Female Guinea Pig Bonding

[tanhd]

Today I tried to bond a pair of female guinea pig (almost one year old and one month old) with an one month old female and it came out really bad. The new girl was very dominant to the point my orginal pair was squealing and froze. I tried to add more hay in to distract them and as soon as the new girl saw the pair eating, she would immediately chase them. The bonding was so heated and one of the girl’s ear was bitten by the new girl.

Do you think I should give anothee try to rebond them again? I heard bonding female is easier than boys and high success chance but not sure why it doesn’t work with my females.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Females are wired to live in groups but any bond still comes down to character compatibility. If they don’t have compatibility then it won’t work.

If one has been bitten and hurt, then it’s likely it’s not going to work out. Bonding pairs and singles is not always easy. The best way to go about it is via dating at a rescue centre. Then the piggies can all choose each other. If you buy a piggy on spec then there is always a risk that a bonding won’t work.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

 

[Wiebke]

Today I tried to bond a pair of female guinea pig (almost one year old and one month old) with an one month old female and it came out really bad. The new girl was very dominant to the point my orginal pair was squealing and froze. I tried to add more hay in to distract them and as soon as the new girl saw the pair eating, she would immediately chase them. The bonding was so heated and one of the girl’s ear was bitten by the new girl.

Do you think I should give anothee try to rebond them again? I heard bonding female is easier than boys and high success chance but not sure why it doesn’t work with my females.

Hi!

Unfortunately, bonding sows is a lot trickier than bonding boars, who are much more straight forward and less prone to fear-aggressive over-reactions. Ask any rescue that does a lot of dating or experienced forum members... Please accept that you can never make piggies that do not suit get on; the same that you can't make two partners in an arranged marriage be happy if their personalities clash.

Once a piggy has made up their that they don't suit, they usually won't change their mind for years or even until they die. After a full-on bite (which is rare in sows, so you should have ideally separated sooner once it became obvious that things didn't go in the right direction), they will never go on. Full stop. Please don't try another meeting; it will only be worse as your bonding attempt has gone well past the delicate 'maybe' into the most definite 'no no' area.

Please take the time to carefully read these two links here in order to understand what has happened:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics (takes in illustrated detail through all stages of the complex bonding process with attendant positive and negative behaviours and dynamics but also has got chapters on sow bonding as well as fear-aggression).

More information on fear-aggression, which is not at all uncommon in single or newly bereaved older sows that have never had to socialise with other piggies other than their bonded childhood mate: Moody guinea pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour