Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

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Will they settle eventually!

We have had out two boars since April of this year. We got them as babies. At first all was great and they seemed to get along (or so I thought). We took them for boarding for a week in July and they were around females. When we colllected them one seemed to have a sore nose. I just thought he had knocked it and did not suspect the other pig. We soon realised that they weren't getting along and one day they had a massive fight which resulted in bloody wounds on the smaller and less dominant one. We immediately separated them and they now have separate hutches. When I try and put them together in the hutch now all hell breaks loose (this behaviour is only from one guinea). The thing is when I put them both on my knee together you would think they were the best of friends and cuddle up and chirp away. Do you think the dominant one will eventually settle and grow to be calm like his partner. We did think of having the more dominant one rehomed but found that we could not part with him. Any advice would be appreciated
 
chunkymonkey said:
We have had out two boars since April of this year. We got them as babies. At first all was great and they seemed to get along (or so I thought). We took them for boarding for a week in July and they were around females. When we colllected them one seemed to have a sore nose. I just thought he had knocked it and did not suspect the other pig. We soon realised that they weren't getting along and one day they had a massive fight which resulted in bloody wounds on the smaller and less dominant one. We immediately separated them and they now have separate hutches. When I try and put them together in the hutch now all hell breaks loose (this behaviour is only from one guinea). The thing is when I put them both on my knee together you would think they were the best of friends and cuddle up and chirp away. Do you think the dominant one will eventually settle and grow to be calm like his partner. We did think of having the more dominant one rehomed but found that we could not part with him. Any advice would be appreciated
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It was most definately the scent of the girls that caused the issues along with the fact that they are probably going through there teenage timerolleyes.
Alot of care must be taken when re introducing them otherwise it will always end in a fight,
Bathe both pigs in the same scented shampoo to mask there scents,and introduce them on neutral ground(possibly a bathroom?) always have a towel at hand to throw over the aggressive pig to stop fights as if you dont you could get bitten,make sure they also have a ton of veg and hay when you introduce them as food can distract them from fighting.
Its a slow process but once you are confident they are ok on neitra ground you can put them in the same hutch with a wire divider to they can talk through the wire,after that they can move in again providing all goes well.
Seeing as blood has been drawn it may not work again but there is still a chance it can so i would give it a shot,
If they fail to bond again i would seriously look into getting 2 baby boars as babies are much more likely to stay bonded with older boys.
goodluck x
 
Boars Simple Dominance Displays or Fighting

it sounds to me like a dominance thing as ours do it all the time. I suppose its away of remindng one another who boss. I own bee, patch and snoop. Bee and snoop do this all the time and have always got a burst of energy where they run around like loonatics.
 
Nip at head

Thanks for this post.

My boars seem to get on really well, but I've just started to notice that when their in their snuggle house together (which they love) often Mulder will hit the top of Scully's head with his chin (maybe tooth). Theres never any blood, and Scully never seems that bothered...is this just play fighting for space? Or a sign of something worse to come?

I've had them since May.
 
My guys get on well, but I am in the process of introducing Bert my new rescue, and Albert appears to be grumbling a lot at him, and once I caught him snorting.

And after much watching and things, it appears that Winston is the one that is causing all the trouble :o

I have just added another extension to the cage so they now have even More room. Just hoping they can settle down and chill soon!

They are all happy as larry when they are sat out on mums knee!
 
Vikx993 said:
My guys get on well, but I am in the process of introducing Bert my new rescue, and Albert appears to be grumbling a lot at him, and once I caught him snorting.

And after much watching and things, it appears that Winston is the one that is causing all the trouble :o

I have just added another extension to the cage so they now have even More room. Just hoping they can settle down and chill soon!

They are all happy as larry when they are sat out on mums knee!
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Well turns out that Bert is the trouble maker :o He is snorting at them and teeth chattering, no fights or anything. So not sure what to do now grrrr
 
Boars & Girls living within the same house?

Hi just having a read through regarding the boars behaviour would you say as a general rule that the boys tend to get along much better if they have always been homed together? I'm due to collect my two 10 week old boars this evening and was wondering if i would have cause for concern or if it is highly unlikely that they would fight as they have always been together from day one.
might i add that i also have two girls that are being housed separately and i wondered if it was a good idea not to put their homes near each other through fear of the smell of the girls winding up the boys and them then taking it out on each other if that makes sense lol ? I have the option of getting girls and wondered if i am making a mistake taking on boars due to already having girls?
Is it better to only have all girls or all boys as oposed to a mixture? Thanks in advance for any advice :)
 
Whether two boys will stay together is mainly down to two factors: compatibility of character and lots of space. Thankfully, the majority of boars make it through the hormonal phase from 4 months onwards although it can be touch and go at times, depending on the personalities.

