Did my herd union really go well or was it a flop?

[Aiinu1]

Hi guys! Back in September I adopted a baby guinea pig and end up bonding her with my herd of three (one neutered male and two females). It didn't sit right with me, it was really diferent from my other experiences and I made this question in this forum:

Hey guys!
I need a little bit of help.
I recently adopted a baby guinea pig. I had her in a different cage next to my other three for a few days. Yesterday I decided to try and bond them. I first introduced her to my neutered male, since he is really calm, and she seemed to come back to life. She had barely come out of her hidie before, but once he was there with her she started following and copying him. Two minutes later I put in with them my younger female, who didn't seem to mind her at first, and finally my older female.
I was most scare to introduce her to the older female since she is the dominant one and didn't quite like the younger female at first (she didn't do anything to her but didn't want her close). Turns out she was actually really gentle with the baby, she smelled her a couple times and just did her thing. The male accepted her too, and the younger female seemed to do the same.
Today I had to separate them. I have the two females together and the male and the baby together.
The younger female keeps "attacking" the baby. There isn't blood, but she keeps throwing herself at her, intimidating her and keeps chasing her. I don't think she was biting her but she was being really mean. Poor thing the baby was terrified, she kept screaming like crazy every time the younger female threw herself at her and tried to run away.
Should I try again? Did the bonding fail for sure?
I first did the bonding in a neutral space and made sure everything was fresh and clean when I putted their cages together to make a big one.
I feel like separating the older three is quite cruel, since they have been together since they were babies.
Should I start thinking about bonding the baby with another piggie and have two herds? What do you think I should do? What are my options?

I got advise that this was normal so I just started the whole process again and things seemed calm for a couple of weeks. Baby was terrified but the rest seem to just ignore her most of the time. Since then things just seems messy, she is around five or six months and still really scared of the other pigs and humans, even thoug she will let me hand feed her, she is always in the oposite side of the cage (they live in a 2x7 c&c cage) or hide in what we call the jail (it's a little space inside a hidie house ment for hay where she hides most of the day). When it's time to eat she waits the other aren't around to do so (hay and pallets) and when I give them veggies she gets hers and run to eat them inside a house. When they are out of their cage she seems to be the one who enjoys the most out of them to explore and run around and when we hold them the others will cuddle close to each other but freak out if she tries to get close to them and what seems like atacking her (there is no blood). When they are inside the cage they make her scream constanly, it sounds awful, and in generall I just feel like she isn't as happy as the others are. Maybe it's just me freaking out, but it doesn't feel normal to me. I have got a vet appointment in a couple weeks and I'm going to ask my vet for her opinion but in the ment time I would love to her your thouths.

 

[Swissgreys]

I am not an expert but my first question would be what are her weekly weights like?
If she is steadily gaining then this is always a good sign.
If her weight has stopped increasing or dropped then it would be concerning.

I am sure other's will be along with better advice, but personally when I am concerned I always start with looking at their overall weight and body condition.

 

[Aiinu1]

I am not an expert but my first question would be what are her weekly weights like?
If she is steadily gaining then this is always a good sign.
If her weight has stopped increasing or dropped then it would be concerning.

I am sure other's will be along with better advice, but personally when I am concerned I always start with looking at their overall weight and body condition.

She is gaining weight, not as much as the others at her age, but she is gaining weight. This is something I used to worry about a lot before but I always make sure she eats. Maybe she's just smaller.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

If you are worried, the best thing is always to conduct a trial separation to see whether your little one is perking up noticeably when away from the herd or not. It is the closest we can come to asking piggies how they honestly feel about a relationship.
More practical information on how to conduct a trial separation in this link here: Bonds In Trouble

Please be aware that some youngsters born to highly stressed out mothers will experience those high level of stress hormones as their normal while still in the womb. While their mothers will usually relax in good care eventually in my own experience, the youngsters will always retain those high levels as their instinctive reset pattern and will never be able to fully relax.

 

[Sue and Smartie]

That's a really interesting point Wiebke. It had not occurred to me, and could explain why Binky Pig was always a bundle of wildness.