Neutering before puberty?

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CiaraPatricia

CiaraPatricia

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I picked up a leaflet about guinea pigs in a pet shop the other day (not the greatest source of information but just read it just to see).

All the info seemed good, but it did say something like, "if males are neutered before puberty then any combination of males and females can live togther", as in you can have multiple boars living with multiple sows.

Does anyone know if this is true or just wrong information? And what age is before puberty? I'm guessing at about two or three months old, which seems pretty early and possibly risky. But boars start mounting at a few weeks old, so would it have to be before that?

I know people say that neutering doesn't change the boar's behaviour, but if it was done before puberty then maybe it would? Same with dogs and cats, the earlier it's done the more likely to stop the behaviour?

I'm always a bit confused by this, because in nearly every other animal neutering does change behaviour, so why not guinea pigs? I was thinking maybe because they are neutered after puberty has started, because they are too small to be neutered young. But I have no idea if it would make a difference if done early.

And I was also just thinking, can they only neuter guinea pigs surgically or can they do it chemically?
 
I don't know some of the answers to your questions, but a few of my experiences...

- 2 boars neutered at 3.5 months old. One remained highly dominant and aggressive, one remained gentlemanly. So neutering earlier, I have to say I found it doesn't affect behaviour as a rule.

- One boar neutered at 6 months, again very gentlemanly pig, very people friendly, still gets a bit frisky with his ladies but only once in a while (not routinely).

- One boar neutered at 1 year old, bit of a nutter before the op, no change after! He has not yet moved in with his ladies but his dedication is admirable. Don't think he will be gentlemanly but he does care.

- Two boars adopted from rescue, one neutered at estimated age of 3-4 years, one neutered at estimated age of 1 year. Both settled, frisky only once in a while.

So regarding whether the age at which they are neutered matters, I don't feel it makes any difference. Personalities win out more, some are more dominant characters, others are not, whether they are neutered makes no odds.
 
I'd say the pet shop probably just got it wrong! I've never heard of big groups living together, except in zoos and stuff, but I bet they have loads of space and still fight . . .

Oh but my dad and his sister had a big group of males and females living together but they had about half a garden to run around in and loads of hutches. None were neutered and none fought, but they also said that they only had one litter of babies ever, even though there were several males and lots of females (30 pigs altogether!) so no idea why they didn't have more babies.
 
I had my boar neutered recently at 4 months old and it has not made the slightest bit of difference to his behaviour: he still mounts anything that moves! He managed to climb over a C & C grid while recouperating to try and get at my sow and he mounted the bunny's head (they don't live together, it was an escape and we have since increased security).
 
I guess maybe if it was to work they'd have to be neutered at about 2 weeks old! And I don't think anyone would risk that . . .
 
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