Dominance (sows)

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Tiny

Tiny

Teenage Guinea Pig
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My two sows are around 3.5 months old now, and have lived with me for 6 weeks-ish. They're settled, it seems, with me and each other. Marble can be the more forceful around food, i.e. she'll occasionally take food from Willow's mouth, turf Willow out of the hay, basically "if Willow's eating/sitting on/looking at it, it must be really special so I need to have it NOW, despite ignoring it previously" :roll:
However, this is not consistent, often Willow will stand her ground (non-aggressively) and Marble quickly bottles it :)) And often Marble just doesn't bother; she's not overly militant about proving she's top pig! They've never had anything near a fight, nothing more serious than drama-queen Willow letting out an indignant squeak!

They share everything, there's no 'ownership' of furniture/spaces/toys, they each have favoured snoozing spots but these aren't set in stone and they're not territorial. They've never slept next to each other.

However, and this is the cause of my query, there's a higher ledge that Willow likes to sit on; it's fleece covered and in the corner of the cage that's most 'in' the room, so I've always felt she must feel comfortable sleeping/sitting there as it's effectively the most 'exposed' area. But then, she's very much a 'people pig' so I suspect this elevated vantage point give her maximum potential to check out the hoomans. But when she sits or sleeps here, Marble NEVER turfs her off (which I'm very pleased about, as Willow really blisses out up there!), even though she (Marble) does use it separately. Furthermore, if Willow's sleeping there, Marble will often position herself below and facing Willow. This is the closest they sleep together, and I'm wondering:

- If Marble 'gets' that this is Willow's spot
- Is there any significance in Marble facing Willow (when Willow's not there her preference is to face the other way), is it comforting to see Willow? Or is she not wanting to turn her back on her, as in protecting from attack (prey instinct)?
- Does height play any significance in dominance? Is Marble literally 'looking up' to Willow?

I guess I don't need any hard and fast answers, as there's no fighting or anything, but I am FASCINATED by the nuances of their behaviour :nod:
 
That is a strange one. I don't think we will know what goes on in piggies minds, it probably involves a lot of veggies and food though. Lol.
 
@Julie M This is EXACTLY my conclusion! Sometimes I'm jealous of their piggieness, I'd really love to know their little thought processes :))
 
Tiny said:
My two sows are around 3.5 months old now, and have lived with me for 6 weeks-ish. They're settled, it seems, with me and each other. Marble can be the more forceful around food, i.e. she'll occasionally take food from Willow's mouth, turf Willow out of the hay, basically "if Willow's eating/sitting on/looking at it, it must be really special so I need to have it NOW, despite ignoring it previously" :roll:
However, this is not consistent, often Willow will stand her ground (non-aggressively) and Marble quickly bottles it :)) And often Marble just doesn't bother; she's not overly militant about proving she's top pig! They've never had anything near a fight, nothing more serious than drama-queen Willow letting out an indignant squeak!

They share everything, there's no 'ownership' of furniture/spaces/toys, they each have favoured snoozing spots but these aren't set in stone and they're not territorial. They've never slept next to each other.

However, and this is the cause of my query, there's a higher ledge that Willow likes to sit on; it's fleece covered and in the corner of the cage that's most 'in' the room, so I've always felt she must feel comfortable sleeping/sitting there as it's effectively the most 'exposed' area. But then, she's very much a 'people pig' so I suspect this elevated vantage point give her maximum potential to check out the hoomans. But when she sits or sleeps here, Marble NEVER turfs her off (which I'm very pleased about, as Willow really blisses out up there!), even though she (Marble) does use it separately. Furthermore, if Willow's sleeping there, Marble will often position herself below and facing Willow. This is the closest they sleep together, and I'm wondering:

- If Marble 'gets' that this is Willow's spot
- Is there any significance in Marble facing Willow (when Willow's not there her preference is to face the other way), is it comforting to see Willow? Or is she not wanting to turn her back on her, as in protecting from attack (prey instinct)?
- Does height play any significance in dominance? Is Marble literally 'looking up' to Willow?

