Girls suddenly fighting

[Zira24]

So my 2 girls have been together all their lives. They came from a hoarding situation as babies, lived in the rescue together and came to me together. Kenzie was pregnant when I got her and had babies 9 weeks later who went to their new home 2 weeks ago. And since then the girls seem to be fighting. I haven’t actually seen them fight but Kenzie has a small face wound yesterday and today had blood on her ear They are about 6 months old now and I have had them over 3 months and they have never fought before. Do they need to be separated now that blood has been drawn?
I also have a single male who was neutered a few weeks back and I was hoping that he would be their new cage mate soon (after the 6 week post neuter wait) but could that make things worse between the girls?

 

[Wiebke]

So my 2 girls have been together all their lives. They came from a hoarding situation as babies, lived in the rescue together and came to me together. Kenzie was pregnant when I got her and had babies 9 weeks later who went to their new home 2 weeks ago. And since then the girls seem to be fighting. I haven’t actually seen them fight but Kenzie has a small face wound yesterday and today had blood on her ear They are about 6 months old now and I have had them over 3 months and they have never fought before. Do they need to be separated now that blood has been drawn?
I also have a single male who was neutered a few weeks back and I was hoping that he would be their new cage mate soon (after the 6 week post neuter wait) but could that make things worse between the girls?

Hi

Having babies changes the status of a nursing sow - they and any nursing babies enjoy a special protected status inside the group which is removed once the babies are weaned.

If an under-sow is having the babies, then she gains in stature through having piggies (her babies) ranked below her and she can refuse to go back to her own subordinate status in the hierarchy afterwards.

If your two girls have been scrapping since, it means that they are unable to come to an agreement. It is likely either just a misjudged bck foot swipe or defence lunge that has caused the scratch but it sounds like the bond has failed. It can unfortunately happen.

Put a divider in the cage and see whether your two girls are happier once they have their own territory but do not get on as soon s they meet on neutral ground outside cage in two days' time. Take it from there.

Here is our practical advice on how to test whether a bond has failed or not:

Thread 'Bonds In Trouble'

Oct 30, 2017

1 Causes for bonds to fall apart
2 Bonds in Crisis
- What are the signs of a dysfunctional bond?
- Bullying
- How can I test whether a bond is no longer working?
3 Failed bonds and what next?
- What to do if my piggies have had a major fight?
- When rebonding doesn't work out


1 Causes for bonds to fall apart

Every fall-out has of course its own...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Bonding & Fall-outs

• 

Seasons are at their strongest around 6 months, as sows also experience teenage hormones; just usually without fall-outs, so they are not much known but this could have been the trigger for the fight.

Fall-outs between sows are less common but they are by no means unknown. Babies, ovarian cysts or a medical separation are the three major causes in sows.

 

[Zira24]

Hi

Having babies changes the status of a nursing sow - they and any nursing babies enjoy a special protected status inside the group which is removed once the babies are weaned.

If an under-sow is having the babies, then she gains in stature through having piggies (her babies) ranked below her and she can refuse to go back to her own subordinate status in the hierarchy afterwards.

If your two girls have been scrapping since, it means that they are unable to come to an agreement. It is likely either just a misjudged bck foot swipe or defence lunge that has caused the scratch but it sounds like the bond has failed. It can unfortunately happen.

Put a divider in the cage and see whether your two girls are happier once they have their own territory but do not get on as soon s they meet on neutral ground outside cage in two days' time. Take it from there.

Here is our practical advice on how to test whether a bond has failed or not:

Thread 'Bonds In Trouble'

Oct 30, 2017

1 Causes for bonds to fall apart
2 Bonds in Crisis
- What are the signs of a dysfunctional bond?
- Bullying
- How can I test whether a bond is no longer working?
3 Failed bonds and what next?
- What to do if my piggies have had a major fight?
- When rebonding doesn't work out


1 Causes for bonds to fall apart

Every fall-out has of course its own...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Bonding & Fall-outs

• 

Seasons are at their strongest around 6 months, as sows also experience teenage hormones; just usually without fall-outs, so they are not much known but this could have been the trigger for the fight.

Fall-outs between sows are less common but they are by no means unknown. Babies, ovarian cysts or a medical separation are the three major causes in sows.

Thank you so much for your reply. Really helpful land lots of information! I have come to realise since I posted this that it is actually ring worm (which one of her babies had before he went to his home). I really thought it was a bite on her nose and ear as the one on her ear was bleeding but I’ve realised it was bleeding from her scratching. Thankfully the vet gave me extra cream when I went in with her baby because she said it was very likely that the others could have it. She said only to use it if it wasn’t around the eyes so if she ends up with it around her eyes I’ll go in for more oral medication.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you so much for your reply. Really helpful land lots of information! I have come to realise since I posted this that it is actually ring worm (which one of her babies had before he went to his home). I really thought it was a bite on her nose and ear as the one on her ear was bleeding but I’ve realised it was bleeding from her scratching. Thankfully the vet gave me extra cream when I went in with her baby because she said it was very likely that the others could have it. She said only to use it if it wasn’t around the eyes so if she ends up with it around her eyes I’ll go in for more oral medication.

I’m sorry to hear about the ringworm.
Using cream to treat ringworm is sadly rather ineffective. Spores are shed from a wider area than you would cream therefore perpetuating the infection.
Use F10 for thorough disinfection of the cage and items.
As it can also spread to humans you need to take precautions.

The guide below explains dealing with ringworm effectively first time so that you aren’t left with repeated infections.

Thread 'Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures'

Jun 12, 2014

1 What is ringworm and how is it treated?
- Ringworm facts
- Available treatments (UK-US-worldwide available products)
- Your customer rights with new guinea pigs
2 Ringworm hygiene during and at the end of treatment
- When to quarantine
- Recommended disinfectants (UK-US-worldwide available brands)
- Disinfection (plastic/hard surfaces, fabrics, wood/toys)
3 Ringworm hygiene/prevention and...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Health & Illness Support Corner

• 

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

Sorry about the ringworm. Without pictures we can only go by your words. That is the big disadvantage of being remote.

Please take the time to read our ringworm guide and really follow all of it. We know that it works when you do that.

What even many vets sadly don't fully realise is just how crucial it is to get on top of the long-lived, highly infectious, species jumping invisible spores, which are shed in their thousands if you don't want this to turn this into an exasperating and frustrating long running saga with repeated outbreaks and catching it yourself or by your kids and other pets. It is the single most contagious issues you are likely to come across.

We have dealth with ringworm questions in their thousands in coming up to 20 years of forum existence and have found all the many transmission angles the hard way but we have also had loads of opportunity to test what really works and what not.

The biggest mistake you can make is to underestimate the spores and comprehensive hygiene needed to eliminate them all.

Creaming unfortunately doesn't stop the spores being shed and causing new infected spots that will go acute in 10-14 days. You will either have to do a course of bathing every three days or you can opt for oral treatment with only two baths (start and end) in order to treat the whole body and break the cycle of infection before it becomes another acute spot.

We are here for all your questions and updates to help you through this.

Please bookmark your thread so you can pick it up easily again whenever needed. Unlike social media we can let threads run for as long as needed and give you personalised support but it helps both sides if ou can keep a case together from start to end so you don't have to explain everything all the time and we can quickly refresh our memory as to the particulars of your situation.