Introducing A 3rd Guinea Pig

[Keelaine]

Dear All,

I have a 3 year old name Oreo and a 1 year old sow name Cola who are staying together. Even though they are ok living together, they do occasionally rumblestruttle at each other.

I recently adopted a 3rd sow name Cookie. She is a senior pig who was abandoned and rescued. Due to the inadequate care by her previous owner, she developed bumblefoot with open sores on both of her hind legs. Under my care, she is recovering from bumblefoot and one of her hind leg wound has closed. She also has impaired vision (frosted glass vision) due to deposits in both of her corneas.

Cookie is a very timid pig. So far, I have introduced the 3 gals during floor time 3 times (with vegetables and hay) while Cookie is staying in a separate house while she is recovering from her bumblefoot. Every time, Cookie will shriek whenever Oreo and Cola goes near. Because of Cookie's shriek, Oreo and Cola will chase and nib her. They will also chatter teeth towards each other and raise their neck up, preparing to fight.

Now I am wondering whether to continue to introduce them as I don't want to stress Cookie too much. I would hope for them to stay together next time. I have yet to try the buddy bath as I am waiting for Cookie's leg wound to close before I bath them together.

Should I continue with the introduction?

 

[Chief Guinea Pig]

Poor Cookie, it's so nice of you to rescue her.
Do not take it from me, but I probably wouldn't continue the introduction, because it is clear Oreo and Cola do not like her, and one pig against two is very unfair for Cookie.
I will tag @Wiebke who may know what to reply for you.
x

 

[Wiebke]

The shrieking is simply submission, a kind of "don't be nasty to me", but it is obviously enough to upset the hierarchy. Have you followed our tips for introductions or have you simply stuck Cookie in the cage with the other two? You will inevitably get dominance behaviour, but if there is an "intruder" in the cage, it is usually much stronger.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sow-behaviour.38561/

Generally, adding a third piggy to a well established pair is a trickier proposition than you'd expect. It can work, and if it does, working trios are great, but the risk of ending up with outsiders or the newbie never being fully accepted is particularly high. You will either have to sit out the dominance phase, which can be pretty rough or decide that if the tension is staying persistently high that it is not worth it.
PS: the occasional rumblestrut is normal behaviour for a sow in season.

Could you please add your country, state or county to your details. If you are here in Britain, I would recommend to rather look at dating Cookie with a gentle sow or neutered boar at a good rescue under expert supervision. We have got a rescue locator on the top bar for our UK members. I can give you recommended rescue contacts for the US and Canada if wished.
Please click on your name on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. That will enable us to give you always give your the pertinent advice and correct recommendations straight away. Thanks!

 

[Keelaine]

The shrieking is simply submission, a kind of "don't be nasty to me", but it is obviously enough to upset the hierarchy. Have you followed our tips for introductions or have you simply stuck Cookie in the cage with the other two? You will inevitably get dominance behaviour, but if there is an "intruder" in the cage, it is usually much stronger.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sow-behaviour.38561/

Generally, adding a third piggy to a well established pair is a trickier proposition than you'd expect. It can work, and if it does, working trios are great, but the risk of ending up with outsiders or the newbie never being fully accepted is particularly high. You will either have to sit out the dominance phase, which can be pretty rough or decide that if the tension is staying persistently high that it is not worth it.
PS: the occasional rumblestrut is normal behaviour for a sow in season.

Could you please add your country, state or county to your details. If you are here in Britain, I would recommend to rather look at dating Cookie with a gentle sow or neutered boar at a good rescue under expert supervision. We have got a rescue locator on the top bar for our UK members. I can give you recommended rescue contacts for the US and Canada if wished.
Please click on your name on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. That will enable us to give you always give your the pertinent advice and correct recommendations straight away. Thanks!

Hi Wiebke,

From the time I adopted Cookie until now, she has been staying in a different cage. So the only time the gals met was during floor time on a neutral ground. I am residing in Singapore. Unlike in Britain where there are guinea pig rescue organizations, we don't have it here. So far I only know one individual rescuer who rescue guinea pigs and that's how I got to know about Cookie.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Wiebke,

From the time I adopted Cookie until now, she has been staying in a different cage. So the only time the gals met was during floor time on a neutral ground. I am residing in Singapore. Unlike in Britain where there are guinea pig rescue organizations, we don't have it here. So far I only know one individual rescuer who rescue guinea pigs and that's how I got to know about Cookie.

Thanks for the added information; that is very helpful. Has Cookie's cage been adjoining the other girls or has it been away?

