Bonding females to a 4 week old baby

[Remington18!]

Hello! So I have two females, cocoa (skinny pig 2 yrs old) and Lucy (6 months old, Abby/Peruvian).

I adopted a 4 week old skinny pig baby yesterday.

I put the baby with them in the playpen for 2 hours with a pile of hay as I sanitised the cage base and bars with white vinegar. They sniffed the baby and everything seemed fine so I set up their cage with fresh clean liners and houses. That’s when the trouble started.
Lucy started nipping the baby (not drawing blood) but would nip her whenever she was eating. I had two large piles of hay on both sides of the cage. She would consistently seek her out and attack her when she saw her eating or out and about.

The baby got to the point where she seemed refuge in a snuggle sack, and Lucy would be eating with cocoa and walk off to hunt the baby, would find her and go after her wherever she was, making sure she nipped her a few good times before she was satisfied and would walk off. She would routinely do it within 40 minutes.

I’ve never had females, only boys and even when I bonded a baby to a boy it never was like this.
The baby is separated right now from the pair but can still see them.

Question is, has anyone experienced this with females being aggressive to a baby being introduced? What do you guys recommend? Cage is a 2x5 c&c - they were bumped from a 2x4 to a 2x5 on arrival of the baby so it was a different cage that I had two boys in previously. Now that they’re not together Lucy goes to the bars instead and sees her and walks off. The baby wants to be with them until Lucy comes to the bars and she’s like oh nope all set.

Should I just wait until the baby is a bit bigger? Should I split my cage and put the baby with Cocoa so she’s not by herself and have Lucy beside them until the baby is bigger/ older than 4 weeks?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please put them back together.
What you are seeing is normal dominance and Lucy putting the baby at the bottom of the hierarchy. Nipping is just a gesture of power, it’s not aggression.

The baby is too young to be alone, they are desperate for companionship particularly given she is so very young. Waiting until she is older won’t change anything in terms is the way they behave (nipping will still occur), but the baby will have lost vital interaction and social skills by being kept alone for that time.

Also consider that as your two original piggies have been put into a new cage as well, then their relationship will also be going through a double period of change. Bonded piggies will have to reestablish their relationship in a new environment but also they are now trying to establish as a trio.

Reacting to group or territorial changes: Dominance and group establishment/re-establishment

 

[VickiA]

Completely. Excellent advice from @Piggies&buns

 

[Remington18!]

Please put them back together.
What you are seeing is normal dominance and Lucy putting the baby at the bottom of the hierarchy. Nipping is just a gesture of power, it’s not aggression.

The baby is too young to be alone, they are desperate for companionship particularly given she is so very young. Waiting until she is older won’t change anything in terms is the way they behave (nipping will still occur), but the baby will have lost vital interaction and social skills by being kept alone for that time.

Also consider that as your two original piggies have been put into a new cage as well, then their relationship will also be going through a double period of change. Bonded piggies will have to reestablish their relationship in a new environment but also they are now trying to establish as a trio.

Reacting to group or territorial changes: Dominance and group establishment/re-establishment

Okay thank you! Also when I picked up the baby the breeder told me she had an allergy to the hay she was using and gave me a cream for it. When I got her home I wiped all the dried cream off and found what I’m assuming is ringworm? I put lotrimin on her (athletes foot cream) as I seen suggested. I’m bugged she lied about it though

 

[Piggies&buns]

Okay thank you! Also when I picked up the baby the breeder told me she had an allergy to the hay she was using and gave me a cream for it. When I got her home I wiped all the dried cream off and found what I’m assuming is ringworm? I put lotrimin on her (athletes foot cream) as I seen suggested. I’m bugged she lied about it though

Unfortunately, this is the kind of issue which you can come up against when getting breeder piggies.

Please do not put cream on her yourself. She needs to be seen and diagnosed by a vet to get the correct treatment. Putting cream on hides the evidence a vet needs to make diagnosis and if it is ringworm then it is highly infectious and creaming is not an effective way to treat it as spores are shed from a wider area than you creaming which will continue the infection.
Ringworm spores can live in the environment for up to two years and continue to infect you and all your piggies for that time. You need to get all your piggies properly treated (treating the other piggies within 10-14 days of the start if the infection can prevent the others from catching it) and thoroughly disinfect the cage.

Please read the guide below for the stringent hygiene and treatment advice

Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures