Bonding a 4 month old boar with a 4 week old boar

[Lshepherd]

Hi all!
So I posted on here when I got my little baby Lincoln who is 4 months old almost 5 now. I got him as a single as he was alone in a pet store already being the only male there. I have been contacting rescues to get him a companion guinea pig for him. Well the rescue had a female come in unknowingly pregnant and she had 3 male boars that are 2 weeks now. (I know they need to wait a little longer to be weaned which is why I said 4 weeks). Does anyone have a tips for bonding them? I was looking to get an older one but I just want to help home what the rescue has and that’s the only males they have that isn’t already bonded to another one. I worry about Lincoln’s behavior still being in the “teenager phase” and being too rough with the baby since I done know if he’s been around a baby.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Well done for getting him a friend.
You dont need to worry about him being too rough, but you do also need to make sure you don’t panic over the behaviours you do see. There’s going to be chasing, rumbling and mounting.

Lincoln is a teenager and is at the hardest point to bond him but he needs a friend so you need to try. He is going to be a teenager until he is 15 months old so your can’t wait as it’s just too long away.

To bond them, you have to put them in a neutral territory pen for several hours. Put only hay in the pen. If all goes well, then you clean the cage they are to live in together and after a few hours (you can leave them in the bonding pen all day or even overnight if you are worried) you move them to the main cage together and then leave them to it.
You must not separate them for normal dominance behaviours. If you panic and separate at normal behaviours, then you undo their bonding and cause them to stop.
The only time you separate is if there is an actual fight and injuries are caused. If that happens, then the bonding has failed and the geo piggies will never be a me to be put together again.

You must make sure your cage is big enough - 180x60cm - and that there are no hides with only one door. All hides must have two doors in them as if one piggy gets trapped by the other than a fight can occur inside a hide.
Make sure you have two of everything in the cage - you never want them to be forced to share.
Make aure there are two hay piles at opposite needs is the cage and that you don’t use food bowls and instead scatter feed their one cup of veg each and one tablespoon of pellets directly into the hay piles.

The guides below explain bonding and boar pairs in more detail. Please do read them

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

Jan 23, 2019

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Scent swapping - why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonds and Species Understanding

• 

Thread 'A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars'

May 5, 2019

1 Common myths and misconceptions
2 The different ages (including teenage)
- Important biological facts
- The formative 'School Weeks' (3 weeks - ca. 4 months)
- The Teenage Months (ca. 4-14 months)
- The Adult Years (ca. 15 months - ca. 4-5 years)
- The Golden Age (ca. 4-5 years until end of life)
3 What do boars need? (List of boar dos and don'ts)
- Space, space and more space!
- Respecting the hierarchy
- The 'one for each...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonds and Species Understanding

• 

Thread 'Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?'

May 22, 2015

1 The hormonal teenage months
- What are the most difficult times?
- What are your boars' chances of making it together?
- What can help to boost your boys' chances?
- What does NOT work?
2 Fighting, bullying and when to separate
- What are the signs of a dysfunctional bond?
- How can I test whether a bond is no longer working?
- What to do if your boars had a bloody fight?
3 Life after...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 3
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonds and Species Understanding

• 

Thread 'Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs'

Feb 3, 2009

1 List of dominance behaviours in ascending order of aggression
2 What may cause this type of behaviour in boars?
3 When do you see these behaviours in sows?
4 What can trigger fall-outs?
5 Further helpful guide links


I thought it may be handy to have a sticky on typical dominance behaviours for a reference - hopefully it may help humans understand guinea pigs and their behaviour a bit more and hopefully prevent some avoidable problems!


1 List of dominance behaviours...

• boureki
• Replies: 100
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonds and Species Understanding

• 

 

[fluffysal]

On you tube there are videos from LA guinea pig rescue that show boar bonding with a baby. Maybe if you watch you will get a better idea of what to expect. A lot of bonding behaviour looks rough (to us) but is actually fine. Submissive squealing can make you think a pig is being hurt, especially if you have a dramatic one. Mischievous Master Boris has been known to scream like he's being murdered even though Dignified Sir George was nowhere near him!
Good luck.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

Are you planning for one pup or all three?

