Introduction of 2 boars?

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Sodapops

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Hi there,
Wondered if someone could offer a bit of advice.

I have a male guinea pig (called homer) he's about 16-18wks old, after some advice on these forums a couple of weeks after bringing him home i was advised to get him a cage mate. I tried the route of re-homing through a rescue centre - but unfortunately this didn't work out as 3 of the adult pigs we tried with homer just showed too much aggression towards him.

I was advised that it may be better to try a younger pig - so today we bought home JJ - a simply beautiful 6-8wk old boar.

We already have a 4ft indoor hutch with underneath run (that homer lives in) and for the purpose of introductions we have our temporary Ferplast 80 cage.

The initial introduction was done in the bath - and homer seemed very chirpy and excited by the whole thing (unlike other meetings where he was scared stiff). He did the usual persistent mounting of little JJ and both pigs showed no signs of aggression.

After the initial intro which lasted about an hour - Homer spent the few hours afterwards literally climbing the walls (constant squeaking, trying to climb the cage bars etc) and the second meeting was done in the additional run we have - needless to say that meeting also went well (no teeth chattering - just homer trying to have fun with his new playmate) - ive read up on boar glue and how to remove it from guinea pig fur (so you can tell how the meeting went).

Lap time went with homer nudging JJ and he looking like he was going to fall asleep (all JJ was interested in was the juicy carrot sat on my lap).

So after two (what seemed like) sucessful meetings - my question is - how long do i continue with the 'meetings' before they can be placed together permanently?

I have just ordered some brand new fleece and have bought a new water bottle and food dish - i will be disinfecting everything and buying a duplicate of the log cabin and snuggle bed i currently have.

I know to watch and monitor behaviour - but i dont want to rush things.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
No more meetings, please! Boars always have to start in square one each time they meet and you actually hinder more than help their developing relationship.

Introduce them again on neutral ground, but this time leave them together, please. Considering that the two seem to hit it off so well, you do not need to worry!

Here are some threads that you might find useful:
introductions:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
boar behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
 
Wiebke is right in that each time they meet is like the first time again. Whenever i bond piggies (boars or sows) i do it on neutral ground & watch from a distance & if all is well after say half an hour that's it; they stay together & move into their permanent home together :)
 
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Hi there,
Thanks for the posts, seems like another case of mis-information. Before posting on this forum i was told by 2 different sources that i should separate and do multiple meetings until the two pigs are completely comfortable - this information coming from people who should know better!.

I'm just so glad i came here and followed the advice ghiven swiftly - i could have ended up with two pigs that just wouldn't ever get along! I'm truely grateful.

I do have one question though - how long will the romancing period last? Our older guinea pig (Homer) is relentless in his efforts to have his wicked way - and the mounting of our little piggie (JJ) is happening literally every 10mins (JJ is very vocal and when he hears homer Rumblestrutting he makes everyone aware)

Once again thanks for the replies - it's an absolute joy to watch my two bundles of joy getting along so well :)
 
It can take several days - the first flush dominance lasts as long as the top piggy is completley and absolutely satisfied. Usually, this is followed by a period where the underpiggy is increasingly standing up for himself and make it clear how far he allows himself to be pushed.

You have to watch JJ and see whether it gets too much for him eventually at that intensity - watch out for signs that he is becoming withdrawn and stressed; otherwise don't interfere. For some boar pairs, rumbling and humping is and stays a daily ritual; it depends on how dominant the two are.
 
Hi there,
Thanks for the quick reply.

JJ appears to be a feisty piggie and clearly tries to escape his elder's advances, i think herin lies the problem because he has yet to give up so easily.

Like i said, JJ is very vocal when Homer comes near and rumbles, however when homer ventures (and gives JJ 5 mins peace) in to the run below - JJ does run around as if to search for homer - he's even tried to venture down the tunnel himself in an attempt to follow homer (it took homer 5 days before he'd use the tunnel to get to the run below)

I'll certainly keep my eye on the situation and monitor the two closely.

I specifically did the intro early this morning and i have been closely watching the two since 8am this morning.

I suspect though watching homer's behaviour and JJ's reaction is not the only thing i'll need to monitor as there hasn't been a single thing ive placed in front of JJ that he hasn't wolfed down with pleasure (that daily food guide on the back of the food bags will come in handy as ive a feeling we have one hungry piggie)

I really appreciate all the replies and help
 
I'm so glad I read this as i'm about to introduce my 2 piggies, but think I will wait until tomorrow when I have finished joining their cages so everything is ready if the introduction goes well and I can put them together. Monty is just over 5 months and Stanley is 10 weeks. Fingers crossed they get on ok.
Would you recommend buying new food bowls, water bottles, hidey-holes for them or will cleaning what I currently have be ok?
 
Hi Piggiewinkles,

I'm no guinea pig expert (and others on here will better advise you) but what i did was give my indoor hutch a major overhaul - i disinfected everything and laid freshly laundered fleece bedding. I also gave the hutch a switch around so's it would appear new for both pigs. Everything (such as tunnel and snuggle bed) were washed.

Ive ordered a new pigloo and some more fleece bedding (as two piggies will mean twice as many weekly clean outs).

I personally made sure i had another bowl and water bottle (i already had two bowls anyway) and have positioned 1 water bottle up top and one in the run below - ive also done this with the food bowl and made sure there is a food source available where ever the pigs are.

I did read that making sure you have two of everything means that should any bullying occur - the bully cannot stand guard at both places (so if you have two bowls of food place them at either ends of the cage - same for the water)

That's what i did anyways - i'm sure more people will come along with more advise for you - i wish you luck with the introductions - your piggies are not far from the ages of my two (fingers crossed it goes well for you).

:))
 
Thanks.
At the moment they are in separate cages, side by side. They have been biting at the bars to get to one another, and what I'm going to do is join the cages by cutting holes in the sides of each cage and connect them with tunnels. Then I was going to re-arrange everything in them, ensuring there are 2 of everything. I have no idea if this is going to work or not, and if it doesn't i'll have to buy one massive cage for them! But thought it would be worth trying first.
So i'm going to get the tunnels sorted tomorrow and introduce them in the bathroom tomorrow evening or the following morning.
I really hope it works and they get on. Monty (the 5 month old) was in a cage with his brother Archie, but Archie sadly died suddenly last week. I wanted to get a companion for Monty and was told to do it fairly quickly, so I got Stanley 2 nights ago. I've given them a couple of nights to smell each other through the cages so hopefully they will bond when the intoduction takes place :)
 
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