Neutered Son Living With His Mother - She Seems to be beating up on him

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I recently had my male guinea pig neutered because one of my two Sows was 5 years old and the other (the male's mother) was only about 2. Sadly, the older sow died shortly after the male was neutered. I waited 4 weeks after the surgery and introduced the male to his mother on the floor a few times. His cage was next to hers before and they were used to seeing each other.

The introduction, predictably, involved him trying to mount her, but she lay down the law. They seemed to be getting along in future play periods, so I eventually put them both in her cage after it was cleaned. Even though he is male and very slightly larger, she seems to be totally in control and I’m actually afraid she might hurt him or prevent him from eating. I have two woodland get-away houses and she chases him into one and then stays in the door way of it with him trapped inside. When they are outside their houses together, she seems to bit him in the side.

I separated them today because I can’t keep an eye on them that much for the new few days.

Should I leave them together for awhile and let them work out their dominance issues or is there a case that she might actually harm him?

She was kind of mean to the older Sow and it’s possible that led to her death. I was going to swap the older sow with the son when his 4 week waiting period ended, but she died before then.

 

[flips]

It is quite possible that the older sow will be dominant in the relationship. It is also possible that they won't get on.
I would keep them separate until you have a couple of days at home to see the bonding through. When you introduce them again, do not put any houses in, just hay and food, so that there are no places for either to guard as 'territory'. When you put them back into a clean cage, do not put any houses in. You can then introduce hideys with 2 entrances (upside down cardboard boxes with doors each end will do). This way, neither pig can get trapped.

You may find that your sow is more receptive when she is in season.

It might not work though. If you think your boy is being bullied or unhappy, then you may need to re-think things. Living side by side is an option if they can't be bonded as interaction through the bars is better than living alone.

When you say that your sows behaviour may have led to the death of the other girl, what do you mean?