Can 4 Boys Enjoy Lawn Time & Floor Time At The Same Time?

[Lilly]

Getting ready for the 2 new boys I am adopting in about 2 weeks from Queensland Guinea Pig Refuge. They will of course live in their own cage. I also have 2 playpens, one for each set of boys.

What I am wondering is if I can put out both playpens, and therefore 4 boys, at the same time. I could put them quite far apart on the lawn but floor time in the lounge would mean the playpens would be close together. Would it cause friction to have this much interaction? My current 2 have been together for over 3 years. The 2 new boys have been together for 2.5 years.

I am quite happy to put them out at separate times if this is best, but would prefer both sets out if OK.

 

[Wiebke]

It very much depends on how laid back/hormonal your boys are. If they are in proximity to each other, there will be some inevitable blustering and showing off whenever they meet; even my neutered boars do it with each other at roaming time although they generally ignore the neighbours when in the pen after the initial meetings through the bars. I have of course put the calmest boy with his group of sows in the middle pen!

The crucial bit is that any macho behaviour shouldn't boil over into serious dominance disputes between the established pairs. Yours are all adults, so it is worth a try as they are well past the teenage hormones, especially if thy have a solid, stable bond.

However, I would strongly recommend to wait until your two new boys have settled in and their relationship has stabilised again. Each new territory demands a new hierarchy sort-out with the usual dominance behaviour. Thankfully, most adults will settle down well together, if necessary with a night apart and re-intros on neutral territory.

Great that you are going rescue! QLD Guinea Pig Refuge is a very good rescue operating to a high standard.

 

[MerryPip]

I have done this with my two pairs of boys but they are watched constantly if I do. They are pretty laid back and that helps as well as the fact they are all over 3 years old.

I used to socaialise my boys together for floor time when they were little but I had to stop that when thye hit their teenage hormonal phase as it got too stressful for everyone concerned.

Wiebke's advice is sound. Let them all settle in a bit and see how it goes....

 

[Lilly]

Thanks @Wiebke & @MerryPip . Will let the new boys settle first, then try everyone in their runs on the lawn first as that way they can be fairly far apart as I watch them & see how they go.