I am trying to assess the situation here; bonding for me depends very much on reading the body language and tension levels to understand what kind of dynamics are at work and whether it is worth persisting or not. Without that, it is much more difficult to give you solid advice.

Cookie's behaviour is not at all unusual for a non-dominant, timid sow; it is no deterrent to a good bonding once she has realised that nothing horrible is happening to her, which may take a bit of time. The chasing and nipping is also part of establishing a hierarchy/dominance over an underpiggy. Ideally, you remove any hideys, so no underpiggy can be caught and cornered during intros. The dominance phase is rarely nice, and I am always relieved when it is over.
If a top piggy is upset during an intro, it generally spills over to the underpiggies and there can be teeth chattering etc. between them. If the tension levels don't go down over the course of a couple of hours, I would call it a day and see how they are tomorrow, again on neutral ground. Hopefully, things are a bit more relaxed then.
Please read the links that I have given you; they may contain useful information that can help you to judge what is going on.

 

[MissBubblegum]

I'm no expert, its just my opinion. Its maybe worth keeping them next to each other so they can interect but with the safety of bars/grids. Special needs animals especially when its an inpaired sense can be stressed so easy and can struggle to interperate things, they can also be abit grumpier towards other animals as they don't know they have to be slower and gentler with the special needs baby. So if it doesn't work out I wouldn't worry, it maybe for the best.

 

[Keelaine]

Thanks for the added information; that is very helpful. Has Cookie's cage been adjoining the other girls or has it been away?

I am trying to assess the situation here; bonding for me depends very much on reading the body language and tension levels to understand what kind of dynamics are at work and whether it is worth persisting or not. Without that, it is much more difficult to give you solid advice.

Cookie's behaviour is not at all unusual for a non-dominant, timid sow; it is no deterrent to a good bonding once she has realised that nothing horrible is happening to her, which may take a bit of time. The chasing and nipping is also part of establishing a hierarchy/dominance over an underpiggy. Ideally, you remove any hideys, so no underpiggy can be caught and cornered during intros. The dominance phase is rarely nice, and I am always relieved when it is over.
If a top piggy is upset during an intro, it generally spills over to the underpiggies and there can be teeth chattering etc. between them. If the tension levels don't go down over the course of a couple of hours, I would call it a day and see how they are tomorrow, again on neutral ground. Hopefully, things are a bit more relaxed then.
Please read the links that I have given you; they may contain useful information that can help you to judge what is going on.

Hi Wiebke,

Cookie's cage has been place in my room at the moment. During floor time, there is no hideys or anything.. just flat ground with vegetables and hay. When Cookie doesn't shriek, Cola and Oreo will just mind their own business during floor time. The chasing, nibbling and teeth chattering only happens when Cookie shrieks. After that the tension goes down and Cola and Oreo will just relax. I read somewhere that you can try putting a cloth with the new pig's scent into the cage to let the other pigs get use to the new pig's scent. I wonder if anyone tried that before?

Perhaps mean time I will just continue and monitor them during floor time. Good thing is that no serious fight happen yet.

Thanks Wiebke, will take a look at the information links you provided.

This is Cookie =)
[/URL]http://s7.photobucket.com/user/keel...4349077634097_8990315388783875511_n.jpg.html]

 

[Keelaine]

I'm no expert, its just my opinion. Its maybe worth keeping them next to each other so they can interect but with the safety of bars/grids. Special needs animals especially when its an inpaired sense can be stressed so easy and can struggle to interperate things, they can also be abit grumpier towards other animals as they don't know they have to be slower and gentler with the special needs baby. So if it doesn't work out I wouldn't worry, it maybe for the best.

Hi MissBubblegum,

Due to Cookie's bumblefoot, I didn't place her inside the C and C cage with a grids to separate them. Because of my country's humid weather, I can't use fleece as bedding as it doesn't stay dry. As such Cookie is place in another cage (Dog carrier) with soft paper bedding until she recovers from her bumblefoot. Perhaps when she has recovered, I will put her in the C and C cage with grids to separate them. =)

 

[Wiebke]

I wouldn't expect there to be fights; Cookie is not contesting the hierarchy. It is very encouraging that your other girls have settled down again. The nipping/chasing/shrieking bit will continue for a few days, but it should hopefully become less and less often as time goes by. By the sound of it, you will have to sit it out and bear it, as unpleasant as it is for you.

The bonding is too far advanced for any coat wiping tricks. To be honest, they do not make a huge difference, as the success of a bonding depends ultimately on whether piggies gel personality-wise or not. No trick in the book can mask that, nor can they prevent the inevitable group dynamics during bonding.