Query re bonding and selling to bond

[Vicky2021]

Hi all,

I have 2 very young active pigs that love companionship and company. A lady nearby is ‘selling’ a guinea pig that she has bred 3 times and said she cannot keep her as she is now ‘retired’ at 2 years old as she can no longer provide this (sorry I can’t comprehend!)

I am considering bonding this female sow whom is by herself with my other 2, young (1.5 year) pigs. My concern is if they don’t bond, if it goes horribly wrong, I would feel awful keeping her by themself. Is there any reasonable grounds to say can I attempt bonding, if not you’re their known place and you take them back? I know that is traumatic during a bonding process but I’m just thinking if it really didn’t work.

If it was me I would take them back as I care but I am assuming she maybe wouldn’t as basically she wrote ‘I’d like her gone soon as I'm struggling on space’… given she produced 3 litters and found room but I’d like to open up a convo about it. Is this normal?

Thanks!

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

I'm sorry to say that this kind of behaviour doesn't sound like a real responsible breeder. The plus side is that the lady stops breading her females after 3 litters. But now that the girl doesn't 'produce' anymore, she takes up space and has to go.
To give away older piggies, that used to be bred, as pets, is common practice in Austria. Most of the responsible breeders I know give older females or boars to good places, once they are 'retired' or if someone is looking for an older piggy. They would also take this piggy back, if the bonding fails. But except for abrupt changes in the personal situation (like sickness or divorce or having to move house) a responsible breeder should never be in a hurry to get piggies adopted.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I would not open a conversation about this - I would make the decision to either take the piggy and associated risks or not

A breeder is not likely to want this piggy back if you can’t bond then, as they are now seen by this person as a useless product, taking up space and resources. If bonding fails and you return her to this breeder then who knows what could happen to this piggy.

If you took the sow and bonding didn’t work, could you not keep her next to your girls in a separate cage? That way she would have a home with someone who cares and companionship through the bars.
If you choose to take her and bonding fails but you can’t keep her as neighbours with your girls, then surrender her to a rescue centre yourself?

If you did take her, even though she doesn’t live with another piggy, it might still be wise to quarantine her before you try to bond her with your girls.

You also need to be very aware that people aren’t always honest when rehoming piggies privately - she may have health issues etc so you could be taking on more than you bargain for

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

 

[Vicky2021]

I'm sorry to say that this kind of behaviour doesn't sound like a real responsible breeder. The plus side is that the lady stops breading her females after 3 litters. But now that the girl doesn't 'produce' anymore, she takes up space and has to go.
To give away older piggies, that used to be bred, as pets, is common practice in Austria. Most of the responsible breeders I know give older females or boars to good places, once they are 'retired' or if someone is looking for an older piggy. They would also take this piggy back, if the bonding fails. But except for abrupt changes in the personal situation (like sickness or divorce or having to move house) a responsible breeder should never be in a hurry to get piggies adopted.

Thanks for your advice . I didn’t know if I was being unreasonable in my thinking.

I agree, my thought process is if I had to rehome a piggy for whatever reason, I would allow someone to attempt bonding (If I knew they were ok to have them) give them a chance to bond, if not then take them back and look at another option. I’ve only ever bought pairs, and I know bonding is not always easy

 

[Vicky2021]

I would not open a conversation about this - I would make the decision to either take the piggy and associated risks or not

A breeder is not likely to want this piggy back if you can’t bond then, as they are now seen by this person as a useless product, taking up space and resources. If bonding fails and you return her to this breeder then who knows what could happen to this piggy.

If you took the sow and bonding didn’t work, could you not keep her next to your girls in a separate cage? That way she would have a home with someone who cares and companionship through the bars.
If you choose to take her and bonding fails but you can’t keep her as neighbours with your girls, then surrender her to a rescue centre yourself?

If you did take her, even though she doesn’t live with another piggy, it might still be wise to quarantine her before you try to bond her with your girls.

You also need to be very aware that people aren’t always honest when rehoming piggies privately - she may have health issues etc so you could be taking on more than you bargain for

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

Thank you!

It’s so sad it is seen that way! But I spose when you see them as family it’s a different view maybe compared to others.

The difficulty is I have 4 already, I have a double c&c (stacked cage) now and I’d be struggling for room alongside them. I’m only conscious as I like to keep my pigs in the front room where it’s well insulated for winter, my house is old and I’d have to keep another pig elsewhere and I worry about my pigs all over winter (I’m paranoid about them getting cold etc) so I have snugglesafes and keep heating to that room , the other rooms aren’t a suitable space for them to have a good size cage. I’d feel really sad if she was alone and couldn’t at least interact through a cage with the others.

