Rescue recommendations

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ImmyH

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all,

Apologies if I’m not posting in the correct place.

I am looking for a new piggie friend for my 2 girls.

Firstly, does anyone have any recommendations for rescues in the South West of England? I am based in Devon but willing to travel.

I have only ever had girls but have seen a gorgeous boy looking for a home.
What would the pros/ cons be of getting a neutered boar?

Thanks in advance
 
I can highly recommend Maria’s Animal Shelter in Cornwall, it’s at Probus between St Austell and Truro. I currently have three rescue piggies from there, the staff and volunteers are all lovely and very dedicated. They have many guinea pigs looking for their forever home. A neutered boar can make a lovely addition to a couple of sows too

https://mariasanimalshelter.com.

They are also on Facebook

Marias Animal Shelter Probus, Registered Charity
 
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/guinea-pig-forum-recommended-rescues.196734/

I've linked in the Forum's recommended rescue list. I have recently had a great experience with Little Wheekers in Bristol. They have a neutering programme for their single boars who are hard to bond with boars. An emergency rescue of 9 this weekend has taken them to their limit and means they can no longer take in piggies until they have adopted some out.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
 
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I have a rescue boar who was introduced to my 2 rescue girls and they are such a lovely little group. They are all comfortable with each other but Russell does get excited when they are in season :D but they put him in his place! I obviously can't say this would happen every time, but I'm sure a boar would love the chance of a forever home with your girls
 
A mixed group is my favourite; I love watching the behaviour it adds to the group. There's nothing quite like the joy of a boarly boar strutting his boarly stuff to his sow friends! (Even when they pee on him... looking at you, Noella. Poor Harry.)

There are so many neutered boars looking for homes as well - I encourage anyone who will listen to consider adding a boar to their sows if they have the space and funds.
 
Thank you very much for all your suggestions. So many gorgeous piggies but I think I have found one who might be a good fit.
What are people’s experiences introducing a young sow to 2 other girls? By young, I mean under 1.
I know there is no certainty with bonding but I want to give it the best shot possible.
 
poggle said:
A mixed group is my favourite; I love watching the behaviour it adds to the group. There's nothing quite like the joy of a boarly boar strutting his boarly stuff to his sow friends! (Even when they pee on him... looking at you, Noella. Poor Harry.)

There are so many neutered boars looking for homes as well - I encourage anyone who will listen to consider adding a boar to their sows if they have the space and funds.
Click to expand...
I completely agree! After four years I think my Merry has given up on any ideas of romance with the girls and now occupies himself with his cardboard destruction projects 😊
 
I adopted a guinea pig from Woodside Animal Welfare Trust in Plymouth. They were a bit funny about a sow they had in at the time (she fell out with her female cage mate, then didn’t bond with a sow they attempted to put her with so they decided she was incapable of having a female companion) but nothing overly important, unusually or unreasonable.

There is also the RSPCA branch in Exeter called little valley animal sanctuary. I briefly volunteered there in the small animal area and they were incredibly well looked after. Any guinea pigs they have on their website seem to disappear quite quickly though, so you would probably be better off putting in an application so that they phone you about any new ones before they are put online.
They have their own website separate to the RSPCA, though their animals do also appear on the main RSPCA website.
 
Zanzan said:
I completely agree! After four years I think my Merry has given up on any ideas of romance with the girls and now occupies himself with his cardboard destruction projects 😊
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Would 3 sows and a boar work?
My piggies are indoor and live in a 8ft by 2.5ft c&c cage. I have attached a photo, would that be big enough?
 

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ImmyH said:
Would 3 sows and a boar work?
My piggies are indoor and live in a 8ft by 2.5ft c&c cage. I have attached a photo, would that be big enough?
Click to expand...

As already mentioned, a successful bonding comes entirely down to character compatibility.
That grouping would work if the piggies are compatible and want to be together, it will fail if they aren’t. When adding bonded pairs to already bonded pairs you are looking for something which won’t upset the existing hierarchies. This is where rescue dating has huge benefits so it’s great you’re looking into that - you have the ability to allow the piggies to choose if and which piggies they want to live with.

The guide below (which has already been linked in above) explains the theories of what does and doesn’t work when merging pairs. It does come down to trying the piggies together though

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

Yes your cage is big enough for 4 piggies.
 
poggle said:
A mixed group is my favourite; I love watching the behaviour it adds to the group. There's nothing quite like the joy of a boarly boar strutting his boarly stuff to his sow friends! (Even when they pee on him... looking at you, Noella. Poor Harry.)

There are so many neutered boars looking for homes as well - I encourage anyone who will listen to consider adding a boar to their sows if they have the space and funds.
Click to expand...
I totally agree!
 
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