I’ve just lost one of my pigs, can I re-bond the remaining one?

2timespigs

2timespigs

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Hello all,

One of my 2 male pigs has sadly just passed away. I am conscious that I don’t want my remaining pig to get lonely and so was hoping for suggestions on how to go about giving him a new friend (or two). I would prefer to stick with males to avoid any castration surgery, but I’m aware that bonding males can be a tricky endeavor.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Thank you :)
 
I'm sorry for your loss.

The first thing to say is that he also needs a little time to grieve. As long as he is eating and otherwise happy, you have a few weeks to put plans in place to find him a new friend.

First thing to note is that as a boar, he cannot have two friends. You can only keep boars in pairs. Trying to put three or more boars together usually fails and ends in fights.

Bonding boars isn’t tricky, it comes down to character compatibility as it does with sows. It can be harder if you are dealing with a hormonal teenager but still not impossible.
The best way to find a new friend is with the help of a rescue centre. They can help you find a match for him, ensure compatibility and a good bond.
If you cannot find a rescue centre near you and have no option but to purchase from a shop, then you do need a plan b in case the bonding fails - that is that they would need to live in separate but side by side cages.

I’ve added some links and guides below which will help you.
Do ask us any questions you may have though.

Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/guinea-pig-forum-recommended-rescues.196734/

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
 
I’m so sorry for your loss. I’ve bonded boys twice now and it’s worked out well. I always get a young baby. Good luck finding him a friend.
 
Thank you so much for your advice! I will definitely get in touch with our local rescue. It’s good to hear that it isn’t as hard as I thought to re-bond a male! Thanks again
 
So sorry for your loss. I recently bonded my bereaved 4.5 year old boar with another of similar age. They were both pretty chilled, probably due to declining testosterone 🤣 Hope it goes well for your Piggie x
 
So sorry you lost one if your little boars :hug: I hope you can take him boar dating at a rescue, it takes all the stress out of finding a new companion, this way he gets to choose 🤞
 
Thank you for all your lovely messages, it’s so good to know there’s like minded piggie people out there
 
2timespigs said:
Thank you for all your lovely messages, it’s so good to know there’s like minded piggie people out there
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I'm in the same situation as you , first of all I'm really sorry for your loss, i completely understand your hurt, we lost our beloved piggie a week ago very unexpected & only 2 years old, we have another, he seems ok on his own, he was even popcorning this morning so must be happy, not sure what to do at the moment, we did think about looking for a neutered female, that way he would have a girlfriend & wouldn't feel like were replacing the other male, something else you could think about, big hugs & lots of love 😘
 
JArch said:
I'm in the same situation as you , first of all I'm really sorry for your loss, i completely understand your hurt, we lost our beloved piggie a week ago very unexpected & only 2 years old, we have another, he seems ok on his own, he was even popcorning this morning so must be happy, not sure what to do at the moment, we did think about looking for a neutered female, that way he would have a girlfriend & wouldn't feel like were replacing the other male, something else you could think about, big hugs & lots of love 😘
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I’m sorry for your loss.
Do be aware that finding a spayed female is hard and they don’t come up in rescues at all often. Most are only spayed for medical reasons (ie they had ovarian cysts). Spaying a female is a huge operation and not usually done just for bonding purposes. It’s much more common for the males to be neutered, so if you want him to have a female companion then you would most likely need to look into having him neutered (and then the six weeks wait post neutering for him to become infertile).
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry for your loss.
Do be aware that finding a spayed female is hard and they don’t come up in rescues at all often. Most are only spayed for medical reasons (ie they had ovarian cysts). Spaying a female is a huge operation and not usually done just for bonding purposes. It’s much more common for the males to be neutered, so if you want him to have a female companion then you would most likely need to look into having him neutered (and then the six weeks wait post neutering for him to become infertile).
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Ok, thankyou for your information, not really sure yet what to do just yet, just looking at options, can't believe were in this situation were still grieving over the one we lost so sudden. Many thanks again 😘
 
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