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One of my pigs ate the others ear

R

Raynecavy

New Born Pup
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This is a bit of a grim topic but I need advice.
We recently got a baby guinea pig to keep my 3 year old female company as the 3yo's friend had died. We've had the 2 of them together for about 2 months now and they were getting on perfectly fine.
The baby passed away yesterday and she was found in the cage inside of of their hides. She was burried into the begging with her back legs squished as if she had been sat on and one of her ears was completely chewed off. The baby had been completely healthy before so we are concerned the 3yo may have killed her.
We don't want to leave the 3yo on her own but she has always been quite an aggressive pig towards any new piggies so we are concerned about getting a new guinea pig.
Also considering the 3yo ate the baby's ear should I be concerned about her getting sick from it?
 
It’s most unlikely that one piggy has killed the baby. More likely that the ear has been injured as part of the older one’s attempt to wake her up if she had passed in the night. Piggies do sadly die unexpectedly. Were they kept inside? Or were they outside where temperature or a predator may have played a part in the little one’s passing?
Please don’t blame the older sow. It really is most unlikely to be her fault.
 
Your older sow will still need a companion. Are you able to contact one of our recommended rescues for dating?
 
Sometimes when a companion dies, other pigs will lick/nibble/groom around the ears and eyes and face... this isn't aggressive, it's a kind of making sense of the fact that the other pig has passed and grieving. Sometimes overzealous grooming/nuzzling can lead to the ears being damaged/chewed up. It's not an aggressive act and it's really, REALLY unlikely that your older pig killed the younger one. It's much more likely that your younger pig passed naturally or of illness and the older one in the act of trying to wake her up and mourning did some damage to her ears postmortem. It doesn't mean she shouldn't have another companion in the future, she didn't do anything aggressive to cause her companion's death.

I'm so sorry for your loss, that must have been an awful shock. ((HUGS)) to you.
 
I’d agree this sounds like your older piggie has tried to wake her up? I’m so sorry you lost the baby but don’t be put off bonding her with another female or a neutered boar in neuteral territory
 
I agree with the others. It is extremely unlikely your older pig killed your baby. Much more likely she passed of something else entirely and your sow was trying to wake her up 😔
We have had it in the past with a sow who came in pregnant. One baby was stillborn and mum had quite frantically tried to wake him 😔
 
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