a chance to last the distance.
However, going this way means that any failed boar can go back to the rescue and you usually get the support of the rescue especially during the first crucial couple of weeks.
Bonding at home means that you have to take both hurdles, acceptance AND dominance, all on your own and the risk of things not working out is accordingly higher. It doesn't mean that it cannot work, but it depends on you having a plan B or even a plan C at the ready in case bondings fail at any stage during the first two weeks.
It takes on average about 1-3 tries to find "Mr Right" during full boar dating at the rescue (for about 80-90% of boars), and about 95% of boars can find a mate within meeting 6 boars (i.e. two full boar dating stays, which can happen esepcially with teenage boars at the most difficult age for bonding); those percentages are the same whether you go rescue or do it all at home.
The crucial bit is - what do you do with the boars that don't work out, either at first sniff or those that are near misses?
Milhaven rescue in Keighley and BARC in Barnsley both offer full boar dating at minimal risk and effort for you, apart from the trip. Considering your anxiety issues, I personally feel that it would be the best option for you, as any bonding is going to be nerve-racking, even the ones that go well. That is an aspect you should seriously take into consideration under the circumstances. Your two boys are no longer easy-to-bond babies, they are full-blown teenagers.
There are also several ways rescues bond.
"Full" or residential boar bonding means that a boar stays generally at the rescue for about a week, during which time he is introduced to up to three boars, but always with a cool-down respite in between and some time to meet the next boar through the bars first.
Whenever things go well, the bonding is then let to proceed over a couple of days and it is usually also stress tested to make sure that it survives the trip to new surroundings. By far not all rescues can offer this very time consuming service that also requires a lot of experience, but it allows the boars to get most of the crucial bit of the dominance phase out of the way before they come home. A resulting bond is generally as stable as a sow-sow bond. Fall-outs upon homecoming are rare.
"Speed-dating" at a the rescue (the dating variety Rainbow Rescue refers to) means that any boar is introduced to potentially several boars to find one he clicks with in the course of an afternoon, but this kind of dating looks only at initial acceptance and not at working through the dominance phase. The majority of rescues that offer boar dating only offer this kind due to their resources in terms of time - all rescues are volunteer run, and most of them do their volunteering next to a full job.
It means that you get the first hurdle (instant liking) out of the way, but not the second (dominance), and that there is always a certain smaller risk of things going wrong during the dominance phase. Boars, especially hormonal teenagers, generally go humping mad when meeting new friends of either gender, but you get exactly the same with intros at home, too. Bonding success usually depends on how humping much the more submissive piggy is willing to accept. A bond fails when one of the pair is fed up with being humped and is fighting back, the two boys cannot agree on taking turns or the humping from one of the boars becomes so excessive and incessant that it amounts to bullying.
By speed dating at the rescue, you can generally weed out the pairings where you have got two boars that are too dominant for each other and that clearly don't have a chance to last the distance.
However, going this way means that any failed boar can go back to the rescue and you usually get the support of the rescue especially during the first crucial couple of weeks.
Bonding at home means that you have to take both hurdles, acceptance AND dominance, all on your own and the risk of things not working out is accordingly higher. It doesn't mean that it cannot work, but it depends on you having a plan B or even a plan C at the ready in case bondings fail at any stage during the first two weeks.
It takes on average about 1-3 tries to find "Mr Right" during full boar dating at the rescue (for about 80-90% of boars), and about 95% of boars can find a mate within meeting 6 boars (i.e. two full boar dating stays, which can happen esepcially with teenage boars at the most difficult age for bonding); those percentages are the same whether you go rescue or do it all at home.
The crucial bit is - what do you do with the boars that don't work out, either at first sniff or those that are near misses?
Milhaven rescue in Keighley and BARC in Barnsley both offer full boar dating at minimal risk and effort for you, apart from the trip. Considering your anxiety issues, I personally feel that it would be the best option for you, as any bonding is going to be nerve-racking, even the ones that go well. That is an aspect you should seriously take into consideration under the circumstances. Your two boys are no longer easy-to-bond babies, they are full-blown teenagers.
Veggies Galore
Senior Guinea Pig
taking into account what Wiebke has said, I think your best option is to ask Pig in the City and Milhaven if you can be put in a waiting list .
I took my boar Max to Milhaven . He was neutered and he met 2 lovely sows there. I remember it took a while to get a date set up - but it was worth the wait !
