Is 3 Boars A Crowd ?

[New2piggies]

Hi, this is my 1st thread and 1st visit here. So good to see such valuable information.
Could anyone help me ? I have been with my children and picked two boars today to bring home in a few days. They are currently mixed as a group of 6. 3 from a litter and 3 from another. We have picked two boars but have fallen for one of the others and just can't choose between them all. They all live together at the moment and are 6 weeks and 7 weeks old. The 2 we want are related and the other 1 we want isn't related. If we bring all 3 home can they successfully live as a trio or am I asking for trouble ? We have no other Guinea Pigs and there are none others in neighbouring homes so no sows to worry about. If they were going to fight would try have started by now ? Thanks in advance

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, this is my 1st thread and 1st visit here. So good to see such valuable information.
Could anyone help me ? I have been with my children and picked two boars today to bring home in a few days. They are currently mixed as a group of 6. 3 from a litter and 3 from another. We have picked two boars but have fallen for one of the others and just can't choose between them all. They all live together at the moment and are 6 weeks and 7 weeks old. The 2 we want are related and the other 1 we want isn't related. If we bring all 3 home can they successfully live as a trio or am I asking for trouble ? We have no other Guinea Pigs and there are none others in neighbouring homes so no sows to worry about. If they were going to fight would try have started by now ? Thanks in advance

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry to spoil your fun, but three sub-adult boars have got a fall-out rate of about 90% before reaching adulthood once the big teenage hormones hit. Quartets have a 100% fall-out rate, by the way. Babies are babies only for a few weeks before they turn into hormonal teenagers once the testicles descend and they develop their adult identities, irrespective of the presence of sows. The owrst of the hormones die down after boars reach adulthood at around 15 months old. The older they are the more mellow they often become, unlike sows, who often become crankier as they get older...

To be honest, the best way of finding a stable pair of guinea pigs that is suitable for a family environment is a carefully character matched adult pair from a good rescue, so you can be sure that they are stably bonded and used to being handled. If you really want a trio, then a neutered boar and two sows are the best way of creating a stable threesome and preventing outsider problems.

You may find the considerations and points raised in these guideshere helpful:
Children And Guinea Pigs - A Guide For Parents
Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?

Here is more information for wannabe owners:
Quick Information Bundle For Wannabe Owners

 

[New2piggies]

Not spoiling my fun at all, the input is helpful. I knew in my heart of hearts that 3 is prob a crowd but have read several conflicting stories so wanted to check. Thank you for the links

 

[Wiebke]

Not spoiling my fun at all, the input is helpful. I knew in my heart of hearts that 3 is prob a crowd but have read several conflicting stories so wanted to check. Thank you for the links

Our advice is unfortunately based on plenty of experience with hormonal boars over a goodly number of years on this forum...

It is good that you are doing your research beforehand; it is always so much more difficult for us and a lot more upsetting for the owner to sort out the resulting mess after the fact, especially once kids are involved!

 

[CuteAsAButton]

I had a trio of boars that lived happily together for a year, until one day they had a fight; my youngest decided to start on my senior and unfortunately it ended up with my senior having a cut lip. They got separated immediately with the bully being a single until I could get him a buddy. I wouldn't risk having a trio again as they're more prone to fall outs.

 

[Alex2016]

The above is sound advice ! My 2 yong boars are just hitting teens I've had to buy secret food bowls water bottle bets toys to Pacifiy them for now ! Best of luck