This is just me being curious to be honest. So I have my two boars Mo & Steve who I love tremendously and give (I hope anyway) a happy and healthy life. I have another space that just keeps glaring at me and I'm considering possibly offering another pair of guinea pigs a home with me. Obviously if I did it wouldn't be taken lightly. I already know I have the money for vet bills and the promise to love them and give them a happy & healthy life.
The thing I'm stuck on is (IF I DID) I don't want to upset Mo & Steve's bond. Would it be better to get another pair of boars or a pair of sows? (Note I wouldn't be putting these in with Mo or Steve they'd have their own separate cage). I do have inside space for an inside cage where they'd be opposite my two boys or I have garden space for a suitable insulated hutch.
If you have started with boars, it is frankly much easier to continue with a boars only household. It would be great if you considered adopting boars that are already stably bonded from one of our recommended rescue (they are healthy/fully quarantined) - if you could adopt a pair that is actually stuck in rescue or that is a bit older, that would be even greater! By adopting you not only give two piggies a happy ever after but also make space for the rescue to take in two more piggies at risk and ensure a safe future for them.
There are usually more boars in rescue due to the high fall-out rate in shop/breeder baby boars once they hit the teenage hormones and stop being cute; boars also struggle more to find new homes because of their bad press.
Sows usually find homes much more quickly. Which is a pity because boars are generally more cuddly than sows and they tend to mellow as they age and their testosterone output decreases whereas many sows tend to get more crotchety with age as their hormone output never shuts down - the poor girls are simply not engineered to live long. There are of course always great exceptions to any rule whenever you talk of guinea pigs!
But I can confirm that my own bully boy husboars have all mellowed considerably whereas my collection of bereaved older sows that will not accept a new companion has hit 4 single sows (keeping each other company through the bars) earlier in the year...
You can keep boars next to each other without worries about fall-outs/wafting pheromones although the boars will exhibit dominance behaviour through the bars and will establish an overall hierarchy if you do; but it tends to settle down after the first excitement. Just observe who comes out on top and feed/groom/free range etc. that pair first.
What you cannot do is to mix boar pairs (not that mixing sow pairs always works out as many a member has found out the hard way). Boar quartets are about as unstable as they come, as great as the temptation usually is! Most quartets end up with two singles and one working pair, but we have had cases on here where none of the boys would go back with any of the others.
There are at least two good rescues which should be within your reach, speak to them - there are usually more piggies on the pipeline than are listed on the website:
Guinea Pig Rescue Centre Locator
All the best!
