Bullying? Please Help

[Gemm24]

Hi
I have three sows who are 3.5 years old and have been together all their lives.
However over time I have noticed the most submissive pig spends more and more of her time in a hidey, 50% of the the time when the other two come near her she unhappy/stress squeaks, one of the more dominant pigs barbars her (only mild), she gets nipped when she is in the way, they steal her food and she weighs 300-400g lighter than the others.

On the other hand she sleeps next to the other two and never had a big fight.

I want her to be happy and have other guinea pigs I can bond her with but I don’t want to split the trio up if you think I am over reacting.

I would be grateful for any advice
Thanks

 

[TheLottiediarys]

Hi
I have three sows who are 3.5 years old and have been together all their lives.
However over time I have noticed the most submissive pig spends more and more of her time in a hidey, 50% of the the time when the other two come near her she unhappy/stress squeaks, one of the more dominant pigs barbars her (only mild), she gets nipped when she is in the way, they steal her food and she weighs 300-400g lighter than the others.

On the other hand she sleeps next to the other two and never had a big fight.

I want her to be happy and have other guinea pigs I can bond her with but I don’t want to split the trio up if you think I am over reacting.

I would be grateful for any advice
Thanks

The idea of bullying in Guinea Pugs groups in a hard one because on the one hand, the way Guinea Pig group dynamics work is through submission, and what can seem very aggressive to is actually isn't aggression at all, submissive Gp's will cry and squeak to show the more dominant pigs that they are being submissive towards them,

Now, that doesn't mean that bullying doesn't happen because it does and it can be nasty when it does happen, some people out in the Guinea Pigs community have the way of thinking that 'Guinea Pigs should live together no matter what' and that Bullying isn't a big issue at all, but it can be,

Bullied pigs tend to be very skittish, they lose a lot of weight, they're stressed all the time, sometimes they stop cleaning themselves, they're just not happy, thy can start barbering themselves and of course they get nipped and shunted from the group, they're not allowed near the food, water, hidies, they're not allowed to cuddle up with other pigs,
All in all that's a pretty sad life for a pig,

I've had a bullied pig in the past, and she went from a healthy weight to very underweight, she wasn't the same pig anymore she as so unhappy, but other forums told me to just leave it alone that she was fine, now I removed her and set her up with a neutered male and now she's like a different pig!

Obviously not all situations are like mine, it's worth having a look through the behaviour sticky threads and seeing what is 'normal behaviour' and what is 'bad behaviour' and applying it to your pigs,

What I will say is that if your pig is losing a lot of weight then it's possibly time to remove them for their own health,

Maybe get them checked over for other health issues that could be causing it, sometimes with females things like cysts can cause bullying because they become aggressive. But see what you think is best

 

[VickiA]

Thanks for such a helpful post @TheLottiediarys
If your piggy is losing weight this is something you need to monitor. She could have an underlying health issue that has caused a change in the dynamics and causing her to lose weight or she could be prevented by “bullying” from reaching the food. I would get her Vet checked to check she is healthy. If there isn’t any health issue then perhaps consider removing her from the situation as it’s no fun for a pig to be bullied.

 

[Gemm24]

Thanks for your advice. The pig that is unhappy is the black one.
She has recently had a health issue which was corrected by the vet (had her molars ground down) and after the operation she was on her own for a night to recover away from the others and she ate really well and gained weight but as soon as I put her back in with the other cage mates she wasn’t eating as much.
She used to be so curious and active but over time has retreated and become really skittish. I don’t want to make the wrong decision.

I can either leave her as she is risking her being unhappy or put her with a very boisterous neutered boar or put her with two mellow sow and boar couple.

I will update you! Wish me luck!

 

[VickiA]

Thanks for the extra info. Thst makes sense. Have her teeth been checked recently? Could they be an issue again? I think her behaviour while she was separated and then since you’ve put her back in probably tells you deep down she isn’t happy with the other ladies.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi
I have three sows who are 3.5 years old and have been together all their lives.
However over time I have noticed the most submissive pig spends more and more of her time in a hidey, 50% of the the time when the other two come near her she unhappy/stress squeaks, one of the more dominant pigs barbars her (only mild), she gets nipped when she is in the way, they steal her food and she weighs 300-400g lighter than the others.

On the other hand she sleeps next to the other two and never had a big fight.

I want her to be happy and have other guinea pigs I can bond her with but I don’t want to split the trio up if you think I am over reacting.

I would be grateful for any advice
Thanks

Please have your bullying sows vet checked for ovarian cysts to see whether an increased hormone output is causing the problems. This can be addressed by either hormone injections (mostly chorulon), cyst draining (an alternative solution to a spay for frail or old sows) or a spaying operation.

Trios are however the constellation that is most prone to outsider problems, whether that is bullying or an undissolved dominance dispute between the two piggies at the top.
Please read this guide to find out whether your picked on piggy still wants to be part of the group or not - that should be your guidance for any decisions you make.
Bonds In Trouble