introducing a new baby

Hannahb2804

Hannahb2804

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi so need tips and advice, i’ve got two sows roughly two years old, and i’ve wanted a baby sow for a while to bring the herd up to three.
the baby is roughly 6 weeks and i’ve upgraded the cage recently so i have enough room for her, i’ve calculated costs of an extra piggie and everything and i’m just wondering if anyone has any advice?
Issue is I will be bonding them myself, luckily I have a spare pen I can put them in to bond. any advice on adding a new piggie to the herd? anything i need to look out for?
 
Hannahb2804 said:
Hi so need tips and advice, i’ve got two sows roughly two years old, and i’ve wanted a baby sow for a while to bring the herd up to three.
the baby is roughly 6 weeks and i’ve upgraded the cage recently so i have enough room for her, i’ve calculated costs of an extra piggie and everything and i’m just wondering if anyone has any advice?
Issue is I will be bonding them myself, luckily I have a spare pen I can put them in to bond. any advice on adding a new piggie to the herd? anything i need to look out for?
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Hi!

Please have a look at our very comprehensive bonding guide; apart from a step by step guide through all phases of the complex process, it also has got chapter on special aspects. You can find several baby/group bonding videos in the guide that you may find helpful.

It is generally easier to go from 2-4 sows as a trio always has the risk of an outsider issue when two piggies get on better.

Please take the time to read these links here:
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
 
okay thank you i’ll have a read of that
I know a lot of odd numbered herds that get on, i’m just levelling up the pros and cons. If I was to take the risk, it could always go well couldn’t it?
 
I’ve had several trios of sows that have got on but that’s been after the forth has died. But if you have the space and the finances, I would go for it. You could always add a forth if you do end up with an outsider situation 😉
 
Hannahb2804 said:
okay thank you i’ll have a read of that
I know a lot of odd numbered herds that get on, i’m just levelling up the pros and cons. If I was to take the risk, it could always go well couldn’t it?
Click to expand...

As long as you are aware that it may not work out and have a plan B in reserve, it is your decision. What I would not recommend is to fully count on it going right and then ending up with a mess.

Well established pairs are often not open to a newbie but it can work when you extend to a mini-group with different dynamics; that is at the back of our recommendations. I do have and have had successful trios but I have had more that didn't work out in the long term or that failed during bonding. When a trio works, it is great - you just can't automatically count on it.
 
one of my sows Luna is very energetic and she often wants to play but Dougal (the dominant one) doesn’t, I feel if there was another it would be better for them, I have the finances and i’ve got a plan b i just want to do what’s best for my piggies and the newbie x
 
Adding a third won’t improve the bond between the two. Just like it wouldn’t sort out any ‘issues’. As long as you have a plan b.
 
Siikibam said:
Adding a third won’t improve the bond between the two. Just like it wouldn’t sort out any ‘issues’. As long as you have a plan b.
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i’m not wanting to improve the bond between them as they have a good bond anyway, but yes i have a plan B and I think it’ll be nice adding an extra piggie
 
How do you think having another would be better for them? Would you consider waiting until rescues are up and running again so they can choose their own? That’s on the assumption you’re in UK, excuse me if you’re not v
 
Siikibam said:
How do you think having another would be better for them? Would you consider waiting until rescues are up and running again so they can choose their own? That’s on the assumption you’re in UK, excuse me if you’re not v
Click to expand...
i think they’re completely happy as they are as a pair, but I myself have wanted another one for ages and since weighing everything up there’s no reason for me not to, if something goes wrong i have options and none of them will be to rehome a piggie, i always agree with adopt don’t shop but some piggies in pet stores will be bought for breeding etc and if i can atleast give one a happy life I will, if things go wrong i will always take to a rescue to bond with and then bring them both home. no piggie will be on their own :)
 
As long as you’re aware what you could be taking on if you go with a pet shop piggy. Would you consider adopting a bonded pair then?
 
Hi so i’m in the process of bonding my new baby with my already two bonded sows.
Luna has been sniffing the new baby and rubbing her nose on her , Dougal who is the dominant one normally, just seems to chase the new baby around, no biting or teeth chatting and no rumbling, just chasing and making noise. Everytime dougal gets close to baby she darts off, are these all standard bonding procedures?
they’re all sat eating hay together and they’ve got more than enough space.
what should I look out for in terms of how it’s going? when should I put them all in their permanent cage
 
Hi there 🙂

I recently bonded a baby to my bereaved adult sow and made some vids which you can see here:

Another chance for Belle.

I moved them into a cage round about the 3 hr mark i think - after i had seen them eating together and all the tension had died away. I just felt a calmer vibe from them.


If you film what is going on, post it here through your you tube account, then someone can take a look if you are unsure
 
Sorry, that link is to page 5 of my thread - the bonding vids are at the start of the thread on page 1 i think. Or 2



Post #39 page 2
 
tabelmabel said:
Hi there 🙂

I recently bonded a baby to my bereaved adult sow and made some vids which you can see here:

Another chance for Belle.

I moved them into a cage round about the 3 hr mark i think - after i had seen them eating together and all the tension had died away. I just felt a calmer vibe from them.


If you film what is going on, post it here through your you tube account, then someone can take a look if you are unsure
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thank you! i’ll keep you posted, i’ve got a video but i don’t think i can post them here and i may be young but i’ve got no idea how to work youtube videos😂
 
Ha ha! I'm old but found it really simple to set up a you tube channel. Once you have a channel (set to unlisted if you dont want everyone to see) then your device will make it easy to use.

Basically, make your vid and select "share" That opens your sharing options and you tube will be one of them, once installed on your device.

Select that and the upload will complete itself.

When ready just copy the link and paste it here. Simples!
 
21 March 2021
here we go ooooo
so the first noise is the baby squealing and the low pitched noise is my dominant girl
 
I can only see a big green heart covering your pigs 🤣 Did you mean that to be there for privacy reasons?

I think we will need to see the pigs. The noises sound ok though😄
 
Well, I'm no expert but that looks ok to me. Is that them moved into the permanant cage now?


For comparison, here is a bonding trio i did that worked great. 2 of these pigs have passed on now but this was a lively but happy bonding

 
This is an example of why I'm not the best to advise! Live and learn - that was my first attempt at an all adult bonding and i was far too slow to realise that had failed.

You can hear the loud clacking from my pig (belle, the light golden teddy) before the fight. They were seperated after this.
 
tabelmabel said:
Well, I'm no expert but that looks ok to me. Is that them moved into the permanant cage now?


For comparison, here is a bonding trio i did that worked great. 2 of these pigs have passed on now but this was a lively but happy bonding

Click to expand...
yes they’re in it now as things seemed to calm down, i’ll post another link this is the most recent behaviour, Luna has gone up to the baby and sniffed her than began to lick her face etc, it’s just Dougal i’m worried about
21 March 2021
 
@Wiebke @Julie M are far more experienced than me.


**** also for anyone else trying a home bonding - my vids posted here are NOT an ideal way to go about it. I shouldnt have had all those tunnels and clutter in my bonding pen.


Dont copy me, anyone:tu:😯😄
 
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