Thank you, for all your help. I am now discussing with my husband about having the c&c cages indoors and losing half is our sitting room ! I am struggling to see how the L shape hutch would work outside due to the wooden end of the hutch (if that makes sense)
My only other question is that the underdog is delighted to be by himself,he seems a lot happier already. Whereas the bully is squeaking a lot. I know it's hard to know but are they generally quite happy living side by side or would ultimately he prefer to share with another guinea pig?
As he has perked up, then that is a definite sign their bond has failed sadly.
The bully pig is squeaking because he now can’t bully and fight and he will be patrolling his territory. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s because he
needs to live with another piggy. He will eventually settle and provided they have constant through the bar interaction with each other then neither need to have a new live in friend. Living side by side is perfectly fine.
Both my boys were upset by their separation but after a few days they were both fine and much happier to be apart.
If you are moving them inside then they need a minimum of a 3x2 c&c cage each side by side either in a long 6x2 divided or as two cages L shape.
If you wish to try to find a new friend then that is your decision to make.
I would however, recommend you neuter them both, have the essential six week post op and find a sow for each of them. Ideally finding a sow with the help of dating at a rescue centre to ensure compatibility and acceptance.
At their age with hormones now in play and the fact he has bullied a boar already, neutering and bonding with a sow would have a higher chance of success than bonding each with another boar. Bonding teen boars is not impossible but it is harder and we would only recommend you attempt to do so with the help of a rescue centre otherwise you risk ending up with failed bonds and more single piggies.
The other benefit is that if both have a new friend, then cages can be stacked. A 4x2 stacked cage with a boar/sow pair at the top and the other boar/sow pair at the bottom would save floor space.
You could also still use the outside hutch (provided the hutch is a 5 or 6ft hutch) - one pair up, one pair down.
If you want to get only one of them a new friend due to struggling being alone, that is ok but they would still need to be side by side as there is still a single piggy, and the cage for the pair would need to be bigger (again, still recommending bonding with a sow but it would mean you would need a 4x2 for the pair and a side by side 3x2 for the single piggy. If only one is neutered and bonded with a sow then, the boar who remains single would need to have a lid on his cage as he could well try to escape and get in with the sow (thus causing a pregnancy and potentially a fight with the other boar for territory invasion).
If you decided to take the chance on boar friends for them each, then the cage size needed is a 5x2 c&c each and any outdoor hutch needs to be 6ft for two boars.