George's bonding: 50% success not enough

[Free Ranger]

Well today George went in the bonding pen with floofy Louise and fuzzy Zara... and they'll be living as neighbours which is a bit sad for everyone (except Zara). I'd not heard any teeth chattering since the day the girls arrived and George came out each morning and popcorned a little circle to see his neighbours so he was ready, and in the pen Louise was very interested in him but Zara chattered, bared teeth and eventually fought him like a lion. He never got past an initial, gentle rumblestrut to show his moves, poor boy. She started bristling straight away and Louise retreated into a neutral corner and just sat there to let them work it out. I let it go for a couple of rounds as at first George was bigger and keen to be friends so it looked like she was testing him. Then everyone stopped and seemed to be eating for a bit, but you could just tell.... my son said it was like 'an uncomfortable family dinner'! Then the teeth chattering and squealing increased, then another altercation. It seemed to settle for a while but whenever Louise went to investigate George, Zara kicked off and got between them, scaring George off and furiously rumblestrutting Louise. George went to see Louise who was sitting in one corner at the time and quietly semi-mounted (she never even got up!) but that was the last straw for Zara who began initiating actual fights by approaching sideways on her toes to look bigger, darting at poor George who tried his best to fend her off until he cracked and ran desperate circles of the pen, wheeking his head off as she chased him and I leapt in and got her with a bathtowel, but not before she'd nipped his bum (and my hand) firmly (but not too hard).

Zara got sent to the cat-box to calm down and I left George and Louise in the pen to get to know each other a little bit. He was super-nervous and she is gentle so by the time I'd scrupulously cleaned and rearranged the living accommodation they were friends. They didn't follow each other around (possibly they could sense Zara bristling in the cat-box, and Louise did go over to see her a few times) but they did the quiet squeaking noises you hear when one is walking around and letting the other know where they are going! The mimicked each others grooming and laid near each other to rest. I'd put a box in at this point and George let her have it without objecting! Then they seemed to have a relaxing competition where they deliberately spread out further and further until they both looked like they'd melted.

 

[Roselina]

Oh dear that’s a shame - guinea pigs just decide who their friends are and we just have to agree.

 

[Free Ranger]

Yes...

and yes she has got a 'mum' fringe now, and she's also had her drawers trimmed because she was trailing wee! But he still loves her.

I've kept the girls together and George is the neighbour. This could have gone either way to be honest as in the short time I've had them I've seen Zara be a bit of a pushy pig but Louise just goes along with it. George was the underpig to my Ivy but they never fought - it was sorted in 3 seconds with a brief chin-off and a hard stare. When old Daisy came along and he romanced her, Ivy couldn't care tuppence! Zara seemed to be fighting for Louise in an almost boar-like way but Louise was pretty neutral in the whole threesome until I took Zara out to assess how she and George would get on alone. I'm sad for George but would have been sadder for Zara to have her friend taken off her when she'd 'won' in piggy terms at least.

Hopefully they'll settle as neighbours. The two cages/outer areas are completely separate but with common fencing where I've put hay-mangers so they may start to eat together on each side of the fence. George is currently suspicious so has retreated into a snuggle tunnel with the heat pad with just his eye peeping out. He went in first and was enclosed... then the girls went in theirs. Louise actually went looking for George but he was hiding from Zara. I put Zara back in the 'bonding' pen with Louise for half an hour before putting them into their enclosure just to make sure they were OK and it was fine. So shh... I'm planning sneaky playdates for G and L!

 

[Free Ranger]

What is weird is that I had a suspicion this might happen. When they'd been here a couple of days I thought I shouldn't put off checking Louise's ear (something had been flagged) so I sat in the pen and lifted her onto my lap which made her squeak, and Zara came rumbling out of the hidey, prowled straight up and nipped my knee! Just a warning - and I had trousers on - but I thought this little fuzzy has got a set of brass balls on her to have a go at a huge human who's got her friend! George had also come rumbling out to the barrier but bless him, when he saw it was just me he eyed me a minute then went back in.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry things didn’t work out for them. Sometimes one sow won’t accept a new addition (boar or sow) and in this instance she just didn’t like him.

Please don’t do play dates for Louise and George. That’s not how they work.

 

[Zanzan]

It sounds like nobody messes with Zara!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Aw, so sorry it didn’t work out with George and the ladies. I’m sure he will be quite happy as a neighbour to them instead x

 

[Free Ranger]

George has been a bit down but a pile of grass cheered him up this morning and I think he's realised that Zara can't get in 'his' bit now so he's out and about more. He's also loving his new heat-pad-under-the-snuggle-tunnel combo and has planted himself in there to watch the neighbours... on the minus side he needs more exercise so I'll have to figure something out but on the (BIG) plus side it means most of the poops are in one place so spot-cleaning is a breeze!

Louise is quietly asserting herself with dominant Zara - I wonder if it's whether she's ticked off about the George thing or whether she can just see and move around now without treading on her own hair?! She wants the 'hay cave' area all to herself in the day - although she lets Zara in at night. Before they just went in together. She'll lie so she blocks the entrance. When she comes out to eat or wander around Zara goes straight in for a sniff and a rumble in the doorway, trying to claim it. Louise doesn't challenge but what she does (every time) is walk off out of sight round the corner into a tunnel, which prompts Zara to come out looking for her and rumble her a bit. Quick as a flash Louise doubles back and beats her to the cave and flops out so casually, filling the door with floof! (It was so funny when she went back in last night after a serious bum-trim... she walked past Zara who literally did a double-take at her new short-and-feathery behind as it went past. I've never seen a pig do a double-take, it was like something from a cartoon!) @Siikibam - I've noted your advice, many thanks because I don't want to disrupt the girls bond.

I don't think hubs reads this - I'm not sure he realises he can - so I'll say it. For a full grown man he is very taken with Louise and her floof (she's our first long-haired one) and goes a bit 6-year old girl when she does anything cute he's all like, "oooh, just look at her!" I'm going to use this to my advantage and try and get him on grooming duty as she sheds long white hairs like billy-o! I'm taking on Zara (I'm going to be brave!) but she's already in my good books because she seems to have a 'toilet corner' and I appreciate a tidy pig - after 10 years of waiting for one! I think it's all going to work out OK.