Cross gender pairings are probably the most stable connection, as dominance is not as important as with same sex pairs, but they require that the boar gets neutered. It may be something to think of in case your boys happen to have a permanent fall-out.You want to make sure that you have an experienced vet do the op in order to minimise the risks.
 
Update

BTW the boars are currently on hold after reading so much over the last few days re: their behaviour when paired together i have decided to look into it more and check that they will definatly be for us i am worried if i have two even from birth from the same litter ( is it a litter in wiggy world?) that we may come unstuck with fallouts and i would prefer to wait and see how others have got along with their boys and get more advice and tips on them before commiting completely, once they come home they will be here to stay and i want to make sure their stay will be a happy fufilled life kinda stay. I'm disappointed but i want to be a reasponsible piggy owner :)
Nic X
 
Thank you this thread is really informative, Just what I was looking for, I have recently been given two boars, they have lived together for roughly a year so I've been told but on Monday night they were moved to my home and have been chasing each other (but with teeth chattering... Patch doesn't like it!) and Biscuit keeps humping and biting Patch, from what I can tell the bites are nothing more than to hold patch still long enough so he can mount him lol. it's been going on since yesterday, all day today, I separated them for a few hours earlier and they are together again now, right now they seem calm and are sleeping but we'll see...
I was confused by this behaviour, 1 because I haven't had any guineas since I was a young child myself, so its all new to me (hence why I'm on here to get information :) ) and because they have been together for a year already, but from what you've said it could be because its spring time... or because they are in a new environment, (the cage is the same cage, but I have made them a run (temporary until I make/buy a better one) and bought new toys etc) so maybe its the dominance over the new territory... who knows...

Thanks again :) x
 
It's getting worse...

Since I've been home (from about 8pm) my two have not stopped chasing and mounting each over. They are not even eating all their food, completely dis-interested in me and my partner unles we have fresh veg...and even then they just waffle it down and start chasing each other...it's like that's the only thing on their minds!

There is teeth chattering, and squeaking (but not high pitched squealing) and no raising back legs. Although, they're not agressively fighting I'm concerned as to how long they are chasing each other...surely it's wearing and stressing them out!

I split them for half an hour, but when they were put back together it just started all over again.

Is this because it's spring? I see the post above is experiencing a similiar thing!
 
Boars Reunited - hope this might be helpful to some.

I've had boars in pairs since 1998, always adding a young boar when a companion died (except once when a specialist in this field did a successful adult pairing.) I've seen the rumblestrutting, the posturing, the mounting, the squeaking and even the odd teeth chattering, but pigs 6 and 7 (Celyn and Griff) have been the first I've had to separate and reunite.

I had Celyn and Gethin from when they were babes and although not related, they were very closely bonded. When Gethin died of heart problems last August, just short of his 4th birthday, I luckily found a boar from a rescue, born the same day Gethin went to the bridge. At exactly 3 weeks, baby Griff was introduced to Celyn, under the supervision of Dave and Ann at Pet Rodent Rescue.

I was surprised by Celyn's maternal instincts as he'd always been the "spikey" pig of the previous pair, but he just seemed to adore his new protege. But, a few months ago, they started squaring off now and again. Mostly, it was just sound and fury, rarely came to blows and they were easily distracted by food or timothy hay.

However, a few weeks after we moved house and after they came home from a few days boarding at Paws Here, they had a major set to. Lots of noise, teeth chattering, raising up and ending with Celyn getting a bite on the nose and Griff a bite on the lip. As we were about to go away for a week, I had no option but to put a "fence" down the middle of the cage as I couldn't trust they'd be okay without supervision. I did swap them between sides in the hopes they wouldn't get too territorial.

Sunday week, I set aside the day for reuniting them. It started with each having a thorough bath with nice smelling anti-dandruff shampoo. Then, I put both outside in the "pig pen" with plenty of grass to distract them. My partner kept a close watch while I scrubbed their cage thoroughly.

Being in a strange environment with plenty of space and neutral ground for both seemed to have a calming effect. They were more interested in the grass and the assortment of cardboard boxes in the pen than arguing and seemed content in each other's company.

I refilled their cage with fresh hay, some new toys and sprayed some of that "Dog Appeasement Pheremone" (which I found on discount while in America a few weeks ago,) on the back of their sofa and tops of their log cabin bedrooms.

When I popped them both in, again, they seemed more interested in the re-worked surroundings than each other at first, but eventually approached each other, fairly tentatively.

At one point, Celyn raised up and did the teeth chattering thing. Griff responded with some rumblestrutting, but he held his head lower and gingerly started licking Celyn's face, which I believe is a sign of submission. Things calmed down quickly and they went back to foraging.

