Housing 2 boys with 1 girl

[Gameofguineapigs]

hi, i adopted a 4 month old female guinea pig this morning, her living conditions weren't ideal so I thought giving her a proper home would be doing the right thing. I have 2 males who are both 1 year old and neutered, they both have really calm yet excitable personalities. Ideally I'd love for the three to become friends and all live together. If thats not possible I do of course have other plans if things go wrong.

Just wondering, does anybody have any experience or advice with having 2 boys and 1 girl? I'd hate for any of my pigs to become unhappy or hurt and just want to go around things as best as possible.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

Unfortunately, this is a BIG NO NO.

Neutering takes away only the ability to make babies; it doesn't change their behaviour or instincts one bit. By introducing a sow into a boars only environment or even let them live with them, you are setting yourself up for a fight and a fall out big time.

The rule of thumb is 1 'husboar' per any number of sows but never two or more. If you want to keep her, either find her a companion of her own or split up your boys and get the other one his own sow-wife to live with, provided your boys are more than 6 weeks post-op - the latter option has the advantage that cross gender pairs are the most stable constellation of all and the presence of sow perhomones will not put your boar pair at risk. If you have a space problem, then please consider stacking the cages.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care (see first chapter about common misconceptions)
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (see third chapter about sows and boars in the same room)

 

[Gameofguineapigs]

Thank you for your advice! I am completely open to getting another girl if we need to, space isn't an issue either. So for now my plan is to allow all the girl to get settled in and see how she takes, then evaluate the next steps. I really feel like leaving her where she was would have been worse than bringing her home

 

[Siikibam]

Just make sure that you put her out of scent’s way of the boars. Any hint of her can set them off and result in a fallout.

 

[Merab]

You sound as if you have a big heart.
The fact that you are seeking advice also shows that you are responsible and caring.
Your girl has landed on her paws with you

 

[Piggie.doodles]

Yeah I have 2 girls and 2 boys and they are completely separated- the boys live in the shed outside and the girls are inside.