Boars fighting/health problems

[popcornpiggles]

Hello, so I've been having some problems with my 3 boys. They are a 2 year old called Mulder, who I separated from his last partner Scully a year ago after he was getting quite badly picked on (I no longer have Scully as I rehomed him), and two 11 month old brothers called Ziggy and Spook, who I got last year after I rehomed Scully, and introduced them to Mulder when they were a few months old. Things seemed fine to begin with- Mulder, as the older one, was dominant and the other two got along well. However, a few months ago I noticed things weren't right. Mulder is a small guinea pig and the other two were about his size by then, so I guess it would be natural for them to reassess the hierarchy at this point. But I noticed that Mulder was getting picked on by Spook and lying by himself in the corner a lot, and when checking him I found his hair was thining, and there were scabs/flaky skin underneath. After taking him to the vets we found out it was lice, and so I treated all the pigs for it. I assumed the picking on Mulder had been because he was ill. However, during the lice treatment (which was a course of 6 weeks), Mulder's skin seemed to worsen and he was still getting picked on. I sent photos to the vet who said it was most likely a secondary infection and prescribed an antibiotic and said to separate him from the two. Thankfully Mulder is getting better now, but Ziggy and Spook have started fighting now that Mulder is not with them, and I've seen some blood on their noses and mouths/some patches of hair missing. The vet said not to separate them as it will just cause more trouble reintroducing all three again, but I'm not quite sure what to do now. Out of Ziggy and Spooky, Ziggy is bigger and always has been as Spook was a runt when he was born, but Spook is constantly rumble strutting and teeth chattering at Ziggy. Ziggy is such a chill piggy usually, he didn't really pick on Mulder and I even saw him groom him occasionally. But when I have them outside together (separate runs next to eachother) Ziggy spends most of his time rumble strutting and trying to get through to Mulder, and Spook is trying to pick fights with Ziggy.

My plan is to build a bigger guinea pig enclosure in the hopes that having more space will make them a bit happier- the hutch I have is the minimum amount of space for 3 pigs and I thought it might help to have more than the minimum. But I'm not sure what I can do in the meantime. Is there anything else I can do to stop them fighting? I'd hate to have to separate them permanently, especially Ziggy and Spook as they're brothers and have been close since they were babies. Any suggestions? Thank you ❤

 

[Bill & Ted]

unfortunately 3 boars is not a great combination and rarely work out. A pair of boars usually works well, but a trio is very rare. You will encounter these problems as your two younger boys are still teenagers and hormones are high. The stress created by living as a threesome can often leads to the breakdown of all relationships so you really need to sort out who likes who before you end up with three piggies all needing to be separated
Have a good read in the Guinea Pig Guides about relationship, boars here’s the link
Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

 

[Siikibam]

Unfortunately it’s hard to balance boar trio relationships, especially when you have boars in their teenage months (4-14 months). I would keep a careful eye on the two still together. If they don’t seem to get on then perhaps pair one with Mulder.

Being related or age isn’t a factor in whether they get on, the most important thing is character match. Have a read of the thread below and see if you think the bond is in trouble for the two (Ziggy & Spook).
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[popcornpiggles]

Unfortunately it’s hard to balance boar trio relationships, especially when you have boars in their teenage months (4-14 months). I would keep a careful eye on the two still together. If they don’t seem to get on then perhaps pair one with Mulder.

Being related or age isn’t a factor in whether they get on, the most important thing is character match. Have a read of the thread below and see if you think the bond is in trouble for the two (Ziggy & Spook).
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

Thanks so much! That's really helpful ❤

 

[popcornpiggles]

unfortunately 3 boars is not a great combination and rarely work out. A pair of boars usually works well, but a trio is very rare. You will encounter these problems as your two younger boys are still teenagers and hormones are high. The stress created by living as a threesome can often leads to the breakdown of all relationships so you really need to sort out who likes who before you end up with three piggies all needing to be separated
Have a good read in the Guinea Pig Guides about relationship, boars here’s the link
Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

Thank you very much I'll give that a read ❤