New piggy after loss?

[ricear]

Hi! A few weeks ago, we lost our sweet Winston. It was a trio of males, which seemed to be working okay until Winston crossed the rainbow bridge (thank you for your kind words on that post, everyone!) Arthur and Al are our remaining dynamic duo. However, i was wondering what it would be like to add a female guinea pig to the bunch. Of course we’d get them fixed to prevent any offspring (I do not want a militia of guinea pigs). Thoughts? What’s the smartest way to go?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

I am very sorry for your loss.
Death, Dying, Terminal Illness, Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children


What you are planning is unfortunately the perfect recipe for fights and a massive fall-out.
You an either have each boar living in a cage each with a sow of their own as two separate pairs or just leave your boys as a stable pair. Two boars with a sow is a BIG no-no!

Neutering in guinea pigs only takes away the ability to make babies but it doesn't change their personalities or their social behaviour (including mating).
Guinea pig society is wired for a group of sows to choose which 'husboar' (singular!) they want to associate with. Bachelor boars outside these core groups can associate with each other in a looser, much less formal and often much more fleeting setting; but you cannot mix bachelor and core group settings within a standard cage without causing real problems and no way for the loser of the contest to move away into a different territory of his own - with means inevitably fights or bad bullying. This is much more pronounced when you introduce sows into a boars only space.

If you want recreate a mixed gender setting with more than one neutered boar and any number of sows or with a bigger group of boars only, you need quite literally oodles of space in order to allow piggies to have their own territories and losers of contests to get away from each other if needed. You also need suitable personalities to not cause a rampage and and constant upset. You also need to have a space you can transfer problem piggies to and have options in case group dynamics, which continue to evolve, take a bad turn at some point or other.

Please take the time to read the guide links below; you will find them very informative and helpful for thinking things really through and then making a decision that is appropriate for your personal resources in terms of space and finances.
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)

We all have our dreams but sometime we have to wait a long time before we are able to realise them. I waited for 3 decades before I could finally make my childhood dream of a big piggy group come true but had to be practical when a piggy generation down the group started to fall apart.

 

[ricear]

Hi!

I am very sorry for your loss.
Death, Dying, Terminal Illness, Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children


What you are planning is unfortunately the perfect recipe for fights and a massive fall-out.
You an either have each boar living in a cage each with a sow of their own as two separate pairs or just leave your boys as a stable pair. Two boars with a sow is a BIG no-no!

Neutering in guinea pigs only takes away the ability to make babies but it doesn't change their personalities or their social behaviour (including mating).
Guinea pig society is wired for a group of sows to choose which 'husboar' (singular!) they want to associate with. Bachelor boars outside these core groups can associate with each other in a looser, much less formal and often much more fleeting setting; but you cannot mix bachelor and core group settings within a standard cage without causing real problems and no way for the loser of the contest to move away into a different territory of his own - with means inevitably fights or bad bullying. This is much more pronounced when you introduce sows into a boars only space.

If you want recreate a mixed gender setting with more than one neutered boar and any number of sows or with a bigger group of boars only, you need quite literally oodles of space in order to allow piggies to have their own territories and losers of contests to get away from each other if needed. You also need suitable personalities to not cause a rampage and and constant upset. You also need to have a space you can transfer problem piggies to and have options in case group dynamics, which continue to evolve, take a bad turn at some point or other.

Please take the time to read the guide links below; you will find them very informative and helpful for thinking things really through and then making a decision that is appropriate for your personal resources in terms of space and finances.
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)

We all have our dreams but sometime we have to wait a long time before we are able to realise them. I waited for 3 decades before I could finally make my childhood dream of a big piggy group come true but had to be practical when a piggy generation down the group started to fall apart.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the detailed response. I think it’s best to leave the two as a pair and reevaluate later on down the line! But, now that the dominant guinea pig is gone, I haven’t seen any fights for the new top spot. How will I know which one is more dominant?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the detailed response. I think it’s best to leave the two as a pair and reevaluate later on down the line! But, now that the dominant guinea pig is gone, I haven’t seen any fights for the new top spot. How will I know which one is more dominant?

You may not see much in a laid-back pair of piggies where dominance is just not a real issue. There is likely a leader from before but he simply doesn't have the need to push it and is happy with the way things are. Feel blessed!

 

[ricear]

You may not see much in a laid-back pair of piggies where dominance is just not a real issue. There is likely a leader from before but he simply doesn't have the need to push it and is happy with the way things are. Feel blessed!

Thank you! This page has been a life saver navigating through unexpected loss.

 

[Freela]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the detailed response. I think it’s best to leave the two as a pair and reevaluate later on down the line! But, now that the dominant guinea pig is gone, I haven’t seen any fights for the new top spot. How will I know which one is more dominant?

You may not know... but they know! LOL! Some hierarchies are really peaceful if both agree and you may not see many (or any) signs of a dominance struggle. This is just the sign of a laid-back leader and a second pig who knows where they stand and is happy with that. In our past two pairs (Hadley and Sundae, Hadley and Leela) Hadley is the boss but you would never know from observing because there really is no conflict. Hadley is a pretty chilled out benevolent leader and both Sundae and Leela were very content to be second in command and never challenged her on anything so she never has to bring out the big guns and do any really dominance displays.