Pre-bonding advice

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Jonboud

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Hi all, posting in a new (hopefully correct) thread, apologies if not!

We have just taken in Misty a beautiful 10m Abyssinian rescue, to hopefully make a new pair with Miles our 2yr neutered boar after he sadly lost his brother Husky.

We have read and read the bonding guidelines (thank you so much!) And feel we have a decent idea of the theory once we start bonding.

I was wondering what the best practices are before we start. We've planned to give Misty a few days in her own separated space to get comfortable and hopefully she'll be accepting food from our hands in that time to show she's comfortable with us. Should we wait to give her any solo floor time before we've tried bonding? I'm assuming the room will have Miles' scent in places we won't know (we will do the bonding in a different space that Miles never goes in).

Also should we confine Miles to his house while Misty settles, they can see each other through the bars but currently Miles is roaming in the room as he was before?

We understand that ultimately it's down to the piggies but any advice on the best foot forward is hugely appreciated 🙏
 
First thing is to consider whether quarantining your girl is necessary. If she came from a private person, breeder or pet shop then she should be quarantined for two weeks. However, if your boy is really desperate for company and hasn’t been doing alone then you can waive that and just deal with any illness if/when it crops up.

I would give her a week to settle in and then you can do the bonding. But, she may be ready before the week is up. It also depends on the above.

I wouldn’t let them roam together for now, unless you’re going to bond them.

The tagged member will be able to give you more detailed answers. Good luck with the bonding and do let us know how it goes 😉
 
Thanks Siikibam!

We weren't sure if we needed to quarantine as Misty has come from a private home but it was arranged through a rescue. So while I don't know the extent of the prior checks, it was certainly more thorough than it could have been for both us and them.

Miles seemed to recover from his grief reasonably well although he has never been as vocal and we don't see him popcorning like he used to, all understandable of course, he does like to eat his breakfast and dinner with us and is always happy to come out when were there with him. He got quite excited when Misty arrived, lots of sniffing, inquiry and movement with no chattering or rumbling but we'll see.

We wouldn't let them roam together until after bonding but we just weren't sure whether it was advisable to let Misty have some floor time while Miles was out of her way in his cage. My gut said to leave her until we start bonding so thanks for the advice there too.

It's great to have a helping hand from those with the knowledge and experience (very happy to be gaining both!)

Onwards and upwards!
 
Jonboud said:
Hi all, posting in a new (hopefully correct) thread, apologies if not!

We have just taken in Misty a beautiful 10m Abyssinian rescue, to hopefully make a new pair with Miles our 2yr neutered boar after he sadly lost his brother Husky.

We have read and read the bonding guidelines (thank you so much!) And feel we have a decent idea of the theory once we start bonding.

I was wondering what the best practices are before we start. We've planned to give Misty a few days in her own separated space to get comfortable and hopefully she'll be accepting food from our hands in that time to show she's comfortable with us. Should we wait to give her any solo floor time before we've tried bonding? I'm assuming the room will have Miles' scent in places we won't know (we will do the bonding in a different space that Miles never goes in).

Also should we confine Miles to his house while Misty settles, they can see each other through the bars but currently Miles is roaming in the room as he was before?

We understand that ultimately it's down to the piggies but any advice on the best foot forward is hugely appreciated 🙏
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Hi

Please take the time to read up on our comprehensive bonding guide, which takes you through all stages of the over the over 2 weeks' process, including a whole chapter on the preparations and run-up with all aspects, including whether to quarantine or not, how to double check the gender, set up the bonding etc.

Here is the link: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Thanks @Wiebke

I'll go through them again to make sure I haven't missed anything obvious in regards to our situation specifically!

In the meantime we're letting Misty get settled in quietly. Is handling advised at all during this time? We have been told that she enjoyed lap time before coming to us.

Much appreciated
 
Jonboud said:
Thanks @Wiebke

I'll go through them again to make sure I haven't missed anything obvious in regards to our situation specifically!

