New guinea pigs.

[guineapogmum]

hi all,
my boys passed away a few months ago and we have decided to adopt/rehome some new babies in the next few weeks, just had a few questions about where to get the guineas from and the herd size.

i have a very large cage (4square metres) with a double-story hutch and a smaller triangle hutch too. so with a cage that size how many guinea pigs could live happily, I'm giving myself an absolute maximum of 6. What would be the best dynamics-wise, I have my eye on a very cute 2yr old desexed boy from RSPCA but haven't inquired yet. how many girls would be the best to go with Glitch (name will probably change)?

thank you.

 

[Piggies&buns]

How many is best to go with him, depends entirely on the character compatibility of those you try to add.
The theory is you can add as many as you have space for but you need to get character matches right so that they are accepted into forming a herd - there is never any guarantee until you try to bond.
For the cage size six piggies is fine space wise but it’s more whether you can have that many is up to the pigs - the sows have to accept other girls as well as him accepting them - you could end up with, let’s say, finding two sows and bonding them with him. If those girls then don’t character match with another pig at all so you won’t be having any more than three in that cage.

If you will be getting all the pigs for the herd separately and then attempting bondings yourself, you need to have plans for failures and separate cage spaces to be able to split any off who won’t bond in.
If piggies will be added to the herd are different times, you also need a separate pen to be able to carry out the bonding in. You won’t be able to have piggies living in the cage and then jus put new ones into the same cage without bonding on neutral territory first.

You don’t say the measurements of the hutch but I’m guessing it’s a standard type of commercial hutch and therefore won’t be big enough for you to lock more than two piggies in.
So the hutches , as your set up stands in my mind, don’t count as living space suitable To be closed into and are merely shelters with the doors permanently left open

 

[Merab]

Congratulations on your potential new piggies.
Looking forward to photos when they arrive

 

[Wiebke]

hi all,
my boys passed away a few months ago and we have decided to adopt/rehome some new babies in the next few weeks, just had a few questions about where to get the guineas from and the herd size.

i have a very large cage (4square metres) with a double-story hutch and a smaller triangle hutch too. so with a cage that size how many guinea pigs could live happily, I'm giving myself an absolute maximum of 6. What would be the best dynamics-wise, I have my eye on a very cute 2yr old desexed boy from RSPCA but haven't inquired yet. how many girls would be the best to go with Glitch (name will probably change)?

thank you.

Hi

1) Having a bonded group is a wonderful thing if when it works but the stuff of many a sleepless night when it doesn't. I have over the course of 3-4 years gradually built up a mixed gender group with one charasmatic patriarch and 13 sows at the peak of it before it all fell apart and I ended up with one pair, one quintet (the leading sows with a by then elderly patriarch, which fell totally apart after he lost his top spot and none of the three contending sows would give way) plus a more stable group of 6 under-sows who accepted the husboar and last standing sow of my Tribe pensioners group. One sow had to move to another home because she was badly bullied after a failed leadership takeover.

From my own experiences, you want to either start with an already bonded sow group who accepts your hubby or a strong pair of sows that accept him so you can then gradually add more under-sows that cannot challenge or upset the established leadership; ideally young ones or not dominant ones with a group background. Be braced for failures and have a plan B if it doesn't work out.

At the end of my first group year with patriarch Llewelyn on the right and three pairs of sows added bit by bit


2011 when Hywel (middle of the first row) took on from the initial Tribe patriarch Llewelyn)


in 2012



in 2013 at its largest


I currently have one mixed gender (family) trio left and one various widows/young husboar quartet as a I slowly work my numbers down but since 2014 I have mostly kept to medium-sized groups of 3-6 piggies, preferably with a suitable neutered boar before I started taking in more and more unbondable stuck in rescue piggies to find them a suitable companion.

How many you want to go with is your choice but start slowly and build up carefully with as little upset to the top of the hierarchy as you can if you want avoid any real clashes, feuds and fall-outs. And have extra space for spare accommodation because you will need it for any frailer/ill piggies or failed bonders.

By 2011 I also had a dedicated cataract group (result of a failed bonding attempt) and by 2013 when my first top lady was ousted, she and any other older frailer Tribe sows of the first generation formed my first temporary Golden Oldies pensioner group.

 

[sam1]

hi all,
my boys passed away a few months ago and we have decided to adopt/rehome some new babies in the next few weeks, just had a few questions about where to get the guineas from and the herd size.

i have a very large cage (4square metres) with a double-story hutch and a smaller triangle hutch too. so with a cage that size how many guinea pigs could live happily, I'm giving myself an absolute maximum of 6. What would be the best dynamics-wise, I have my eye on a very cute 2yr old desexed boy from RSPCA but haven't inquired yet. how many girls would be the best to go with Glitch (name will probably change)?

thank you.

Oh my gosh! Glitch is sooo cute!
Anyway, I have linked a post on scotty's animals.com belowof best guinea pig rescues and of course RSPCA is a great rescue! but if you where thinking of a group of boys then It would be very rare that they would all get along. All in all I totally agree with piggies and buns very true information.


Australia


New South Wales
Cavy Central Guinea Pig Rescue Sydney, Nsw , Australia


Melbourne

CHUFFNUT CAVIES - AUSTRALIAN CAVY SANCTUARY MELBOURNE SHELTER. Eltham, Victoria


Queensland

Gold coast guinea pig rescue

Miss piggies guinea pig lair

The Fox residence guinea pig sanctuary

All the best Sam1

 

[Wiebke]

Here is our cage size guide. If your set-up is outdoors, then only the hutch space will count because that is what they have at night or on a rainy day.

Thread 'Cage Size Guide'

Nov 6, 2014

Remember - guinea pigs are ground roaming group animals and they need as much space as you can spare! More space to run and popcorn in means healthier and happier piggies and in turn more joy for you!

Here is a visual guide to show you the sizes of the currently commercially available cages in comparison to each other:


This is a 120x60 cm / 2x4 ft cage in comparison with a 100x50 cm cage, which is sadly still very much pushed by pet shops and commercial online sellers; you can see what a difference it makes!



C&c grids are a size of 35.5cm to meet the size...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Housing, Enrichment and Seasonal care

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[Wiebke]

PS: My Bedo (2013-18) is wishing Glitch a very happy boar life!
He was found dumped in a cardboard box with his mate on a freezing October morning but he had the happiest of lives with the sow of his dreams and a proper little patchwork family of adopted baby girls. His Welsh Tribe name translates as 'Little Splendid Lord', and he is still much missed.

 

[guineapogmum]

thank you all, will send photos if I do end up adopting Glitch.