Naughty Piggies.

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FernRobyn

FernRobyn

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Hey guys, just wondering if you guys have any good advice.

I have 4 boy piggies together, they have always got on fine. They are young and I think puberty is hitting because life in the hutch as got rather intense.

But seems to be one pig mainly, he has had an abscess, been to vets and been in baytril for about 10 days. Now I don't know what's up but he has been really aggressive towards the others since. Could it be the antibiotics?

I have read a few threads on dominants in the hutch and it's really starting to worry me.

We have had a few nips, nothing really extreme but still worried.

I have bathed them and cleaned the whole hutch out. Next I was going to try separation for a few hours, but unsure.

I know there is no fast fix for puberty if it's that, but any advice on how to make it easier on them would be great.

And will this pass and calm down or are they just going to be little forever

Thank you Fern x
 
Is it possible that he's in pain & taking it out on the others or have they hurt him round the abscess area.
 
Trio's or groups of boys can work but it's rare. As they go through puberty you may find they may fall out and some or all need to be seperated. I found this out. @Wiebke will give you some good advice and also check out the sticky threads regarding fall outs and boars etc.

If any blood is shed you will have to separate. Once blood falls I have been advised it rarely then works being back together again. I have two brothers, now separated since 5 months because of puberty and them.finding their personalities. Since yours are young you may find that they wont continue to get on.

Being in pain also will prob make your poorly one more cranky. Also be careful with him as you don't want him bring hurt more if the others retaliate towards him esp with this abcess. X
 
Unfortunately I also learned that my group of boys was not going to work and it resulted in one boy being adopted and another with a huge abscess that he nearly died from :( I wish you luck and hope your boy gets better soon x
 
Hi! I am sorry to say this, but I know of very few boar quartets that have been stable for more than a few weeks/months at the best, and the successful ones were all comprised of very laid back adult, blind/deaf or elderly boars. Boars work best either in pairs or in large groups with lots of space. They do not work in small groups; quartets are the worst combination with an even higher fail rate than trios (whose subadult fail rate is about 90% and less than 50% for adult boars).

If you can, I would seriously think about splitting your four boys into groups of two; that will give them a much higher chance of making it into adulthood without any further fall-outs, so you hopefully end up with just two pairs but no single boars. It can be likely that you will end up with a pair and two singles. Four singles is the worst case scenario. Subadult boars between 4-14 months old are at their most volatile, as they suffer from hormonal spikes. :(

What you are seeing at the moment is some dominance behaviour, either triggered by the abscess (was it caused by a bite, by the way?) or by hormones. It is very typical for a dominant hormonal boar.

Could you date your abscess boy with the least dominant/most laid back boy in a neutral space/lawn run once you have sorted out the housing and see whether they work out? If you have got a large two tier hutch, you may be able to just split it into two cages by removing the ramp. Ideally, you start with the two boars you want to bond on your lap. If they are hostile pretty much from the start, it is not worth going through a full intro; it'll never work!
When splitting up your groups, you have to brace yourself for dominance behaviour in both groups as a new hierarchy needs to be established, so it will be an anxious time for you. But it is the least intrusive solution, so it is worth giving it a shot! All alternatives involve either single boars living alongside with interaction through mesh or introducing character compatible piggies (either boars or sows after your boars have been neutered and are safely past their post op wait; preferably by dating at a piggy savvy good standard rescue). :(
You may find these threads here helpful:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/
This here is the blog from a rescue lady who used to offer a boar dating service at her rescue. You may find her pictures, videos and descriptions of success and fails (and the reasons why) helpful.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/boar-dating-service-wales.59233/

I am sorry about the abscess. Please keep a beady eye on it in case it comes back; abscesses can be persistent. Our medical wizzes in the health/illness section will support you with advice if that is the case.

PS: Unlike with rabbits, neutering boars does NOT change behaviour patterns and is only advisable when you are planning to bond a boar with sows in order to prevent pregnancies.
 
Hey thank you.

The abscess wasn't caused through fighting, vets said he think it was from food/hay getting stuck in his throat. The abscess has pretty much gone now and he seems okay now. I have never seen them go for eachother properly.

And they share their veggies well when I bring them down and feed them.

And I have a run outside and they are fine out there, just all cuddle up eating grass.

Just seems when they are on their own and you can hear the arguing.

Thanks x
 
I just thought I would up date everyone on the little piggies.

My boyfriend has so sweetly made a new floor for the piggies to go in.

I have added loads more hiding holes for them. Plenty more hay and a soft toy is so if they get mad they can take it out on that.

Seems to be working had a lot less arguing and not really any aggressive attacks. So hopefully they will be ok.

Going to keep an eye on them see if I need to make two pairs. But all seems okay in piggy parlour :) x
 
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