In the meantime we're letting Misty get settled in quietly. Is handling advised at all during this time? We have been told that she enjoyed lap time before coming to us.

Much appreciated
Click to expand...

If she is used to handling; then please handle her. I always play this by ear depending on how a skittish a new piggy is. Please wash your hands as usual after handling piggies or between handling them.
Invite her into your herd by gently fondling her ears and tell her that you love her and that she is welcome by striking gently around her eyes. This is gives her a herd identity and a feeling of security in her own social language.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips

If you can keep them in a divided run next to each other with interaction through the bars for a few days before bonding, that will help.
 
Quick update for anyone interested...

Misty is settling in really nicely. She is still understandable a little nervous of the new noises and human routines but she seems to be interested in us, always eats her breakfast and dinner with us and gives the best hugs (Miles has never been too keen so it's a nice balance!)

Miles already seems happier even just to have another piggie in the same room as him so if nothing else he is in a better place which is so nice to see.

Miles and Misty have been nose to nose through the bars and both got very animated, popcorning and zooming with no chattering or rumbling. We know this isn't necessarily an indication just a nice start for us more than anything 😅

Still early days, but we're all very happy to have Misty with us 🧡
 
When are you carrying out the bonding? I’m so excited for you!
 
We're thinking after the weekend, as Misty looking more comfortable each day, and we'll have time to install their fancy new house, hopefully for them together, but we've made it so even if they don't get on they can live next to each other in comfort. But we are also excited!

🙏
 
Jonboud said:
Quick update for anyone interested...

Misty is settling in really nicely. She is still understandable a little nervous of the new noises and human routines but she seems to be interested in us, always eats her breakfast and dinner with us and gives the best hugs (Miles has never been too keen so it's a nice balance!)

Miles already seems happier even just to have another piggie in the same room as him so if nothing else he is in a better place which is so nice to see.

Miles and Misty have been nose to nose through the bars and both got very animated, popcorning and zooming with no chattering or rumbling. We know this isn't necessarily an indication just a nice start for us more than anything 😅

Still early days, but we're all very happy to have Misty with us 🧡
Click to expand...

Personally, I would bond over the weekend; piggies that popcorn and zoom together through the bars will usually bond because they are so happy to have companionship. ;)
 
Hi GPF family!

So we have had more positive behaviour from Miles and Misty in a divided run so we are really hoping to start bonding tomorrow following your recommendation @Wiebke

The only issue we have is housing. We would like to upgrade their house with a modified c&c cage that would include a lot of floor space in the room, giving them lots to do and space to run (6x2 with a loft) however this won't arrive for some time, potentially 10-15 days for the one we would like.

I'm concerned that we may have to use their current housing post-bonding, of course following a deep deep clean with fresh fleeces and new hides etc. After reading the bonding guides I know this isn't ideal, but is it a very bad idea? I'm assuming it would be worse to buy a new temporary cage and uproot them twice in such a short space of time...

We're hoping after bonding and establishing dominance then we can transfer them to the new improved c&c setup using their scented bedding and furniture.

Thanks so much for all the help so far!
 
Jonboud said:
Hi GPF family!

So we have had more positive behaviour from Miles and Misty in a divided run so we are really hoping to start bonding tomorrow following your recommendation @Wiebke

The only issue we have is housing. We would like to upgrade their house with a modified c&c cage that would include a lot of floor space in the room, giving them lots to do and space to run (6x2 with a loft) however this won't arrive for some time, potentially 10-15 days for the one we would like.

I'm concerned that we may have to use their current housing post-bonding, of course following a deep deep clean with fresh fleeces and new hides etc. After reading the bonding guides I know this isn't ideal, but is it a very bad idea? I'm assuming it would be worse to buy a new temporary cage and uproot them twice in such a short space of time...

We're hoping after bonding and establishing dominance then we can transfer them to the new improved c&c setup using their scented bedding and furniture.

Thanks so much for all the help so far!
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SORRY!

