Good cage size, bonding, new piggy, and introductions? Boredom breakers?

AbyssiansRule!

AbyssiansRule!

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So I bought 2 boars, (Not neutered) I got them last year in a midwest cage with a guineadad fleece liner. They're around 4/5 years old, and I was wondering since I had just purchased 2 more fleece liners, and another midwest cage to extend my other one, could I get another piggy? A baby boar? Would my other ones crush the baby? Is it not safe? Also, sorry this is kind of a double-thread. Got any cavy boredom breakers? Safe DIY toys? Games?
 
AbyssiansRule! said:
So I bought 2 boars, (Not neutered) I got them last year in a midwest cage with a guineadad fleece liner. They're around 4/5 years old, and I was wondering since I had just purchased 2 more fleece liners, and another midwest cage to extend my other one, could I get another piggy? A baby boar? Would my other ones crush the baby? Is it not safe? Also, sorry this is kind of a double-thread. Got any cavy boredom breakers? Safe DIY toys? Games?
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Toilet rolls stuffed with hay. Check out the YouTube channel 'little adventures' she has some veggie DIYs
 
Piggies&buns said:
No you cannot add another piggy to a pair of boars. Boars need to be kept in pairs only and if you add a third you risk destroying the bond between your original pair and ending up with three single piggies.
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Really? Wow! Thanks for the info! I'm glad I asked!
 
Any more piggy advice and boredom breakers? What if I added 2 more boars? A herd of boars? skinnypigs1 adopted a herd at separate times without a problem.
 
AbyssiansRule! said:
Any more piggy advice and boredom breakers? What if I added 2 more boars? A herd of boars? skinnypigs1 adopted a herd at separate times without a problem.
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Its good you've got a second cage to extend your midwest as a single midwest cage doesn't really offer boars enough space. I imagine you've been lucky because your piggies are older, but we recommend a cage measuring 180cm x 60cm for boars due to their more territorial nature and a Midwest measures just 120 x 60cm.
For information, and not that we would ever recommend doing adding more piggies to a boar pair anyway, but two midwest cages joined together still wouldn't be big enough to attempt a boar trio.

Adding an additional two more boars would still be a disaster - it would mean you'd end up with four single boars. Boar pairs cannot have any more piggies added to them at all. If you want more piggies, you need to have separate boar pairs kept in separate cages.
A boar herd can sometimes work but they need, ideally to be older, testosterone fizzled out and you'd need around 10 boars together to absorb any tensions. But the cage required is absolutely enormous - covering around 10 square metres - one square metre per piggy would be needed.

what you see on YouTube videos are not the reality of piggy keeping. they are for human entertainment. if you try to put more than two boars together, I assure you, it would cause a lot of problems.
 
Oh wow. Ok, thanks! Yes, I'm glad I got another cage too! I can finally brag I have a 4x4! ☺
 
That's 16 sq ft so its a really good size for two boars (12 sq ft being the recommended for two).
Its lovely to be able to give them additional space if you can, it will really be of benefit to them. My boar pair live in my shed, having free roam most of the time, so its really lovely to have a larger space to be able to add in a variety of hides and areas for enrichment to keep them entertained. Mine love nothing more than running and foraging through big piles of hay to see if I've hidden any herb treats amongst it!
 
Piggies&buns said:
That's 16 sq ft so its a really good size for two boars (12 sq ft being the recommended for two).
Its lovely to be able to give them additional space if you can, it will really be of benefit to them. My boar pair live in my shed, having free roam most of the time, so its really lovely to have a larger space to be able to add in a variety of hides and areas for enrichment to keep them entertained. Mine love nothing more than running and foraging through big piles of hay to see if I've hidden any herb treats amongst it!
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Thats adorable :love:
 
You've had good advice it's just not worth the risk with boars. If you want a herd you could always have a few sows in a separate room and then when the time comes and one of your boars passes away (sorry) you could always put the remaining boar in with the herd of sows aslong as he's neutered.

I was watching this youtube video recently of a herd of guinea pigs eating watermelon 🍉 and I couldn't put my finger on it but the Guinea pigs just didn't look healthy and they looked really unhappy like really lethargic and depressed and it wasn't nice to watch but at the same time they didn't look like they were that ill. Then I read the bio again and it was a herd of I think 12 boars? You can tell they'd obviously been lots of fights between them all as they all looked depressed and nature didn't intend it to be this way for a reason. I'm sure the owners (I think they were children) loved having this huge herd, but to me what's the point if it's just going to make the animals depressed, I'm sure they'd be much happier with just one boar friend each or a group of sows! They obviously must've had tons and tons of space for it to get to that level but it still didn't work in my opinion. I'm sure you'll get your herd of sows one day if it's what you really want :)
Best of luck :)
 
Tara95 said:
You've had good advice it's just not worth the risk with boars. If you want a herd you could always have a few sows in a separate room and then when the time comes and one of your boars passes away (sorry) you could always put the remaining boar in with the herd of sows aslong as he's neuteured.

I was watching this youtube video recently of a herd of guinea pigs eating watermelon 🍉 and I couldn't put my finger on it but the Guinea pigs just didn't look healthy and they looked really unhappy like really lethargic and depressed and it wasn't nice to watch but at the same time they didn't look like they were that ill. Then I read the bio again and it was a herd of I think boars? You can tell they'd obviously been lots of fights between them all as they all looked depressed and nature didn't intend it to be this way for a reason. I'm sure the owners (I think they were children) loved having this huge herd, but to me what's the point if it's just going to make the animals depressed, I'm sure they'd be much happier with just one boar friend each or a group of sows! They obviously must've had tons and tons of space for it to get to that level but it still didn't work in my opinion. I'm sure you'll get your herd of sows one day if it's what you really want :)
Best of luck :)
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Thank you for your answer, and those poor piggies! I could imagine having 11 siblings, I would be depressed and stressed out too!
 
AbyssiansRule! said:
Thank you for your answer, and those poor piggies! I could imagine having 11 siblings, I would be depressed and stressed out too!
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I've seen people have herds of like 20 plus sows and they all seemed to look really happy, so I think it's mainly a boar (man thing 😅😂) Yes, I spend my free time browsing guinea pig herds on youtube these days as the background lol 😅
 
Tara95 said:
I've seen people have herds of like 20 plus sows and they all seemed to look really happy, so I think it's mainly a boar (man thing 😅😂) Yes, I spend my free time browsing guinea pig herds on youtube these days as the background lol 😅
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Yeah, nobody understands men and their territorial ways.🤣 20 sows though! Wowzers!
 
AbyssiansRule! said:
Yeah, nobody understands men and their territorial ways.🤣 20 sows though! Wowzers!
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Definitely! Here are some enrichment ideas that mine love!
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I would say the favourite long term toy of the guinea pigs is I think it's rosewood ferret/Guinea pig tunnel boredom breaker. Mine love running through it and you can get a few and attach them together with a seperate little blue tent that attaches (not the one in the picture) I do have the rabbit one too which is a bit wider but mine prefer the narrower one but do use the rabbit one too. The Willow ball they really enjoyed with the hay but I'd take the willow pieces out after they've demolished it as a precaution but I'll be getting it again as they loved it so much. The nibble and naw grass thing they seem to really enjoy but they've only had it a week so it could change. The hay cookies were a big hit but they did make a bit of a mess of the fleece so I'll be giving it to them with on a dark fleece I think! These were all suppose to be Christmas presents! I've also brought them a foraging hay cube that I'll sure they'll enjoy for Xmas! The carrot cottage I haven't tried but want to as it sounds amazing!
Mine also like foraging around in their hay for foraging leaves like green oat and raspberry leaves!
Good luck! :)
 
I love your set up! mine only have hay, pellets, a treat bowl with lettuce in mornings, and two wood houses. I feel bad with such little space and no toys! once i receive their other cage in the mail, i will connect it, and give them a hammock, some chews, lots of balls and toys, some tunnels, beds, a heating pad under their fleece for the winter, etc. I hung them tiny stockings and planning to stuff them with hay, lettuce, carrots, watermelon, strawberry, cucumber, and a big salad feast! They have no idea how much their lives will change with the new cage!
 
AbyssiansRule! said:
I love your set up! mine only have hay, pellets, a treat bowl with lettuce in mornings, and two wood houses. I feel bad with such little space and no toys! once i receive their other cage in the mail, i will connect it, and give them a hammock, some chews, lots of balls and toys, some tunnels, beds, a heating pad under their fleece for the winter, etc. I hung them tiny stockings and planning to stuff them with hay, lettuce, carrots, watermelon, strawberry, cucumber, and a big salad feast! They have no idea how much their lives will change with the new cage!
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Aww thank you I'm sure they'll love their new set up and their Xmas treats! You'll have to post some pics! :) Mine don't really tend to play with balls unless they're edible! Just remember pellets should be limited ( I used to overfeed pellets and it can cause all sorts of problems) I just throw in a handful a day for my 5 as they are very high calcium which isn't good for guinea pigs. I also only give fruit and carrots as occasional weekly treats. My guinea pigs have had quite a big diet change in the last few months but they seem to be looking really good because of it/more active, generally looking more healthy. There's a daily diet guide on here that I'm sure someone will post the link to or you could look for it! There's only a few vegetables that guinea pigs can have daily such as bell pepper, Romain lettuce and corriander. Mine have a chunk of bell pepper each, 2-3 lettuce leaves and some corriander each everyday. And ofc lots and lots of hay! Spinach is really bad for guinea pigs ( I used to feed mine this everyday but now I don't even touch the stuff) Best of luck!:)
 
Tara95 said:
Aww thank you I'm sure they'll love their new set up and their Xmas treats! You'll have to post some pics! :) Mine don't really tend to play with balls unless they're edible! Just remember pellets should be limited ( I used to overfeed pellets and it can cause all sorts of problems) I just throw in a handful a day for my 5 as they are very high calcium which isn't good for guinea pigs. I also only give fruit and carrots as occasional weekly treats. My guinea pigs have had quite a big diet change in the last few months but they seem to be looking really good because of it/more active, generally looking more healthy. There's a daily diet guide on here that I'm sure someone will post the link to or you could look for it! There's only a few vegetables that guinea pigs can have daily such as bell pepper, Romain lettuce and corriander. Mine have a chunk of bell pepper each, 2-3 lettuce leaves and some corriander each everyday. And ofc lots and lots of hay! Spinach is really bad for guinea pigs ( I used to feed mine this everyday but now I don't even bit the stuff) Best of luck!:)
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Thank you!
 
Br careful not to give too much fruit. Stuffing a paper bag (handles removed) with some treats or veg and hay is also something they enjoy. Or a box with a puppy pad and hay inside. Or cut exits on some boxes and use as hides. They like to...redecorate them.
 
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