Existing boar food-shy around new boar

4boipigs

4boipigs

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I got a new boy (2? yrs old) for my bereaved boar (6ish yrs old) yesterday. They've been getting along very well with really no signs of aggression or dominance aside from some quiet rumbling. They literally act like they've been best friends all their lives. However I noticed whenever my original/bereaved boar Little Bear comes out to eat, Gimbly will follow to the food source, and then Little Bear runs off to hide while Gimbly eats whatever is there (right now, pellets or hay). Again, there's no chasing, teeth chattering, humping, or anything but a little bit of rumblestrutting. They have 2 to 3 of everything. They seem to get along perfectly fine, but I'm wondering if this interaction with food is any cause for concern. I'm only used to dominant/aggressive boars and these two are very calm and relaxed compared to my other bickering boars.
 
Do they also have two hay feeding areas? With regards pellets you could scatter feed and hopefully that would eliminate him being chased away. But I’m not too sure why he’s doing that. It’s not aggressive behaviour though.
 
4boipigs said:
I got a new boy (2? yrs old) for my bereaved boar (6ish yrs old) yesterday. They've been getting along very well with really no signs of aggression or dominance aside from some quiet rumbling. They literally act like they've been best friends all their lives. However I noticed whenever my original/bereaved boar Little Bear comes out to eat, Gimbly will follow to the food source, and then Little Bear runs off to hide while Gimbly eats whatever is there (right now, pellets or hay). Again, there's no chasing, teeth chattering, humping, or anything but a little bit of rumblestrutting. They have 2 to 3 of everything. They seem to get along perfectly fine, but I'm wondering if this interaction with food is any cause for concern. I'm only used to dominant/aggressive boars and these two are very calm and relaxed compared to my other bickering boars.
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Are you weighing once weekly in combination with a body-onceover as part of the life-long health monitoring? this also comes in useful in situations like these to see whether your old boy is still eating enough hay (should be making 80% of the daily food intake) and veg.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?

Scatter feeding may help.
 
I'll see about scatter feeding and I'll add hay in different spots. Gimbly loves to steal from Little Bear or lunge at him to take food. I sat and watched them this evening. No noise from either, just some rumbling (I compare this to my other boys who will rumble, squeal and teeth chatter to each other over food.) There is a little humping from Little Bear but it doesn't last long. I haven't seen Gimbly hump Little Bear. I'm just worried Gimbly would keep Little Bear from eating. I'm hoping as time goes on and the bond deepens they will cut it out.
 
The food in another piggy’s mouth is always more appealing than what’s right in front of them. That’s normal. Perhaps hand feed any veg like pepper, lettuce or cucumber. Or put in bowls that are at least a body length apart.
 
4boipigs said:
I'll see about scatter feeding and I'll add hay in different spots. Gimbly loves to steal from Little Bear or lunge at him to take food. I sat and watched them this evening. No noise from either, just some rumbling (I compare this to my other boys who will rumble, squeal and teeth chatter to each other over food.) There is a little humping from Little Bear but it doesn't last long. I haven't seen Gimbly hump Little Bear. I'm just worried Gimbly would keep Little Bear from eating. I'm hoping as time goes on and the bond deepens they will cut it out.
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Young guinea pigs learn what is safe to eat and what not by snatching food from their elders' mouths. The elders don't mind, not even the more dominant ones; it is part of the normal teaching process during the 'school' months between birth until teenage. Rodents don't have a vomit reflex. What goes down has to come out at the other end. This is the reason why guinea pigs have roughly double the number of taste buds compared to humans and five times that of cats.
 
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