I took my boar Max to Milhaven . He was neutered and he met 2 lovely sows there. I remember it took a while to get a date set up - but it was worth the wait !
MerryPip
Adult Guinea Pig
Wiebke has given you a good idea of the options. I have dated at BARC and Milhaven and both have been great. One was residential dating and one was a 'day date'
The pros of bonding at a rescue is that you have some advice and support on hind from someone who has done this many times before and is familiar with the piggy they are trying to bond to your pig. Also you have the option of trying more than one option as it's not always first pig first time (although I have been very lucky with my laid back boys and it has always worked out with one exception..)
If you've not bonded boars before it can be a nerve racking experience and it's hard to know what to look for in their behaviour and when things are ok or not. Another experienced pair of eyes can be really helpful.
With any bond there will be a little bit of arguing when you get them home but if you put them in a clean cage, with two of everything you just need to let them get over it unless things get really ugly. The more space the better too.
I have also sped dated at The Potteries on 3 occasions but I am comfortable with short dates because as long as the initial signs are good I know what to do when I get home to keep things together but for a first timer I would definitely go for a rescue that dates on the premises.
Good luck whatever you choose...
The pros of bonding at a rescue is that you have some advice and support on hind from someone who has done this many times before and is familiar with the piggy they are trying to bond to your pig. Also you have the option of trying more than one option as it's not always first pig first time (although I have been very lucky with my laid back boys and it has always worked out with one exception..)
If you've not bonded boars before it can be a nerve racking experience and it's hard to know what to look for in their behaviour and when things are ok or not. Another experienced pair of eyes can be really helpful.
With any bond there will be a little bit of arguing when you get them home but if you put them in a clean cage, with two of everything you just need to let them get over it unless things get really ugly. The more space the better too.
I have also sped dated at The Potteries on 3 occasions but I am comfortable with short dates because as long as the initial signs are good I know what to do when I get home to keep things together but for a first timer I would definitely go for a rescue that dates on the premises.
Good luck whatever you choose...
Sian25
Adult Guinea Pig
Thanks everyone. I did preferably want to get my boys paired up in the last few months as I've been off work and it would have been easier to keep an eye on them but I've changed my mind about the different options too many times and faffed around plus rescues don't seem to have many single boars in at the moment. I'm back to work tomorrow but although I work split shifts as I'm a carer (I work on average 7.30am-10.30am then 12-1.30pm then 4-5.30pm then 7-9.30pm each day but my partner will be home until 8.30 in the morning until 5.45 in the evening) so I do come home a lot throughout the day. Just worrying now that it's not enough time to ensure they're not fighting? I think residential dating would be my best option now as I probably won't be home enough to watch them through the crucial first stages
MerryPip
Adult Guinea Pig
You'd be surprised how many single boars there are around. They are not always advertised on websites etc as people then try to pick the boar they want based on a photograph and piggy dating doesn't work that way... Not all piggies will be on rescue websites either so it's always best to get in touch and they will be able to talk through your options.
Bonding isn't an instant thing and sometimes you might need to wait for a suitable piggy to come up but believe me it's worth it. I've done it 6 separate times now and each time it's been worth the hassle and the wait to find the right guy. The right piggy is out there somewhere!
Bonding isn't an instant thing and sometimes you might need to wait for a suitable piggy to come up but believe me it's worth it. I've done it 6 separate times now and each time it's been worth the hassle and the wait to find the right guy. The right piggy is out there somewhere!
If you want hassle and worry free, then waiting for a full boar dating slot is the best way, especially with two single boars to accommodate. It is worth waiting for. Please be aware that not all datable boars are necessarily on the website. Rescues can only offer dating as they have suitable piggies in, so it can sometimes be a bit of wait.
Julesie
Senior Guinea Pig
I'd suggest boar dating at a rescue if your life is so busy as you are guranteed to have a bonded pair.
I took Romano to a rescue to try boar bonding and the piggie he ended up with, Matthew, hadn't been on the website yet because he was still new in. The two got on like a house on fire. There was no problem at all and they were best friends until Matthew sadly passed away.
I took Romano to a rescue to try boar bonding and the piggie he ended up with, Matthew, hadn't been on the website yet because he was still new in. The two got on like a house on fire. There was no problem at all and they were best friends until Matthew sadly passed away.
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