Girl troubles

Ellie-May

Ellie-May

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

Long time no post! Long story short, my two older girls are 10 months now and the babies are 5 ones. Overall everything has been fine and they all get along but the past two days weird things keep happening. We don't know if one of the younger babies is trying to stir up trouble because she is quite dominant and can be a little aggressive towards her sister at times (nothing serious just dominance issues) and we have seen her start chattering her teeth. Due to this, the two older girls have started to do it but towards each other and it goes away after a few minutes but today there was a physical fight. I say fight but no blood was drawn and it was more chasing around. Everyone is okay and perfectly fine but I just need some advice. Could the younger girl be causing trouble? Is there a hierarchy shake up? Teenage years?
 
Lovely to hear from you!
Basically yes to your questions! As you know it comes entirely down to character compatibility and while sows are wired to live in groups, it doesn’t mean it is always going to be that easy particularly when youngsters start having their own ideas. I would watch them carefully but unless there is a major issue, then they need to sort things out between them. Weigh them all regularly to ensure everybody is being allowed to eat and they are otherwise happy, and just generally watch out for the more serious warning signs of trouble brewing but otherwise you need to stick it out. I know it’s not easy to do though!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Lovely to hear from you!
Basically yes to your questions! As you know it comes entirely down to character compatibility and while sows are wired to live in groups, it doesn’t mean it is always going to be that easy particularly when youngsters start having their own ideas. I would watch them carefully but unless there is a major issue, then they need to sort things out between them. Weigh them all regularly to ensure everybody is being allowed to eat and they are otherwise happy, and just generally watch out for the more serious warning signs of trouble brewing but otherwise you need to stick it out. I know it’s not easy to do though!
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Ruled out that it is the girl. Everything is completely fine now. I think she is just going through hormones. She is a dominant little lady and I would hate to split her away from the three, but I will see how it goes. They all get plenty of food and are healthy
 
Piggies&buns said:
Lovely to hear from you!
Basically yes to your questions! As you know it comes entirely down to character compatibility and while sows are wired to live in groups, it doesn’t mean it is always going to be that easy particularly when youngsters start having their own ideas. I would watch them carefully but unless there is a major issue, then they need to sort things out between them. Weigh them all regularly to ensure everybody is being allowed to eat and they are otherwise happy, and just generally watch out for the more serious warning signs of trouble brewing but otherwise you need to stick it out. I know it’s not easy to do though!
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I don't know if I should take her out or? She just seems to start all of a sudden
 
Only separate if things become serious. If things become too much and everybody needs a time out then you could do a divider and let everyone calm down but if it’s hormones and dominance and not a proper fall out then I know that as youngsters their seasons can be quite dramatic so if could be that. If there is a major character clash then that is when there will be separations.
 
Ellie-May said:
I don't know if I should take her out or? She just seems to start all of a sudden
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I think I will try and ride it out as I know it is her, but maybe she is just going through the emotions and needs to establish her position
 
Piggies&buns said:
Only separate if things become serious. If things become too much and everybody needs a time out then you could do a divider and let everyone calm down but if it’s hormones and dominance and not a proper fall out then I know that as youngsters their seasons can be quite dramatic so if could be that. If there is a major character clash then that is when there will be separations.
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They have got along all this time until now. I know they are all different, but I think it is her trying to understand her emotions and she rumblestrutts but the other baby doesn't.
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sure you have read these lots of time but it can be useful to refresh your mind as to exactly what behaviours are normal and the ones which are starting to push it
Moody guinea pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
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Erma (alpha pig) is going to the vets today for her nails so when I am there I will just ask her to check for any underlying issues like cysts because it's been happening for 2-3 days now and she has never been like that. We think it could be a mixture of things like really bad heat or the younger girl testing the waters, but I think it is just better to rule out any illness
 
Hormone spikes will cause this kind of behaviour so hopefully that is what it is, but absolutely best to be sure there isn’t anything else going on.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Hormone spikes will cause this kind of behaviour so hopefully that is what it is, but absolutely best to be sure there isn’t anything else going on.
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That is what I’m thinking it is. Took Erma to the vets and they checked her over and said they couldn’t see anything so maybe it’s not her. I think it’s the younger girl because it’s only between them three (alpha, sub and baby) the other baby just stays out. I’ve noticed that she could do something and it’ll start the other two off
 
Ellie-May said:
That is what I’m thinking it is. Took Erma to the vets and they checked her over and said they couldn’t see anything so maybe it’s not her. I think it’s the younger girl because it’s only between them three (alpha, sub and baby) the other baby just stays out. I’ve noticed that she could do something and it’ll start the other two off
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They are doing it now but the funny thing is they are all in separate hideys and one is eating lol. But I noticed that the younger girl starts to chatter her teeth first. Maybe she is testing the waters or she just don’t get along with other pigs. I dong think it is that only because she has been with them since December, which is why I think it is hormones
 
Ellie-May said:
They are doing it now but the funny thing is they are all in separate hideys and one is eating lol. But I noticed that the younger girl starts to chatter her teeth first. Maybe she is testing the waters or she just don’t get along with other pigs. I dong think it is that only because she has been with them since December, which is why I think it is hormones
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I know there is no bullying going on because they all eat, drink and all have enough space. I think it is just hormones and testing of the waters
 
Hi guys,

I did make a post a few days ago, but I feel I need to explain it better. I currently have four girls:

Erma- 10 months (alpha pig)
Beatrice- 10 months
Luna- 5 months
Sol- 5 months

This is the hierarchy of the group. Overall, they get on completely fine and there has never been any problems, even when the babies arrived in December. There can be the occasional moody days when one is on heat, but most of the time it is always playful and fun to watch.

