Judgement day for Archie

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Sarah M

Hello,

recently me and my mum both bought some guinea pigs. I got two boys and mum got two girls. One of mums girls turned out to be pregnant when we bought her and as a result we now have baby Archie.

We are still unsure as to what fate is best for Archie.

We could either castrate him when he is old enough or

put him in with my boys

we do not have room to keep him separately permanently so unless we are going to find him a new home (which we do not want to do) we have to do one or the other

Some people say putting a baby in with boys is ok as he is only a baby and would not pose a threat but others say they may all fall out and we could end up with three separate boars!

also worried about a needless operation and the risks involved if we decide to castrate him. Also would there be a chance that, even after castration, that he would not get on with the girls?

I would really appreciate some advice on this one as he is coming up to the age where if he is going in with the boys then he should.

Thanks

Sarah
 
If he was castrated, chances are high he would get on fine with the girls. I would personally castrate than risk having 2 other boys fall out but thats personal and a lot of members would disagree as they feel the risk of the op is too high. The best thing to do is discuss with your vet if they are experienced with these types of procedures, how many they do a year etc, and if you don't feel they know what they're doing, don't take the risk!
 
i personally would not go for the operation, i would try at floor time to have archie out with your boys and see how they get on, slowly introduce him and see how it goes. as they say on this forum, if worse comes to worse just get another cage and a friend for archie ;D ;D ;D just put one cage on top of another or buy one of those double hutches. on this forum sarah the old saying is more the piggies the better ;D ;D ;D O0 hoping things work out whatever you decide to do with archie :smitten: :smitten:
 
Oh what a dilemma! I think I'd go down the op route first (he may or may not get on with the girls but the younger he's introduced the better and more chance of success) and then as a last resort put him in with the boys if all else fails.

Good luck O0
 

I've personally never had any of my boys castrated. I have always preferred to keep them 'intact'! But that is my personal choice.

it does mean that puberty can be tough & also whenever a new boy is introduced fighting is inevitable, but I find that they do usually settle down in a few weeks. Its as though they need to resort the 'pecking order' whenever a new pig comes in. :tickedoff: >:(

I have 2 babies I got 2 years ago & they went through puberty at different times (it went on forever!). Anyway, even now these 'brothers' still would rather avoid each other than have to sit next to each other! It's not unusual to see them chasing each other around the lounge, teeth gnashing (including as I type this!), but apart from the odd bite, they are reasonably well settled. They are known to take themselves to different levels of their hutch to avoid each other! >:( >:( :smitten: :smitten:

The thought of fighting may put you off, but 2 piggies I had (who are now in the great guinea run in the sky) became the best of friends & infact one pig died pining for his best friend. It was a surprising match in some ways, because there was quite a big age difference. Tycho was my 2nd ever pig & a handsome boy. he had many health problems in his life, including cancer of his boys bits at the end of his life. He died nearly 7 years old. Kili was a young thing, who was introduced to the pack when Tycho was 4 years old. Kili tried to bully Tycho during puberty but he took none of it! They became the best of friends & would sit side by side for hours. Kili became ill at 2 1/5 years old & died after a 10 day illness. Tycho died pining 40 hours later.

I've told you this story because I wanted to let you know that it is possible to introduce boars together who haven't been castrated, who aren't related or the same age. It is hard work at times & I've had to clean up more wounds than I could count, but friendships can be forged by the most unlikely of pigs and bonds stronger than we could ever imagine, be formed. :smitten: :-* :)

As I said before, personally I don't castrate, but I do understand why others want to & the only advice I would give is do what you feel is right for your little boy. Sometimes we need to trust our instincts when it comes to our babies!

Good luck & let us know what you decide to do! :smitten:
 
Thanks for the advice, however i have 2 people saying castrate and 3 not in favour - so still confused,

I am most worried about putting him with my boys as people say 3 boys will never get on?
 
My 5 are all together & although we have some teeth gnashing & the occasional fights now, for the most part they do get on together. Today in the garden they all huddled up together & went to sleep! 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:) 0:)

As I said, I haven't & would only castrate if I had no other choice. What I do know is when I get another piggie in the future sometime (I don't know when, but I know I will!), I am willing to go through the fighting & allow them to reorganise their 'pecking order'. 98)

As I said before, I think you need to trust your instincts & your piggies. Let us know what you decide to do & how it goes :smitten: :smitten:
 
Thats nice to read Madmush, I have 5 boys all in separate cages, my 2 biggest play out together but do pull each other's hair and bulldoze each other out the way at times, which has put me off housing them together, but reading your post has made me think that they don't ever bite each other and might be able to share a bigger cage!
 
I have 2 brothers together, they are like having children, they argue,hey growl at each other and then they are chasing each other round the cage and run playing....so i think you just have to watch them....but i would not get them operated on ..but each and everyone has there own choice and own reasons..
 

Katiep - my boys do bite occasionally but to be honest, the longer they have been together, the less they do bite. A lot of the time it is noise - and entertainment! they do make me laugh as they chase each other round the lounge, gnashing teeth & using what i am sure is a lot of very bad language! ;D

It was harder in the beginning as there was a lot more 'proper' fighting >:(, but that does pass & for my boys (& me!) it has been worth going through that phase.

I got 3 boys from the daughter of someone at church. Thy were brothers & when they hit puberty they started fighting, so she split them up. When I got them they were all quite subdued from being apart, sop i put them back together. As I said, there was some fighting but they really did perk up 7 became such wonderful piggies! I then allowe them to mix with the 5 pigs I already owned. We had some fighting but then they (mostly!) became friends. Sadly I have lost 2 of the 3 brothers, but the last one, Fudge, is now great friends with 2 of my pigs & I am so pleased that i decided to let them mix. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:

But it is personal choice & I think that you need to do whatever is right for your piggies! 0:) :smitten:
 
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