It's been a week and there have still been frequent noisy arguments, and a few face offs, but they haven't come to blows. I think Griff (who seemed to miss Celyn's companionship the most while they were separated) has just had to come to terms with the fact that if he wants to hang out with Celyn, he's going to have to let him be "Boss Hog!" :(|)

I'm still keeping a close eye, but I feel I can trust now that Griff will stay out of Celyn's way if he's in a "mood" or at least back down if they do get into a confrontational situation.

I'm not sure of the Dog Appeasement Pheremone made any difference. I'm still spraying it on their cabins every couple days, but it's hard to tell if it's having any effect. Has anyone else tried it?

Anyhow, just thought I'd offer our experience in hopes it might be helpful to others. I think the key is to remember that boars can make a heckuva lot of noise, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are or are about to knock seven bells out of each other.
 
For what it's worth....

Although am a newbie on this site, having two males, feel I can contribute to this thread.
Bought my two lads (brothers) about Easter time last year, when they were about 10 weeks old. All went well until they were about 4 1/2 months, when it became clear that there was a battle for dominance emerging. A lot of chasing, teeth chattering and posturing etc.
Whilst this had the effect of putting me distinctly "on edge", I decided that unless it became abundantly clear that they were actually going to try and kill each other, I was not going to separate them. Was convinced that if I did, then I'd never be able to put them together again.
I also figured that, if they were doing all this whilst we were home, then there was probably just as much, if not more, going on while we were at work and as neither of them had any serious damage (a couple of minor nicks on nose/ear)decided to just let them get on with it.
Although I had not had piggies before, did have plenty of experience with other animals, and it was probably this, that helped me "hold my nerve".
Took a couple of months, but things finally calmed down.
Still get the occasional day when one or the other will decide to try and take charge and start chasing etc, but usually just ends with them "talking" to each other and seems to get sorted that way.
If I do want to distract them, I use the "pretend sneeze" technique, They hate sneezing. Can push a hoover round right next to run with no effect, but a sneeze will have them scurrying off to their beds!
Funny little critters - what's not to love? x>>
 
So as daft as this will probably sound, is it wise to introduce a young boar to my 2 boars I have already? Can boars in 3s get on?

I've only ever kept females before and they used to do the occasional wiggling and chattering to eachother followed by a little chase. Oh and the mounting, always made me laugh. Gertie would always head mount too!


EDIT should I have posted this as a separate topic?
 
great advice

thankyou!

my boys are only 3 weeks old, brothers been together since birth but have just started making this brrrrrrrr noise and chasing each other

i'll keep an eye on them but thankfully they popcorn alot so it may just be playful young boys

Donna x
 
Help!

Hey I'm new to this!

I have one boar Quinn who is around 16 weeks old, i decided to get a friend for him on tuesday walter who is 12 weeks old. I have problems, i dont know if they are going to get on or not, although most people say you'll know instanly if they are not going to get on I'm not sure. Quinn the older one is being very donimant and although they haven't attacked each other or anything like that, hes doing all what you said above about getting to know each other, the rumbling, nosing off, hip swaying. Its now been 4 days and I'm just wondering if the pairng isnt actually going to work? :(
They will happily cuddle up but quinn just seems so bossy all the time.
I would really appreciate anyones suggestions.

Thankyou.
X
 
abilyndon said:
Hey I'm new to this!

I have one boar Quinn who is around 16 weeks old, i decided to get a friend for him on tuesday walter who is 12 weeks old. I have problems, i dont know if they are going to get on or not, although most people say you'll know instanly if they are not going to get on I'm not sure. Quinn the older one is being very donimant and although they haven't attacked each other or anything like that, hes doing all what you said above about getting to know each other, the rumbling, nosing off, hip swaying. Its now been 4 days and I'm just wondering if the pairng isnt actually going to work? :(
They will happily cuddle up but quinn just seems so bossy all the time.
I would really appreciate anyones suggestions.

Thankyou.
X
Click to expand...

Looks like they are already right in the middle of working through the bonding protocol. It can take longer with very dominant boars. You will know whether it's worked when they get to the point where the underpig gets his say, which can be up to two weeks.

You also have to be aware that both boars are on the verge of the stroppy months where the hormones play up and fall outs are most likely.
 
Wow! wish I'd seen this thread earlier. We've had probs with the boys but compared to some other pigs seems not as bad as first feared. Thanks so much for all the advice:(|)
 
Hiya,

My 2 male pigs have fallen out recently and I'm unsure how far to let the dominance displays go before I intervene. They have been kept seperately and I've tried re-intorducing them several times over the past 2 weeks but it ends with aggression displays and they look like they will pounce. I have tried bathing them together, placing them on the floor with plenty of space and food in between them, as suggested on a different thread. They showed the dominance behavior (fur raised, loud teeth clicking, lots of head raising etc) before launching themselves at each other with teeth bared. We seperated them immediatley but reading through other posts should we have left them to fight it out hoping it'll clear the air?

