Bonding 6 sows

[Hj10]

Hi everyone, today I began bonding my 6 sows, 3 of them are new and 3 I already had. I have introduced them on neutral ground, done scent swapping, introduced them through barriers first, etc etc. when I took the barrier away it seemed to go well at first but after a while 2 of the new girls began picking fights with other sows and would lunge at eachother quite a bit. Everyone’s obviously now separated into their respective trios but I’m just a bit stressed now on how this will turn out. I’m relatively new to this process as I have only bonded 2 pairs together before.
I’m going to try again tomorrow and In the meantime they can see eachother through the barriers. Could anyone offer any advice or reassurance?

 

[Piggies&buns]

First, how old are all the piggies in question?
How long have each of the trios been together as their own trio?

Bonding two established groupings with adult sows can be problematic. Each group will have their own dominant sow. When you put those two dominant sows together, one of them has to be prepared to give up their position as top lady and allow the other to be the boss of all of them. This is where there is usually an issue as adult sows will be rather unwilling to lose their position of leadership.

You mention taking barriers away, so to clarify, you have them living in a larger cage but with a barrier between each trio. Did you then just remove the barrier and allow them to wander into the other half of the cage ? If so, then that may be part of the problem. Each trio would be seeing each half of the cage as their own respective territories and just removing a divider and allowing the others to wander will be seen as a territory invasion.
The bonding area needs to be completely neutral and not part of the territory of either set of piggies.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

 

[Hj10]

First, how old are all the piggies in question?
How long have each of the trios been together as their own trio?

Bonding two established groupings with adult sows can be problematic. Each group will have their own dominant sow. When you put those two dominant sows together, one of them has to be prepared to give up their position as top lady and allow the other to be the boss of all of them. This is where there is usually an issue as adult sows will be rather unwilling to lose their position of leadership.

You mention taking barriers away, so to clarify, you have them living in a larger cage but with a barrier between each trio. Did you then just remove the barrier and allow them to wander into the other half of the cage ? If so, then that may be part of the problem. Each trio would be seeing each half of the cage as their own respective territories and just removing a divider and allowing the others to wander will be seen as a territory invasion.
The bonding area needs to be completely neutral and not part of the territory of either set of piggies.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Both groups are around the same age, around 2-3 years old. My group have been together a while, they were once a quartet but became a trio after ziggy sadly passed a couple months ago. The new trio i don’t have much information on as I got them from a rescue.
When bonding I put them in neutral territory and let them sit next to eachother for a while with a barrier which I admit was definitely not the right idea - after being separated again I attempted another introduction outside on the grass but it quickly became a bit tense so they’re now both separated into their trios again. Both groups seem pretty content at the minute, I’m going to let things settle and attempt another introduction at a later date, but if that one fails will that mean they will have to stay separated?

 

[Swissgreys]

Both groups are around the same age, around 2-3 years old. My group have been together a while, they were once a quartet but became a trio after ziggy sadly passed a couple months ago. The new trio i don’t have much information on as I got them from a rescue.
When bonding I put them in neutral territory and let them sit next to eachother for a while with a barrier which I admit was definitely not the right idea - after being separated again I attempted another introduction outside on the grass but it quickly became a bit tense so they’re now both separated into their trios again. Both groups seem pretty content at the minute, I’m going to let things settle and attempt another introduction at a later date, but if that one fails will that mean they will have to stay separated?

I think the most important thing is to let the bonding go through until the end next time.
When you say things got a bit tense, were they actually fighting, or being aggressive with each other?
The bonding guides will illustrate what to look out for.

Bondings can look a bit aggressive if you don't know what constitutes normal guinea pig behaviour as they try to establish a new hierarchy.
With 6 personalities to accommodate this could take a while!
To give yourself the best chance of success I would set up a large, neutral pen indoors where you can comfortably keep an eye on things.
Be prepared to leave them overnight if needed.

If the bonding fails again then you would be best to keep them a 2 trios, as once they have made their decision they won't change their minds, and it's better to end up with 2 stable trios than multiple smaller groups.

 

[Piggies&buns]

How was it getting tense?
What you don’t want to keep is keep introducing and separating. They need to be able to see the bonding through to conclusion whether that is success or failure.

If it does fail then yes they will need to stay as two separate trios permanently