How Do You Go About Bonding A 'herd'

[babygerl66]

This is all theoretical at the moment but I was wondering how you would go about bonding a herd or large group. A friend has some piggies that she wants to give to me when I have bought my own house ( so atleast 6 months from now) consisting of one boar and the rest girls in one group and two girls and a rabbit in the other group.

Would it be possible to get them together? And would it be possible to add more piggies to the group as and when needed eg when a single lady is available for rescue etc.

Also how do people get groups of 10 plus etc

 

[Wiebke]

This is all theoretical at the moment but I was wondering how you would go about bonding a herd or large group. A friend has some piggies that she wants to give to me when I have bought my own house ( so atleast 6 months from now) consisting of one boar and the rest girls in one group and two girls and a rabbit in the other group.

Would it be possible to get them together? And would it be possible to add more piggies to the group as and when needed eg when a single lady is available for rescue etc.

Also how do people get groups of 10 plus etc

Hi! Ideally you always introduce guinea pigs on neutral ground. You can find our various bonding and behaviour guides at the top of this section; they contain all useful tips and information.
Whether new piggies get on with an already bonded group to a large extent depends on whether they can work out who comes top or not. If you have two dominant group leaders, none of which wants to step down, then it is not going to work out. Underpiggies tend to fit in somewhere in the hierarchy, but it takes about two weeks on average to establish the new hierarchy and for the whole dominance to work its way down the ladder.

I have had a large group (10-14) for several years, but a piggy generation on, I have now several middling sized and smaller groups (3-7) according to who gets on with who and who doesn't. I have had my fair share of success and failures, depending on the characters involved. When bonding guinea pigs, it always pays to have a plan B in case it doesn't go to plan.

Please do not keep rabbits and guinea pigs together. It is no longer recommended, as rabbits can pass on illnesses to guinea pigs and dietary needs are different
Guinea pigs and rabbits

 

[babygerl66]

Thank you. I am aware that the rabbit should not be with the piggies but that's the way they are keeping them at the moment, against my advice of course.

 

[Cassiedog]

Hi. I'm just hijacking this thread.
I'm looking to integrate my 3 hutches (8 piggies) in a few weeks time.
Is it best just to put them all in together or to bond one group with another then add the next one?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi. I'm just hijacking this thread.
I'm looking to integrate my 3 hutches (8 piggies) in a few weeks time.
Is it best just to put them all in together or to bond one group with another then add the next one?

Please start your own thread by clicking on this link, then clicking on the large green thread starter button the right side. You can copy your message into the first post. Behaviour and Bonding

That way, each thread can concentrate on working out a specific situation and a personalised solution. Thank you!