Bonding 4 Male Guinea Pigs

[lulua]

I got two new guinea pigs about 3 weeks ago, which were older than my first pair and I'm wondering how long it will take for them to not fight and be normal with each other or if that will ever happen, they all get into little fights with each other from time to time and make unhappy noises often. The first few nights we got them they got into fights pretty often but nothing that was serious enough to separate, and as time has gone on they are a lot better with each other but still make unhappy noises a lot of the time especially when they come close to them.
I wouldn't want to separate them if i dont need too but I will if they just aren't compatible as i wouldnt want to stress them out but I dont know how long to wait.

 

[Piggies&buns]

four male piggies together is highly unlikely to ever work. It’s not how boars function. By adding more boars to an already bonded pair you also run the risk of ruining the bond between the original pairs, and potentially ending up with multiple single piggies.
You would also need a cage of four square metres to attempt this - anything less is likely to also cause problems due to lack of space - each boar would need a square metre of space each but even that is unlikely to be enough as character compatibility between four boars is almost impossible to get right.

boars do much better kept in pairs, so our advice would be to separate them into functioning pairs now by working out which two get on best, and not let this escalate into bigger problems.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[Wiebke]

with @Piggies&buns .

Most boar quartets fail unless they are elderly or it is a disabled/carer companion situation with very different dynamics. Trios and quartets are about the most unstable combinations and the ones we are most often contacted about when they go wrong.

 

[GabrielM]

four male piggies together is highly unlikely to ever work. It’s not how boars function. By adding more boars to an already bonded pair you also run the risk of ruining the bond between the original pairs, and potentially ending up with multiple single piggies.
You would also need a cage of four square metres to attempt this - anything less is likely to also cause problems due to lack of space - each boar would need a square metre of space each but even that is unlikely to be enough as character compatibility between four boars is almost impossible to get right.

boars do much better kept in pairs, so our advice would be to separate them into functioning pairs now by working out which two get on best, and not let this escalate into bigger problems.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Hello, I have a functional pair of about a 6 month old brothers, and I'm looking to get more. I'm aware of the incompatibility of two males and other guinea pigs being added, so I was wondering how I would go about having the guinea pigs separated. I have 16 sq ft of land for my 2 guinea pigs, and I could add about 4 more, and because the cage is kind of set up on a table like stand, I'm only limited to that. I have the ability to separate the cage except they would still be able to see (unless I used a cover, which is why I'm asking for advice) as I dont have anywhere else in the house that would really work for having guinea pigs (we have a dog, while not aggressive, i'd rather not risk anything) So my question is, can I just put a fence in my cage and have two other guinea pigs live parallel to each other? How can I effectively have 2 pairs of guinea pigs live separately? Thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hello, I have a functional pair of about a 6 month old brothers, and I'm looking to get more. I'm aware of the incompatibility of two males and other guinea pigs being added, so I was wondering how I would go about having the guinea pigs separated. I have 16 sq ft of land for my 2 guinea pigs, and I could add about 4 more, and because the cage is kind of set up on a table like stand, I'm only limited to that. I have the ability to separate the cage except they would still be able to see (unless I used a cover, which is why I'm asking for advice) as I dont have anywhere else in the house that would really work for having guinea pigs (we have a dog, while not aggressive, i'd rather not risk anything) So my question is, can I just put a fence in my cage and have two other guinea pigs live parallel to each other? How can I effectively have 2 pairs of guinea pigs live separately? Thanks.

Two pairs can live very happily side by side. That is not an issue. What is an issue is providing a big enough cage size.
Two boys need 12 square feet of space. So if you put a divider in your cage then your cages will only be 8 square feet each which is not big enough a boar pair.

If you add another four square feet, so two square feet each cage, then you are looking at 10 square feet per cage. That is technically minimum size for a boar pair. While some pairs will be fine with that size, others won’t and can find it too small which can lead to bickering/tensions/fall outs. We would always advise to give as much space as possible to young boars.

You should also consider what you would do if a pair fell out.
If a pair failed, then you would need to then have a third cage at a minimum of 8 square feet. You’d always hope a pair won’t fall out but you do need to have that plan. As it currently stands, if your pair sadly did fall out you could divide the cage and put one piggy each side. Obviously if you’ve got another pair alongside then you are not left with any alternative living options.
With two pairs you’ve got to have a plan in your mind (but hope you never need it) for four single piggies.

I have a pair of boars who live in one cage (they are shortly to turn 6 years old).
I then got another pair of young boys (who are now 14 months of age) who lived alongside the older pair. No issue living side by side at all but unfortunately the young pair’s bond did break down due to character incompatibility when they were 18 weeks old (and at the time their cage size was around 24 square feet). I now have three cages (a pair and two singles side by side)

 

[GabrielM]

Two pairs can live very happily side by side. That is not an issue. What is an issue is providing a big enough cage size.
Two boys need 12 square feet of space. So if you put a divider in your cage then your cages will only be 8 square feet each which is not big enough a boar pair.

If you add another four square feet, so two square feet each cage, then you are looking at 10 square feet per cage. That is technically minimum size for a boar pair. While some pairs will be fine with that size, others won’t and can find it too small which can lead to bickering/tensions/fall outs. We would always advise to give as much space as possible to young boars.

You should also consider what you would do if a pair fell out.
If a pair failed, then you would need to then have a third cage at a minimum of 8 square feet. You’d always hope a pair won’t fall out but you do need to have that plan. As it currently stands, if your pair sadly did fall out you could divide the cage and put one piggy each side. Obviously if you’ve got another pair alongside then you are not left with any alternative living options.
With two pairs you’ve got to have a plan in your mind (but hope you never need it) for four single piggies.

I have a pair of boars who live in one cage (they are shortly to turn 6 years old).
I then got another pair of young boys (who are now 14 months of age) who lived alongside the older pair. No issue living side by side at all but unfortunately the young pair’s bond did break down due to character incompatibility when they were 18 weeks old (and at the time their cage size was around 24 square feet). I now have three cages (a pair and two singles side by side)

Thank you! I will look into options of adding more space to my cage!