I guess I don't need any hard and fast answers, as there's no fighting or anything, but I am FASCINATED by the nuances of their behaviour :nod:
Click to expand...

Guinea pigs are fascinating.

What you can take from yours is that they are very well bonded. Marble is not so much looking up to Willow but she is oriented towards her and aware of her. Piggies often choose their own favourite corners where they like to nap and hang out.
 
Thank you @Wiebke :)

I want to say to them "You love each other, you wheek to go back to each other when you've each had enough of lap time, so don't heckle and tease each other!"

I have actually tried to guilt-trip Marble before when I see her sneaking up to the hay tray... "Please don't kick her out of the hay, she's comfy there!" She doesn't understand enough English, I don't speak enough pig, plus she has NO conscience when it comes to food :))

You're right though, they are so fascinating, if completely illogical sometimes! I'm glad Willow has her 'safe' place; she's like a regal lioness on her throne there :D
 
Tiny said:
Thank you @Wiebke :)

I want to say to them "You love each other, you wheek to go back to each other when you've each had enough of lap time, so don't heckle and tease each other!"

I have actually tried to guilt-trip Marble before when I see her sneaking up to the hay tray... "Please don't kick her out of the hay, she's comfy there!" She doesn't understand enough English, I don't speak enough pig, plus she has NO conscience when it comes to food :))

You're right though, they are so fascinating, if completely illogical sometimes! I'm glad Willow has her 'safe' place; she's like a regal lioness on her throne there :D
Click to expand...

Marble is the first lady, she has first choice and she has to enforce that from time to time; you have to accept that the way an underpiggy does. It is right at the heart of piggy society. Dominance and personal friendship are two different things for guinea pigs; they are not mutually exclusive.
Guinea Pig Facts - A Short Overview
 
I understand, but it's soooooo hard not to feel sorry for and overprotective of the underpiggy :))
 
Tell me about it! Poor Godfrey- Duncan once glanced at him and he gave a squeak and fled in fear! I find his submissiveness really, really hilarious- he's chubbier and more confident than his brother, he weighs 100g more and still gets rumbled at:))Duncan looks an absolute angel, we sat him on a cashmere jumper (no, nobody wears it anymore!) on the table, and just admired him eating his seed heads. He looks so sweet and innocent, yet rumbles so much at his poor brother! However, I play on the big computer on the table which is in the cage, so I plop a chair carefully in the cage (Duncan likes hiding under it, aww!) and this means I get to observe them. So, today Godfrey was napping in the loft, just by the ramp -I must post pics, his cheeks are SUBLIME- and Duncan toddled up the ramp and was nose-to-nose with his brother. So Godfrey gave an annoyed squeak because he was trying to snooze, and Duncan promptly scuttled backwards down the ramp! Honestly, I love watching them. Although a lot of it seems to be watching them sleep. Too cute for words.
I have actually just posted a paragraph consisting of me rambling about how cute my pigs are. Well, we're all mad about our pigtatoes:drool::love:
 
I love threads like this. Guinea pig behaviour is wonderfully interesting.

I had a guinea pig trio in my room and it was so lovely to hear/watch them. Looking forward to getting guinea pigs again.
 
Well this is interesting - Willow has been nibbling/cleaning Marble's ears, not in an aggressive, biting way, and Marble allows it, doesn't seem bothered by it.

I'd read about this (but not experienced it) so I did a quick search here to recap and it's apparently 'power grooming'.

I *hope* I've got two confident girls, not power-crazed alpha-sows, otherwise I'm not sure which way any power struggle would go! :))
 
Frosty (the top rabbit in my quad) grooms his brother round the eyes in a dominant way. Wonder is that is power grooming as well.

Power crazed alpha sows haha. If beauty could produce power then they would be very very dangerous!
 
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