I was thinking to quarantine and a vet check before (my friend is our vet) so she would check them. I’d never risk my other ones becoming unwell. Thank you, I agree she could be healthy or not, and I’m conscious of the circs surrounding rehoming.

There is a lovely guinea pig sanctuary up the road. I’m conscious I get attached and then would feel awful haha

I never take on pigs now from birth, as I do prefer rehoming older ones that need a nice quiet home with some cuddles but I’m not experienced at bonding tho I have read loads. I’m going to read your link, thanks!

 

[Swissgreys]

Thanks for your advice . I didn’t know if I was being unreasonable in my thinking.

I agree, my thought process is if I had to rehome a piggy for whatever reason, I would allow someone to attempt bonding (If I knew they were ok to have them) give them a chance to bond, if not then take them back and look at another option. I’ve only ever bought pairs, and I know bonding is not always easy

You are right to be wary, and 3 girls can be a tricky combination to get right.

I have had a couple of ex-breeder rabbits in the past, and what i would say is be very wary.
This poor girl may never have lived with another guinea pig, and only been put with males for the purpose of breeding.
Depending on how well she has been cared for (probably not very well if the breeder is rehoming her and advertising her as having to go due to lack of space) then she may be tricky to bond.
Putting her with 2 bonded females could have a high chance of failure as she may not have many social skills, and this could make your current girls feel quite threatened and gang up on her.

I know rabbits are not the same, but based on my experience of working with ex-breeders, they often take a very long time to adjust to life with a companion and the companion needs to be well suited to the specific needs of an unsocialised loner.
The advantage with rabbits of course is that they can have multiple bonding sessions over a period of weeks so it isn't as 'all or nothing' as with guinea pigs.
This allows the new rabbit to slowly learn the appropriate social responses, and has a greater chance of success although one of my rabbit bondings did take over a month until we finally got it to work!
With guinea pigs you simply don't have this luxury, and in this case I feel the greatest chance of pairing her with another piggy would be to introduce a young piggy, who won't expect too much from her.

 

[Vicky2021]

You are right to be wary, and 3 girls can be a tricky combination to get right.

I have had a couple of ex-breeder rabbits in the past, and what i would say is be very wary.
This poor girl may never have lived with another guinea pig, and only been put with males for the purpose of breeding.
Depending on how well she has been cared for (probably not very well if the breeder is rehoming her and advertising her as having to go due to lack of space) then she may be tricky to bond.
Putting her with 2 bonded females could have a high chance of failure as she may not have many social skills, and this could make your current girls feel quite threatened and gang up on her.

I know rabbits are not the same, but based on my experience of working with ex-breeders, they often take a very long time to adjust to life with a companion and the companion needs to be well suited to the specific needs of an unsocialised loner.
The advantage with rabbits of course is that they can have multiple bonding sessions over a period of weeks so it isn't as 'all or nothing' as with guinea pigs.
This allows the new rabbit to slowly learn the appropriate social responses, and has a greater chance of success although one of my rabbit bondings did take over a month until we finally got it to work!
With guinea pigs you simply don't have this luxury, and in this case I feel the greatest chance of pairing her with another piggy would be to introduce a young piggy, who won't expect too much from her.

Thank you, appreciate the response.

Gives some Food for thought!
I’d actually not considered she may have only lived with males. My 2 sows are both 1.5ish years and I can still see are trying to establish dominance as it varies who is in charge (strutting, teeth showing every so often) I don’t know if that’s a positive towards bonding or a negative in regards to they haven’t established their hierarchy, they both tend to challenge each other equally still every so often

I thought they would have established this by now but they both still seem confused as to who is in charge

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you, appreciate the response.

Gives some Food for thought!
I’d actually not considered she may have only lived with males. My 2 sows are both 1.5ish years and I can still see are trying to establish dominance as it varies who is in charge (strutting, teeth showing every so often) I don’t know if that’s a positive towards bonding or a negative in regards to they haven’t established their hierarchy, they both tend to challenge each other equally still every so often

I thought they would have established this by now but they both still seem confused as to who is in charge

If your two sows have been together for over two weeks, then they will have an established hierarchy but it is absolutely normal for dominance display to still show - not because they don’t like each other but simply because it’s how piggies interact.