If you are taking only one, then introducing your boy in a run to all three to see which one he gels best with (speed dating at the rescue if they allow it) will give you the best long term assurance.
Our bonding guide is showing a video of my Dylan meeting a pair of brothers to work out which he was getting on with better in the boar bonding/baby bonding chapters.
PS: The other boy went on to a rescue on the following day and was successfully dated with an older boy who fell in love with him instead of any of the other adult boars within 24 hours.

If you are planning adopt all three (it is not clear from your post), you will have to split them into two pairs latest by the time the first teenage hormones strike around 3-4 months when the testicles start descending before there is any change of fights/fall-outs.
Most boar quartets end up otherwise with one pair and two singles from what we have seen on this forum but we have also dealt with cases of four fallen out boars refusing to go with any of the others on here.

 

[Wheekallweek]

Hi and welcome

Are you planning for one pup or all three?

If you are taking only one, then introducing your boy in a run to all three to see which one he gels best with (speed dating at the rescue if they allow it) will give you the best long term assurance.
Our bonding guide is showing a video of my Dylan meeting a pair of brothers to work out which he was getting on with better in the boar bonding/baby bonding chapters.
PS: The other boy went on to a rescue on the following day and was successfully dated with an older boy who fell in love with him instead of any of the other adult boars within 24 hours.

If you are planning adopt all three (it is not clear from your post), you will have to split them into two pairs latest by the time the first teenage hormones strike around 3-4 months when the testicles start descending before there is any change of fights/fall-outs.
Most boar quartets end up otherwise with one pair and two singles from what we have seen on this forum but we have also dealt with cases of four fallen out boars refusing to go with any of the others on here.

We had four boys in recently who had all been living together. Two of them were covered in wounds and scars

They were immediately separated into pairs, but soon fell out again and ended up being bonded to other boars from outside the group. Boars eh?

 

[Wiebke]

We had four boys in recently who had all been living together. Two of them were covered in wounds and scars

They were immediately separated into pairs, but soon fell out again and ended up being bonded to other boars from outside the group. Boars eh?

Poor boys!

I am not saying that successful boar quartets don't exist but stable quartets are rare.

Chances are much higher if there is a disabled/carer companion set up with very different dynamics in play or a golden oldies boy group where the testosterone has run out and companionship comes before any reproductive and dominance urges.

 

[Lshepherd]

Update: I read all the posts and went and got one 11 week old boar today from the foster family he was with. We put them in a neutral environment and of course like you guys said the baby was very dramatic about Lincoln just sniffing him and chasing him. But no fighting occurred after about 3 hours and I cleaned the joint cage throughly and put them in there. So far so good and they haven’t had any fights just chasing. This picture is after the first 30 minutes and they are chilled and eating together. I decided the baby’s name is Hoover Jackson (we have a presidential theme lol). So welcome Lincoln Hayes (on the left) and Hoover Jackson (on the right)!

 

[fluffysal]

What a handsome pair they make.

 

[Wiebke]

Update: I read all the posts and went and got one 11 week old boar today from the foster family he was with. We put them in a neutral environment and of course like you guys said the baby was very dramatic about Lincoln just sniffing him and chasing him. But no fighting occurred after about 3 hours and I cleaned the joint cage throughly and put them in there. So far so good and they haven’t had any fights just chasing. This picture is after the first 30 minutes and they are chilled and eating together. I decided the baby’s name is Hoover Jackson (we have a presidential theme lol). So welcome Lincoln Hayes (on the left) and Hoover Jackson (on the right)!

Hi

What a lovely pair! I love the name theme.

What you are experiencing is total normal for the bonding process, which has now reached the stage of establishing a hierarchical group in its territory; this is a process that takes about 2 weeks in the wake of the introduction. When a baby is involved, it is all very vocal and dramatic.

Babies are emphatically put at the bottom of the group hierarchy once weaned but they don't come to any harm, especially when there is no dead corner or hut with just one exit. Your bigger boy will just throw his weight around a bit as a part of esablishing his group leadership and territory. The rough bit should be mostly over in a day or two since weaned babies want to belong and have a guardian they can learn from and be protected by.