Boars

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Ste

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Hi I currently have 3 boys, 2 brothers approx 10 weeks old and another boy approx 16 weeks old, the older boy was long haired but is now short haired, looks like his hair has been chewed, they all seem ok together, but I'm wandering should I separate the older boy and get another boy and have two pairs rather than a trio, I'm new to owning Guinea pigs, so appreciate any advice, thanks
 
Ste said:
Hi I currently have 3 boys, 2 brothers approx 10 weeks old and another boy approx 16 weeks old, the older boy was long haired but is now short haired, looks like his hair has been chewed, they all seem ok together, but I'm wandering should I separate the older boy and get another boy and have two pairs rather than a trio, I'm new to owning Guinea pigs, so appreciate any advice, thanks
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Hi and welcome

The hair nibbling is called barbering. Please take the time to read this guide here to work out what is going on. My guess is that it is just social barbering and nothing to worry about. Long-haired piggies in groups are rather prone to getting a haircut.
Barbering ( Eating Hair)

Generally, the vast majority of baby boar trios will not make through the hormonal teenage months without a separation at some stage, unless you have got three very laid back boys. Your older boy is just about on the cup of his testicles starting to descend. However, I would recommend to wait until it becomes necessary before you split one of the boys so you have a much higher chance of ending with a stable couple. You are very likely to end up with either one boy waging war on the other two, or two boys ganging up on the third (bullying). What you do next, depends on the nature of your split boy and your local options.
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

Since we have got members and enquiries from all over the world, we find it very helpful in being able to support as effectively as possible if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice to what is available and relevant for your straight away at all times. Click on your username at the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!
 
Thanks I've don that now, I have been offered a 4th boy he will be 8 weeks old at the beginning of October he is the younger brother of my long haired boy, so I didn't know wether to go with him and create 2 duos, or is 4 boys possible in a nearly 6 ft run in my shed, thanks,
 
Welcome to the Forum.
You will get lots of great advice on here.

Sadly you can't have 4 boys together - no matter how big the run is they will still end up fighting.
As Wiebke said above, even a trio of boars can be very unstable.
If you have the space for 2 6ft hutches in your shed (maybe one on top of the other) then this would be fine for 2 boar pairs.
But you need to be prepared for how you will manage things if one of your boar pairs doesn't work out either you could easily end up with a lot of single guinea pigs!
For now I would wait and see what happens with the three you already have.
If it becomes necessary to separate one at later date then you can look for a friend for him at that time.
 
Ste said:
Thanks I've don that now, I have been offered a 4th boy he will be 8 weeks old at the beginning of October he is the younger brother of my long haired boy, so I didn't know wether to go with him and create 2 duos, or is 4 boys possible in a nearly 6 ft run in my shed, thanks,
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Sadly, 4 young boars have a fail rate of nearly 100% before they hit adulthood. The stable quartets I know off are mostly older boars (whose testosterone has settled down) or boar groups with a disabled boar or several where the dynamics are different, as the healthy boys act as carer companions. :(

You are better off with two pairs in the long term, but put them together with their personality in mind and not their looks! Two dominant brothers can fall out the same as two unrelated boars; it is a persistent myth that litter brothers won't fight - we have seen the proof to the contrary too often on here!
Having all your boys going through the big hormones between roughly 4-14 months, is going to make things rather more than less volatile. With a quartet, you are usually most likely to end up with one pair and two single boys, but we have had cases where all four boars wouldn't go back with any of the others; the same as can happen with trios.

Please take the time to read through the links I have given you. They explain it all in much more detail.
 
:agr: With the advice you've been given. Your best option is to have 2 stable boar pairs than an unstable trio or a near impossible quartet.
 
Thank you appreciate advice given, as a newbie, no doubt I'll be back soon for more advice,
 
We are a friendly bunch. There is a wealth of information on the forum and some very experienced keepers. We don't mind people asking questions at all. We may not always know the answer but usually we know someone who does. So please ask anything you need to know.
Piggies are wonderful pets but even after 20 years of keeping piggies I'm still learning new stuff about their behaviour and thankfully vets are now becoming better at recognising their ailments and treating them. In my early days of keeping piggies I lost some (even with vet treatment) to conditions that nowadays the vets treat as commonplace.
Look forward to seeing pics of your piggies once you have them settled.
 
The little dark guy bak left is Rufus, black and white one is his brother Reuben and the guy at the front is Raff, ive noticed today that one of Reuben's ears looks dry and feels scabby/scaley any ideas?
 
It could be mites, take him to the vet & she'll will advise. It's just a matter of putting drops on the back of the neck. You will have to treat them all or they will reinfect each other. Plus the medicine has to go by weight, the vet will explain it all. Do not self medicate, you need to know what you are dealing wish.

By the way Hi & Welcome, we are all friendly here & the forums have a wealth of knowledge just ask if your stuck. We were all newbies & sometime.
 
Thank you, I've been looking at pictures on the net too and I've come across similar and it was a fungal infection?

image.webp
 
lovely piggies,:wel:to the friendly forum.i would suggest you pop your piggie along to the vet to take a look at the dry skin?i do not like to speculate what maybe the cause without medical advise.do ask lots of questions ,you will not be made to feel silly,regardless of the question.keep pics coming !:luv: pics.x
 
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We thought it was fungal on my piggies but turned out to be mites, you really need to get them to a savvy piggy vet. If you can put the rough area you are in someone can direct to to a good vet.
 
I'm in merseyside, my vet is quite good, but I'm open to any suggestions, thank you, upto now there is no hair loss anywhere on him, his ear is a bit thickened too if you know what I mean, ☹️
 
Ste said:
I'm in merseyside, my vet is quite good, but I'm open to any suggestions, thank you, upto now there is no hair loss anywhere on him, his ear is a bit thickened too if you know what I mean, ☹️
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Yep I do know what you mean, pop them to the vet then you'll know. Let us know how you get on
 
Definitely agree - best have him seen by the vet to get proper diagnosis, and correct treatment at correct dosage. Not an emergency but best to get him seen in the next few days if you can.
 
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