Male pig bonding

[samissler1]

hello ! this is my first time writing a post on here so i hope i did this right.

i recently just built my guinea pigs a c&c cage and i currently have 3 male pigs. all varying in ages I'm not sure if that matters! and i also do already know that having an odd number of pigs can create issues. yesterday i put all of them together in the cage and all was fine up until a few hours after the fact. my youngest started to lunge at my oldest and he keeps bothering him and chasing him around like they're about to fight. no blood has been drawn or fur pulled but it keeps happening and i don't know if that's cause for concern and if i should seperate but that also leads to my next question of , should i bring home another pig to make it even ? so that they can be bonded in pairs? i'm not sure what to do ! any advice would be great

thanks !

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

I am afraid this will not work and you do need to separate them straight away. Boars can only be kept in pairs. Trying to keep more than two boars together almost always fails and this is because they find it very hard to form a functioning hierarchy.
The space required to attempt a boar trio is also much beyond normal cage sizing requirements - you would need approximately a 9x3 c&c - but due to the character compatibility issues a boar trio face, even lots of space won’t make it work.

You will need to separate them. Have two together in one cage and then the other one will have to be in a cage by himself but the cage will need to be next to the pair.
You can get another piggy to bond with the single piggy if you wish to do so.

Two boars together need a 5x2 c&c
The single will need a minimum of a 3x2 c&c, but extended to a 5x2 if you decide to get him his own new friend

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

 

[samissler1]

Welcome to the forum

I am afraid this will not work and you do need to separate them straight away. Boars can only be kept in pairs. Trying to keep more than two boars together almost always fails and this is because they find it very hard to form a functioning hierarchy.
The space required to attempt a boar trio is also much beyond normal cage sizing requirements - you would need approximately a 9x3 c&c - but due to the character compatibility issues a boar trio face, even lots of space won’t make it work.

You will need to separate them. Have two together in one cage and then the other one will have to be in a cage by himself but the cage will need to be next to the pair.
You can get another piggy to bond with the single piggy if you wish to do so.

Two boars together need a 5x2 c&c
The single will need a minimum of a 3x2 c&c, but extended to a 5x2 if you decide to get him his own new friend

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

Thank you so much for your response ! As a little update, I have separated the three and kept my youngest, Milo, alone while keeping the other two, Patches and Nugget, together and they've gotten together very well so far. I do have another question though. Since Milo is alone but directly next to the pair, he won't feel lonely right? They're able to interact through the bars which I hope is enough to keep him happy. I have also put their food bowls near each other on the separate sides so they can eat together next to the bars. I am just nervous he won't be happy although he seems very content thus far.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Living side by side is the normal course of action for piggies who cannot share a cage. He will still have companionship and interaction through the bars which is enough. I have have a boar who fought with his cage mate and now lives side by side and has done so for 19/20 months.
Very occasionally it won’t be enough for a piggy to live like this and some do better with a live in friend. If you find he is struggling then you may need to get him his own new friend.

Regarding the food bowls, there are two points:

1. I would not move the food bowls to the divider. Instead always place food away from the divider. The divider is a territory line. When boars live side by side you can find territorial behaviours occurring at a divider, things like bar chewing , laying against the divider, pacing the divider. These are not friendly behaviours, they are territory marking exercises (a bit hostile). If you’ve put their food at the divider you are forcing them to meet at the territory mark to eat which may increase through the bar tensions.
Put food at the opposite end so they can come together at the divider only if they want to rather than have to.

2. We do not recommend you use food bowls at all. Instead scatter their veg and pellet portion in amongst loose piles of hay on the cage floor.
Eating from a bowl is a mindless activity finished in a few minutes. Being able to forage through hay for hours at a time is mental stimulation and enrichment for every piggy and allows them to use their natural behaviours. Piggies naturally spend most of their time foraging and grazing - replicating that in a cage enrichment is very important.
Being able to forage is vital when a piggy is single as he needs lots of things to do to keep occupied.
For the pair, it also stops the dominant piggy from hogging food and ensures both get equal chance to get their share.