Bonding in reality

[piggy_smalls]

Hello all!

So, I have a meeting with a local rescuer this weekend. She has a boar who was also bullied who needs a friend. We're letting the boys meet to see if they get on with a view to me taking him. He's an alpaca pig, so he has the cutest, craziest hair!

Anyway, I have read the bonding guides but in reality, would I know fairly quickly if they aren't going to get on? I am just so worried that all seems ok in the first hour or so, then it goes downhill after a few days. I absolutely do not want my boy hurt or stressed out again. I'm also paranoid about illnesses etc.

What's your experiences of bonding? Does it really take a few days/weeks? Will we know straight away if they like each other?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Try not to worry. You are doing a lovely thing on getting him a friend.

Yes it does take around two weeks.
If acceptance happens (the first stage of bonding) and they like each other then they do spend the next couple of weeks sorting out the finer details of their bond. Most often the are ok from that point. However a bond can fail in those first two weeks (even if acceptance occurs) but only if they cannot sort out those finer details of hierarchy.

If acceptance doesn’t happen then you will know quickly - either immediately but certainly within the first couple of hours.

If he is coming from a reputable rescue with proper quarantine procedure for new piggies then you don’t need to worry about illnesses.

Good luck

 

[piggy_smalls]

Try not to worry. You are doing a lovely thing on getting him a friend.

Yes it does take around two weeks.
If acceptance happens (the first stage of bonding) and they like each other then they do spend the next couple of weeks sorting out the finer details of their bond. Most often the are ok from that point. However a bond can fail in those first two weeks (even if acceptance occurs) but only if they cannot sort out those finer details of hierarchy.

If acceptance doesn’t happen then you will know quickly - either immediately but certainly within the first couple of hours.

If he is coming from a reputable rescue with proper quarantine procedure for new piggies then you don’t need to worry about illnesses.

Good luck

Thanks so much for this, it's put my mind at rest a bit. I just don't want to be in a position where we end up taking on a pig that Eddie doesn't get on with and then be left in a situation where I have to separate them again as that's what happened with his previous cage mate, the piggy who bullied him.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks so much for this, it's put my mind at rest a bit. I just don't want to be in a position where we end up taking on a pig that Eddie doesn't get on with and then be left in a situation where I have to separate them again as that's what happened with his previous cage mate, the piggy who bullied him.

Hi

There are two different form of resuce dating:

Speed dating, where boars are tested for initial acceptance, which is the main hurdle. A clear mismatch in personalities will show up very quickly and you won't come home with a new boar that he won't get on with from the start. It is about 80-90% successful and punches noticeably higher than the 50-60% success rate if you just bring home a new boy on spec. Speed dating takes about an half to an hour.

What this type of bonding cannot prevent is a potential fail at the later stages of bonding, including the ca. 2 weeks post-intro group/territory establishment stages but it is generally only a fairly small minority of boar dates that fail later; potentially during teenage. Many rescue bonders have the experience to read the very subtle signs to develop a good nose as to whether a bond is going to work out or not.
Boars are generally a lot more upfront compared to sows or mixed gender bondings where the 'maybe' can go on for days, only to end in a 'we have decided that we don't agree' so you generally get a better feel much earlier on.

Residential dating takes several days to up to a week at the rescue (usually in the form of holiday boarding). This allows the rescue to try up to three different boars and take each bonding as far as it goes. It also allows the boars to get over the roughest dominance in the first days after bonding and to stress test the bond to ensure that it is totally stable. However, this is very time consuming so only very few rescues can afford doing it and they usually have quite a waiting list.

Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs