Group of 3 - one piggie always alone

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Rbr25

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Hi,

Just looking for advice. I have 3 female piggies who we got at the same time about 10 months ago. Over the last few months, one of them seems to be particularly isolated from the other two although i havent witnessed any aggressive behaviour or physical issues between them. Every time i check on them, the same two will always be together and the other alone on the opposite side of the cage.
Is this normal? Part of me wonders whether it is just a personality thing where she prefers to be alone or part of typical pack hierachy or could there be another reasom e.g. bullying behaviours we dont see.
Could it be worth introducing another piggie to make 2 pairs who live seperately? Or a group of 4?

Thank you
 
It’s sometimes a risk when working in odd numbers that two piggies get closer and one gets left out.

Bullying is sustained behaviors but tends to be more subtle in sows. Signs such as being chased away from hay/food and you may find the bullied piggies loses weight, or becomes withdrawn. This means a bond isn’t working and separation is required.

Whether adding a fourth to make a quartet will work comes down to the piggies. If you were to want to try that, then taking them all dating at a rescue so they can choose their own new friend would be best.
Ensure you have enough space for that - that is a 6x2 c&c or 210x60cm (7ft x 2 ft).

However if there is a problem in their bond, such as incompatibility or bullying, then adding a fourth to make a quartet will not fix the issue.

You would of course have the option to separate them into two pairs if that worked best

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
 
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