Hello

[PiggieMayhem]

Hello, I currently have four guinea pigs. Three females and one lone male. The aim is to neuter him (next week) and bond him to my girls. But thats jot why I am here.

I have a four week old multicolor teddy named Coconut that I am trying to bond with my girls. I'm not sure if its going well? My older females have been teeth chattering at each other but no fighting. A lot of chasing from my dominant pig towarda the other two and alot of squeeking and crying from the baby....

 

[fluffysal]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm afraid I have no advice about females as I'm slave to a pair of gorgeous boys who are looking forward to seeing pictures of your herd.

 

[PiggieMayhem]

So the little teddy is Coconut she is 4 weeks old. The gray and white abby is my lone boar Cloud [six months old)....the multicolor abby is Chloe (1.5 year) and the black and white is.my dominant female her name is cookie (1.5 year)

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

Can you confirm that the bonding is taking place in a totally neutral territory?

The squeaking from the baby will be submission.

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

Jan 23, 2019

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Scent swapping - why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonding and Bereavement

• 

 

[PiggieMayhem]

Yes it is taking place is neutral area with a big pile of hay on a brand new fleece

 

[Wiebke]

Hi
Is your vet willing to desex a four weeks old boar? By 5 weeks of age, he will be already fertile, which means that you also have to factor in a safety wait since the tubes are no removed and any semen in there needs time to die off.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hi
Is your vet willing to desex a four weeks old boar? By 5 weeks of age, he will be already fertile, which means that you also have to factor in a safety wait since the tubes are no removed and any semen in there needs time to die off.

From what I understand, the four week old isn’t the boar. The boar is not yet in the equation, not yet neutered and being kept separate.

The four week old is a baby sow being bonded with two other adult sows and the question relates to the bonding of these three sows.

 

[Wiebke]

From what I understand, the four week old isn’t the boar. The boar is not yet in the equation, not yet neutered and being kept separate.

The four week old is a baby sow being bonded with two other adult sows and the question relates to the bonding of these three sows.

Sorry, I got a bit confused there.

 

[PiggieMayhem]

Hi
Is your vet willing to desex a four weeks old boar? By 5 weeks of age, he will be already fertile, which means that you also have to factor in a safety wait since the tubes are no removed and any semen in there needs time to die off.

My boar is six months old. The four.week old is a baby female.I'm bonding with my.other two adult females

 

[Wiebke]

My boar is six months old. The four.week old is a baby female.I'm bonding with my.other two adult females

Thank you for clarifying. I should not hop around doing three things at once.

If the tension is going down between your sows, I would stop and try again tomorrow. If things get tense again quickly, the bonding has failed (it is destabilising your trio); if all sows are more relaxed, then you can continue.

Bonding can unfortunately bring hidden but existing issues to the surface. Piggies are much more complex personalities than most owners expect so you can never predict the dynamics even in a supposedly 'surefire' bonding. I've got a whole cupboard full of those t-shirts. We can only reflect trends but never the individual outcome with our recommendations.