Could they ever live together?

[PoppysPiggies]

I recently added a new boar to my already existing pair. I did the introduction on neutral territory and everything went fine for a few days, just a bit of mounting and chasing, but 4 days later, Nutmeg (the new piggy) had a wound on his back.

They are now separated, is there any hope of reintroducing them?

If not, should I get nutmeg neutered and adopt a girl piggy for him? Are they more likely to get along?

They live in a two levelled 6ft by 2ft cage, with the ladder blocked off, nutmeg on top and the other two underneath, so they can smell and hear eachother.

Thank you,

Poppy

 

[Siikibam]

I’m afraid the likelihood of three boars living together is quite rare. Leaving alone their compatibility, the space alone they need would be A LOT more. A 2x6 is enough for three sows or a neutered boar and two sows, but not enough for three boars. And additional floors don’t count as they’re ground roaming animals.

The difficulty you have is that their interaction is about more than smell. Sight and body language also play an important part. There can be no interaction through the cage floor.

So I would strongly suggest you get him a friend as soon as possible. A rescue that does boar dating is your best bet - he can choose his own friend.

If you plan to neuter him and (after the six week wait) get him a sow, then you will have to think about how you’re housing the pair of boars. The scent of a sow can cause a ruckus between them and go as far as breaking the bond. Are your piggies indoor or outdoor?

The advise is to keep any sows/sow pairings in a separate room. You COULD keep them below the pair of boars, but do so knowing the risks.

I hope that answers your questions. On that note, how old are the boys? And we’d love to see some pigtures when you get a chance

 

[Piggies&buns]

Keeping three boars together has a 90% chance of fights and failure. Boars need to be kept in pairs. A much larger space than your cage is needed to even attempt three boars (a cage of at least three square metres) but it is about so much more than space - boars just don’t work well in a trio, so even with a Much larger cage it is still highly unlikely to work.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

I agree with everything else siikibam has said. You could neuter your single and have him live with a wife but the presence of a sow could disrupt the bond between the boar pair. It would be better to have a rescue centre help you find a suitable boar friend for him or have him neutered, find a wife and then ideally keep them in a separate room

 

[PoppysPiggies]

Thanks for the advice, I know someone who runs a guinea pig rescue, so I'm sure she'll be able to find him a friend. They will almost definitely have to stay at least in the same room as eachother though, I have cats and don't feel comfortable leaving them alone with the piggies.
On another note, here are the piggies

Nutmeg (8 months)

Cadbury (probably about 2 years)


Sock (about 2 years)

 

[Piggies&buns]

If you find him a new boar friend then all four of them (two separate cages) will be absolutely fine in the same room. It’ll only be if you have him neutered and then find him a sow friend that you could run into problems with your boar pair. As has been explained above, having sows around a bonded pair of boars can cause them to fight over the sow (even though they aren’t in the same cage as her). There are ways to minimise the risk, if you have a stacked c&c cage for example, having the sow/boar pair below the boar/boar pair can help minimise the sow smells falling onto the boar pair. If not a stacked c&c then you will need them to be opposite ends of the room of have an opaque divider which is higher and wider than the cage. None of this is a guarantee though - boars can react very strongly to sow pheromones and it can break boar bonds (meaning more single piggies).