After scouring the site for more stories like ours, I've seen a few people have done the above with success so I think we'll go ahead and bond sooner as they both seem very keen to meet properly now.

We can then hopefully leave it enough time for them to settle their dominance and move into a new house with as little disruption to that as we can!

I'll post updates on the bonding as we go. It's exciting! 😬🙂🧡

Thanks again
 
Jonboud said:
SORRY!

After scouring the site for more stories like ours, I've seen a few people have done the above with success so I think we'll go ahead and bond sooner as they both seem very keen to meet properly now.

We can then hopefully leave it enough time for them to settle their dominance and move into a new house with as little disruption to that as we can!

I'll post updates on the bonding as we go. It's exciting! 😬🙂🧡

Thanks again
Click to expand...

All the best. When you move or extend an established group territory (i.e. the move to a large C&C cage), then please use the soiled bedding and unwashed huts and cosies and rub it all over the new cage to make sure that it smells like theirs in order to prevent a new round of dominance behaviour behcause the group has to be re-established. You can clean and change after 2-3 days to give your piggies a chance to settle in 'their' territory. Since smell is one of our weakest senses, we tend to underestimate its importance for other species, including guinea pigs, who very much rely on a scent marked group territory at the core of their social life.
 
Thank you!

We will be sure to try and remove as much scent as possible for transfer immediately after bonding but (all being well) preserve as much as possible in a few weeks for their new house.

Thanks so much for writing the guides here too, they are a gold mine of information, it's really appreciated.
 
Jonboud said:
Thank you!

We will be sure to try and remove as much scent as possible for transfer immediately after bonding but (all being well) preserve as much as possible in a few weeks for their new house.

Thanks so much for writing the guides here too, they are a gold mine of information, it's really appreciated.
Click to expand...

All the best!
 
SO....!

We started bonding at around 1120 today and they seem to have got off to a great start!

Some mild chattering and strutting, with the occasional nip of Miles' bum quite quickly followed by them side by side eating together. Lots of squeaks between them and some mutual sniffing.

Miles is currently showing more dominant behaviour than Misty but she has allowed him to sniff for a long time and I'm assuming he would have been allowed to mount her but he has just been doing some very excited laps right around Misty then hopping all the way over her! No mounting yet from either.

There has been some washing when right next to each other and a decent amount of Popcorning. Less so from Misty but she has had a failed bonding in the past so understandable!

At one point Misty hid her face in the hay and stayed quite still but I'm assuming this is quite normal guinea pig behaviour as they like to hide

It is such an amazing thing to watch and learn from, we feel very privileged to do so.

I'll post a video and some pictures later on but so far so good! 🙏
 
Jonboud said:
SO....!

We started bonding at around 1120 today and they seem to have got off to a great start!

Some mild chattering and strutting, with the occasional nip of Miles' bum quite quickly followed by them side by side eating together. Lots of squeaks between them and some mutual sniffing.

Miles is currently showing more dominant behaviour than Misty but she has allowed him to sniff for a long time and I'm assuming he would have been allowed to mount her but he has just been doing some very excited laps right around Misty then hopping all the way over her! No mounting yet from either.

There has been some washing when right next to each other and a decent amount of Popcorning. Less so from Misty but she has had a failed bonding in the past so understandable!

At one point Misty hid her face in the hay and stayed quite still but I'm assuming this is quite normal guinea pig behaviour as they like to hide

It is such an amazing thing to watch and learn from, we feel very privileged to do so.

I'll post a video and some pictures later on but so far so good! 🙏
Click to expand...

Hi!

As far as I am concerned, these are all very positive signs. I would stop worrying. You are likely going to see some more dominance behaviours in the coming hours/days now that acceptance has happened but they should be hopefully very much in the mild range.

A naturally submissive young boar will not attempt to mount a dominant sow (nor will a dominant sow allow a submissive boar to mount her if she is not in season). But the mutual washing means that they are both willing to be mates. However, every bonding is unique; but it does help being able to spot key behaviours.
 
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