my little boy is a girl !

[bigship]

Hi I posted on here some time ago regarding the two femaLE pigs I had brought from a pet shop which went on to have babies. One of these I took to the vet at 3 days old after it had been bitten, the vet told me it was a male and after full recoverery I seperated it at 5 weeks from the 3 females, I've just got back from taking it for pre op at the vet who laughed and told me it is a girl. _ good that the op is not neccesary but I feel awful having seperated it, as it has been on its own all this time (not to mention the extra cage I had to buy)
How is the best way to reintroduce it to its mum aunt and cousin? it was bitten as a baby by its aunt and she is quite dominant? any advice please.
I have just put it and its cousin (2 days older) in the run to see what happens but looking at the sky it wont be for long

 

[Guinea pig slave]

Was it the same vet ?/ If so, proves even they can get it wrong :{
Just follow the guidelines for introductions, sows are a lot easier than boars apparently. Always have a back up plan ready in case it fails though, you say you have an extra cage so that is good. If things don't work, sow dating at a rescue may be the best option so she can choose her mate herself.
http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm
I introduced four young sows to my established girls with no issues - they get along great and one of the older ones has a particularly close bond with one of the young ones - sweet as sweet to see them together x)

 

[bigship]

Thanks for the info
It was a different vet- in fairness to the first one the guinea pig was only a few days old and so I should not have taken it as definate I should have got her/him checked again.
Do I introduce them one at a time? If so how often should I reintroduce as I have to put the single female back into her own lonley cage at the end of each introduction. Should I let her spend alot of time trying to bond with one of the others and then put them all together.

 

[katiepops]

Aw bless her, have you got to change her name now?
Can you set them up next to each other so they can interact through the bars to start with?

Wiebke is the queen of sow introductions, hopefully she'll be on soon to guide you through.

 

[Wiebke]

Please introduce all of them on neutral ground, but they will hopefully get together well. Youngsters are usually not much of a problem. Make sure that the cage/hutch is cleaned, completely wiped (including bars/mesh and furniture). Here are more tips. http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562

In case the little one gets bullied badly or becomes an outsider, you may have to consider splitting your girls into two groups, either the two youngsters together or the one of the older girls with one of the youngsters each, or rebonding your youngster with another piggy.

It is often not easy to judge the gender of a newborn; not all vets have experience with guinea pigs! If ever in doubt again, you are most welcome to post pictures of the privates (as clearly as possible for better results) on this forum.

Best of luck! You have done your best given the information you have had, so don't blame yourself too much!

 

[bigship]

Thanks for the info and support - I have read the guide which gives great info on behaviour.
I am still not completely sure what I am being told, is it that:

I should introduce all of them together at the same time, whilst they are in this neutral place I need to scrub out the cage and then put them all back into the cage together.

I am about to move their hutches into the playhouse for the winter so this might be the best time to do this I am going to link the hutches with some drainage pipe to give them a bigger area whilst inside.