Bonding Between Boars

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Kerry747

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Please could someone give me some advice regarding bonding pigs!

I have 4 male Guinea Pigs -
  • Bernard is a 7 month old Silkie who we bought from a pet shop 4 months ago.
  • Bubba is a Skinny Pig who is around 2 years old, we adopted him about 5 weeks ago.
  • Gaston and Piggie Smalls are brothers around 3 months old who we adopted 2 weeks ago.
When we first got Bernard we bought him and his cage mate Papa Gambo from a pet shop. They got on well but Bernard was the dominant one.
We adopted Bubba 3 months later and tried to bond all 3 but Bernard and Bubba were butting heads for dominancy. We have followed all the standard advice on the internet, e.g. putting their cages next to each other, scent swapping, introducing them in a large neutral environment etc but they fought every time.

Unfortunately Papa Gambo had cancer and we had to have him put to sleep a few weeks ago.
Bernard was obviously heart broken without his little friend so we bought Piggie Smalls and Gaston for some company (we only intended on taking 1 pig home but they were both so cute and the last ones left so we ended up with both!)

We have tried all 4 pigs together and Bubba, Gaston and Piggie Smalls are fine but Bernard is now even more aggressive with Bubba as he is obviously the dominant one with the little pigs, so we have given up on the hope of all 4 living together now : (

Would it be cruel to separate Gaston and Piggie Smalls and leave one with Bernard and put one with Bubba? They would be in cages next to each other so they could still talk to each other and sniff each other, or would that make it worse?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you!
 
Hi! Please pair up your boys if possible; the pairs can live next to each other with interaction through the bars.

Small groups are the most unstable of boar constellations, especially with teenagers and sub-teenagers in the mix - most successful trios, quartets and quintets are older boars whose testosterone has pretty much fizzled out or disabled/carer companion combos. To make small groups with younger piggies work, you need have lots of boars and be very experienced to be able to pick and mix until you have the right balance of personalities - something that only comparatively few people have.

Merging their boar pair is always a great temptation for boar owners, but it usually ends in mayhem, as many a forum member can attest! :(
 
Thank you! So Piggie Smalls and Gaston wouldn't pine for each other through the bars? That was my main worry.
 
Kerry747 said:
Thank you! So Piggie Smalls and Gaston wouldn't pine for each other through the bars? That was my main worry.
Click to expand...

No, they can still stay in contact but will hopefully be happy with their new companions.
 
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