Older Sow With Two Younger Sows?

[Grabbipig]

Hi everyone, in need of some advice regarding piggy bonding please.

We recently had to say goodbye to Penny as she was very very poorly and we felt it was kinder to help her across rainbow bridge. However, this has now left me with the dilemma of companionship for my remaining sow, Pickles.

She seems to have accepted the loss very well and seems her usual self. She has been having lots of cuddle time with mummy and has been having lunch with me on the sofa (she has her bowl of pellets and I have my human food!).

She is five years old, so I am considering bonding her with two youngsters and a friend of mine has said that she would be happy for me to take on her two 1 year old sows.

I am just wondering if this is ideal and what the bonding process would be in this case?

Many thanks in advance

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone, in need of some advice regarding piggy bonding please.

We recently had to say goodbye to Penny as she was very very poorly and we felt it was kinder to help her across rainbow bridge. However, this has now left me with the dilemma of companionship for my remaining sow, Pickles.

She seems to have accepted the loss very well and seems her usual self. She has been having lots of cuddle time with mummy and has been having lunch with me on the sofa (she has her bowl of pellets and I have my human food!).

She is five years old, so I am considering bonding her with two youngsters and a friend of mine has said that she would be happy for me to take on her two 1 year old sows.

I am just wondering if this is ideal and what the bonding process would be in this case?

Many thanks in advance

Hi! I am very sorry for your loss. You are welcome to post a tribute in our Rainbow Bridge section for the girl that you have lost.

Bonding an older sow with two younger ones can work well, but I would recommend to date them all together first on neutral ground and see whether acceptance happens and how dominance is going to play out. It all depends on the personality combination.
If you have to commit fully, best plan on having the option to keep the younger girls in a next door cage with interaction through the bars for constant company and stimulation.
You may find these links here helpful:
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Sow Behaviour

Alternatively, you could contact Norman Gorman's Guinea Pig Sanctuary by St Austell, which is not too far away from you if you need to look further afield. They have recently taken in several pregnant sows that have been dumped on Bodmin Moor, so they have currently got a bit of a baby boom. The mums are very young, too, and will be up for rehoming as well once the babies are weaned and old enough for adoption.
Norman Gormans Guinea Pig Sanctuary | Facebook

Best of luck!

 

[Grabbipig]

Hi! I am very sorry for your loss. You are welcome to post a tribute in our Rainbow Bridge section for the girl that you have lost.

Bonding an older sow with two younger ones can work well, but I would recommend to date them all together first on neutral ground and see whether acceptance happens and how dominance is going to play out. It all depends on the personality combination.
If you have to commit fully, best plan on having the option to keep the younger girls in a next door cage with interaction through the bars for constant company and stimulation.
You may find these links here helpful:
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Sow Behaviour

Alternatively, you could contact Norman Gorman's Guinea Pig Sanctuary by St Austell, which is not too far away from you if you need to look further afield. They have recently taken in several pregnant sows that have been dumped on Bodmin Moor, so they have currently got a bit of a baby boom. The mums are very young, too, and will be up for rehoming as well once the babies are weaned and old enough for adoption.
Norman Gormans Guinea Pig Sanctuary | Facebook

Best of luck!

Thank you Wiebke.

Is it best that they are in side by side cages for a day or so first, before I date them on neutral ground or should we just put them together on neutral ground straight away and go from there?

Thanks again

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you Wiebke.

Is it best that they are in side by side cages for a day or so first, before I date them on neutral ground or should we just put them together on neutral ground straight away and go from there?

Thanks again

Personally, I would keep them next to each other until your new girls have settled in and there is friendly interaction between the cages; that increases the chances of acceptance, but you will only know whether they gel once the dominance has been decided (and acknowledged) between the two top girls. You can find all the necessary information and tip in the links I have given you - it is too much to repeat for every bonding inquiry. You will find that the guides are as detailed and as clear as possible for every stage of the bonding process, from the preparation until the end of the dominance phase.