Hormone Spike At 10 Months?

[Swissgreys]

Our guinea pig group currently consists of;
Eddi - 10 month old neutered boar
Ruby and Lucy - 10 month old sows
Oreo - 5 month old sow

For the most part they all get on well, after a slightly hairy start when Oreo was introduced a few months back.
But things settled (it did take almost a week), and since then there has been the occasional short lived 'grumpiness' or moody days, but overall they all get on well.

Eddi is the adored husboar and a real peacemaker. When the girls bicker he slowly rumble struts around the cage, and places himself between them. It is actually astonishing to watch.
All the girls love Eddi, and will take turns grooming him and running with him.

But for the past couple of days the girls have been unsettled - nippy, jumpy, and even chattering teeth at each other. There has been no real contact - more just lots of showiness.

And tonight it has kicked off big time - the drama in the cage has been off the scale - shouting, humping, spraying - all of them are walking around chattering at each other, and it is definitely something going on between all 3 girls.
No one seems to be in season (according to Eddi anyway), so I have no idea what has bought this on.

No one has been hurt, and once again there is no real aggression, but it is the first time I have witnessed all 3 of them interacting like this.

Normally by this time of night they would have settled down, but they are still all circling and squeaking, and then they will all suddenly go off and lay down for a bit.

Clearly there is a lot of 'discussion' taking place about who is going to be the dominant sow (my money is on Oreo), but I wonder why it i suddenly all happening now, and seems to be between the 3 girls not just Ruby (the dominant sow up until now) and Oreo (who has been vying for top spot since the day she arrived).

I am not majorly worried, but should I be?
Is this unusual and likely to end in a split group?
Should Eddi be drawing up his Husboar Visitation Rights contract?

 

[Wiebke]

Our guinea pig group currently consists of;
Eddi - 10 month old neutered boar
Ruby and Lucy - 10 month old sows
Oreo - 5 month old sow

For the most part they all get on well, after a slightly hairy start when Oreo was introduced a few months back.
But things settled (it did take almost a week), and since then there has been the occasional short lived 'grumpiness' or moody days, but overall they all get on well.

Eddi is the adored husboar and a real peacemaker. When the girls bicker he slowly rumble struts around the cage, and places himself between them. It is actually astonishing to watch.
All the girls love Eddi, and will take turns grooming him and running with him.

But for the past couple of days the girls have been unsettled - nippy, jumpy, and even chattering teeth at each other. There has been no real contact - more just lots of showiness.

And tonight it has kicked off big time - the drama in the cage has been off the scale - shouting, humping, spraying - all of them are walking around chattering at each other, and it is definitely something going on between all 3 girls.
No one seems to be in season (according to Eddi anyway), so I have no idea what has bought this on.

No one has been hurt, and once again there is no real aggression, but it is the first time I have witnessed all 3 of them interacting like this.

Normally by this time of night they would have settled down, but they are still all circling and squeaking, and then they will all suddenly go off and lay down for a bit.

Clearly there is a lot of 'discussion' taking place about who is going to be the dominant sow (my money is on Oreo), but I wonder why it i suddenly all happening now, and seems to be between the 3 girls not just Ruby (the dominant sow up until now) and Oreo (who has been vying for top spot since the day she arrived).

I am not majorly worried, but should I be?
Is this unusual and likely to end in a split group?
Should Eddi be drawing up his Husboar Visitation Rights contract?

Because it is rarely ending in fights and fall-outs, it is much less well known that teenage sows can have hormonal spikes, too. That is usually when they are pushing the envelope. All you can do is the same as Eddi - sit it out. This is about sow hierarchy, in which a boar doesn't get involved. The good news is that things usually get sorted amongst the sows without fights and that they will settle down again. It shouldn't get any worse than that.
But you have to get used to the fact that with a group you have got your personal furry soap opera, and emotions can be flying high at times!

 

[Swissgreys]

Thanks so much @Wiebke
No tv for us tonight - the guinea pig drama is more than enough.
They are such divas, and I actually wished I had filmed some of it because frankly it is verging on ridiculous the amount of shrieking and (virtual) hair flicking that has gone on.
But thanks for the reassurance - ironically I always knew Oreo would challenge for dominant sow, but I just never expected it to be such a drama.
I do feel reassured though, and I also realise how important Eddi's role is too (although frankly he also looks ridiculous with his endless bum wiggling).

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks so much @Wiebke
No tv for us tonight - the guinea pig drama is more than enough.
They are such divas, and I actually wished I had filmed some of it because frankly it is verging on ridiculous the amount of shrieking and (virtual) hair flicking that has gone on.
But thanks for the reassurance - ironically I always knew Oreo would challenge for dominant sow, but I just never expected it to be such a drama.
I do feel reassured though, and I also realise how important Eddi's role is too (although frankly he also looks ridiculous with his endless bum wiggling).

Youngsters at that age tend to challenge when they are on the feisty side, but she is still a bit too young yet to get past. It can get really vocal, especially with younger sows who love their drama!