Luna and Sol are still babies so they haven’t really had much impact here apart from Luna sometimes getting involved my teeth chattering and running around. I did originally think that most of the problems stemmed from Luna from what I was watching, but I don’t think that is the case and that she was just getting involved for the drama lol.

But since Tuesday onward the girls have been unsettled. What usually happens is that one will make a sound that sounds like a broken whining record (that is the best way to explain it) and the others will follow. There has been some teeth chattering and some physical interaction, but nothing that I will call serious. It is mainly chasing and nipping, no blood or anything like that. After a while they then all stop and just lay around. There is no bullying as they are all getting their fair share of food etc.

I did originally think that another reason for this behaviour is that one might be in season, but after a closer observation I don’t think that is the case and I think it’s a hormonal spike.

Also, on a closer observation I have noticed that most of this behaviour will stem from Erma (alpha pig) and is mostly between her and Beatrice (sub pig). It has been happening since Tuesday night and was worse Wednesday-Thursday. This weekend so far it has been okay with only one issue yesterday and one this morning (so far anyway). Now Beatrice is at the point where she has seemed to have enough but will react sometimes, but it is mostly stemming from Erma.

I took Erma to the vets on Friday for her nails cut, but because of the current situation, the fact that the exotic vet was operating and that we weren’t allowed in the practice and had to wait in the car, they couldn’t do like a proper consultation. The general vet who done the nails done a physical examination of her and couldn’t feel anything suspicious and said that she is really healthy. She is eating, drinking etc and shows no signs of illness but I am concerned that it could be a small cyst growing. They did say once this is all over and I am still concerned then I can bring her in.

Like I said, she is perfectly healthy but this might just be some sort of hormonal thing. Clearly there is a lot going on about who is the top sow etc, but it has only just happened this week.

I am not majorly concerned as I have been health checking Erma daily at the moment and monitoring everything, but some advice would be nice :)
 
Ellie-May said:
Hi guys,

I did make a post a few days ago, but I feel I need to explain it better. I currently have four girls:

Erma- 10 months (alpha pig)
Beatrice- 10 months
Luna- 5 months
Sol- 5 months

This is the hierarchy of the group. Overall, they get on completely fine and there has never been any problems, even when the babies arrived in December. There can be the occasional moody days when one is on heat, but most of the time it is always playful and fun to watch.

Luna and Sol are still babies so they haven’t really had much impact here apart from Luna sometimes getting involved my teeth chattering and running around. I did originally think that most of the problems stemmed from Luna from what I was watching, but I don’t think that is the case and that she was just getting involved for the drama lol.

But since Tuesday onward the girls have been unsettled. What usually happens is that one will make a sound that sounds like a broken whining record (that is the best way to explain it) and the others will follow. There has been some teeth chattering and some physical interaction, but nothing that I will call serious. It is mainly chasing and nipping, no blood or anything like that. After a while they then all stop and just lay around. There is no bullying as they are all getting their fair share of food etc.

I did originally think that another reason for this behaviour is that one might be in season, but after a closer observation I don’t think that is the case and I think it’s a hormonal spike.

Also, on a closer observation I have noticed that most of this behaviour will stem from Erma (alpha pig) and is mostly between her and Beatrice (sub pig). It has been happening since Tuesday night and was worse Wednesday-Thursday. This weekend so far it has been okay with only one issue yesterday and one this morning (so far anyway). Now Beatrice is at the point where she has seemed to have enough but will react sometimes, but it is mostly stemming from Erma.

I took Erma to the vets on Friday for her nails cut, but because of the current situation, the fact that the exotic vet was operating and that we weren’t allowed in the practice and had to wait in the car, they couldn’t do like a proper consultation. The general vet who done the nails done a physical examination of her and couldn’t feel anything suspicious and said that she is really healthy. She is eating, drinking etc and shows no signs of illness but I am concerned that it could be a small cyst growing. They did say once this is all over and I am still concerned then I can bring her in.

Like I said, she is perfectly healthy but this might just be some sort of hormonal thing. Clearly there is a lot going on about who is the top sow etc, but it has only just happened this week.

I am not majorly concerned as I have been health checking Erma daily at the moment and monitoring everything, but some advice would be nice :)
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Hi!

You have all got teenagers. Like boys, they suffer from hormone spikes and can be a lot squabblier than they will as adults; in sow groups (with or without a 'husboar') this can sometimes go right to the limit. But unlike boys teenage sows only rarely fall out.

Just take a step back and leave them be.
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
When Sows Experience A Strong Season (videos)
 
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