Stressed seapig
 
Oh thank goodness for this thread!

Despite being housed together all the time, as soon as my boys were put out this morning, Mungo (who I assume is the dominant one. Sometimes I'm not sure...) was chasing Buster around and mounting him from all angles! This lasted for about half an hour and Buster making all kinds of noises. I kept an eye on them to make sure they wouldn't do each other harm but they sorted it out, whatever the matter was. I think Mungo was just a little frisky cos Buster had some boar juice on his face at the end of it, poor thing.
 
Cheers!

Thats great info, thanks. I got piggies for the first time 6 weeks ago and was a bit worried about their behaviour. The little one does all of the stuff in the first section, rumbling, nudging etc. I was wondering what to do because i feel sorry for Ted, he must get fed up being nudged and hassled! But i see now its normal and probably cos of the new environment and age.
Thanks for taking the timexx>>>
 
cycles and pig behaviour-

When I used to get my cycle, and lived with only two boars, there would be more rumblestrutting, mounting of one another {hump-o-mania}, and displays of dominance. I was accepted into Their Herd, and since their sense of smell is pretty fantastic- it was not really that strange behaviour-wise to me. I've been told of this happening with horses.
 
what should i do?

hi i need some advice about my guinea pigs behaviour. My boyfriend bought me 2 boars a few weeks ago and they get on fine they are about 4/5 months old now, with one of them clearly trying to show hes the boss. we bought another boar a couple of days ago, his age is about 3/4 months old and alot smaller compared to the other 2. we introduced him to the others and they were fine, the boss pig even looked like he was protecting him.

So now there seems to be an issue, the boss pig chases and tries to nip the new pig, I cant see any bit marks the young one just squeaks loudly when hes been 'chased/attacked' what does this mean? am I gonna have to seperate them? my other pig tries to do the I'm the boss to the little one but he doesnt chase and try to nip him.
 
I have had my two lovely boys (pisces & menai) since may this year when they were 9 weeks old. They were from pets@home so I don't know if they are birth brothers or not but they got on well when we were looking at them.
In the last 1-2 weeks menai has been going up to pisces while he is eating/drinking. He does everything as described at the beginning of this thread, but as he is doing it he is pushing pisces out the way of the food + water. It doesn't matter if he wants to be there instead. After he has got pisces on the move he will continue to chase him until he goes into the house. Menai will then lay down at the front of the house totally tired out. I think that pisces is getting enough to eat as he's weight has been fine. There has been no wounds.
Is this something I should be concerned about? Or is there anyway I can stop him from doing this while pisces is eating/drinking?
I have already tried giving them 2 of everything but that just made it worse. They also get plenty of run time in a big playpen that takes up nearly the whole floor. I dont want to seperate them if i dont have to as menai pines for pisces if i do and vice versa.
 
Thank you!

I got my 3 brothers (8 weeks old) 3 days ago and had some mild teeth chattering tonight. Was a bit worried but you have put my mind at rest. Thank you!
 
Been a bit anxious about Buzz and Woody but this thread has put my mind at rest a bit. Woody is most definitely the dominant one which is suprising as Buzz is more confident with people.

Anyway there is always odd bits of rumbling and bum wiggling and we hear the odd squeak when we are trying to sleep. This morning though Buzz ran up into the hayloft and Woody would not let him past and they had a stand off type thing with their chins in the air which I have seen a few times. There has been no blood or anything but does this all sound ok? They are in a 3x3 C&C with a 1x3 hayloft and get floortime but tend to just sit there when they are out.

Still getting used to 2 boars together, am used to Johnny and his group of girlies. All he does is rumble at them and sleep and eat.
 
I was a bit worried about Gizmo & Kipper, as 3 of my boys [brothers] had to be seperated after some rather vicious attacks. This thread has definatly cleared things up for me :)
 
Been having another read through this thread in preparation for little Nigel's arrival in a couple of weeks time. Buzz is at least 2 I would say and Nigel is about 1. Will definitely make sure they have 2 of everything and they will be in a 3 by 3 C&C with a 1 by 3 hayloft so will have plenty of space. Buzz is a very laid back boar and Woody was definitely the dominant one as he was always rumbling at Buzz and always got him to do his dirty work lol. From what I have heard about Nigel he is a gentle, laid back little piggy so fingers crossed it will all be ok. If not we have room to extend and split the cage into 2 and if need be add a baby friend for each.
 
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