Separation of my piggies (boar trio)

[Aarya]

Hello,
I have 3 piggies boys, oreo, snow and honey. Honey gets along with both Oreo and Snow, but Oro and snow need to be separated due to fighting. They both have a strong bond with Honey. Who should I leave with Honey and who should I separate.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello,
I have 3 piggies boys, oreo, snow and honey. Honey gets along with both Oreo and Snow, but Oro and snow need to be separated due to fighting. They both have a strong bond with Honey. Who should I leave with Honey and who should I separate.

Hi and welcome

How old are your boys?

If needed, do a short term trial separation with Honey in the middle between the others, all separated by grids. You do not need loads of space to watch for a few hours how they interact with each other through the bars.
See who Honey prefers to hang out with more. That way, Honey himself will tell you which combo will make the
better long term pair. it is the closest you can come to allow your piggies to have their own honest say in this.

Here is more info on trial separations:
Bonds In Trouble
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Aarya]

Thank you... will try

 

[Aarya]

Should we reintroduce them at some point. They are around 6.5 months old.We have honey and oreo in one and Snow separately in the other half. Do you think that it would be good to seperate them all individually or keep them in this set up. If we were to make it into 3 sections, wouldn't it be to small? We do have another smaller cage which is as big or a bit bigger than 1 section. thank you xx

 

[Aarya]

This is their old cage

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please don’t reintroduce them as a trio. Boar trios dont work and this is why your boys have had a fight. Boars need to be kept in pairs to be functioning.

For a temporary evaluation as per Wiebke’s suggestion of allowing Honey to decide between Oreo and Snow to be his permanent partner for himself, as mentioned you don’t need a lot of room for just the few hours that would be needed.

However, for permanent living, the space needed is -
The pair need a cage which is 5 grids by 2 grids (4 grids by 2 grids as a minimum but that may be a little tight for a teenage boar pair)
The single piggy needs a cage which is a minimum of 3 grids by 2 grids.

What are the measurements of your separate cage in the second picture? - it looks to be far too small and unsuitable even for a single piggy.

I have removed your postcode from your profile for your own online security - postcodes provide too much information about your exact location.

 

[Wiebke]

Should we reintroduce them at some point. They are around 6.5 months old.We have honey and oreo in one and Snow separately in the other half. Do you think that it would be good to seperate them all individually or keep them in this set up. If we were to make it into 3 sections, wouldn't it be to small? We do have another smaller cage which is as big or a bit bigger than 1 section. thank you xxView attachment 217705

The three sections are are just for a quick temporary trial separation of a few hours for you to find out whether you have made the right decision as you who Honey is with if you wish to; too short to break any bond. You do not need a lot of space for a few hours to work out by which divider Honey ends up sitting and sleeping most; i.e. who he wants to be with more. We cannot tell you off the cuff sight unseen whether Honey is with the boy he wants to be with.

Your three boys are currently at the all time testosterone high and the classic teenage fall-out age. Please do not try to reintroduce; it will not work.

Your overall cage space looks to rather too small with the smaller cage being a glorified hamster cage (and even they actually prefer larger premises) as sadly still sold by far too many pet shops around the world.
The lack of space that teenage boys need will have contributed to the problems. Normally the boys would simply part ways with the 'loser' moving away. They cannot do that in a cage setting where they cannot even get away from each other, sadly. Shop bought teenage trios have unfortunately a very high fail rate because they have to balance three personalities that mat or may not match through the massive hormone spikes that happen over the course of the 10 months of teenage and that sometimes can last into younger adulthood, too.

 

[Aarya]

Is this injury serious? Do I need to see a get about it?

 

[Aarya]

The three sections are are just for a quick temporary trial separation of a few hours for you to find out whether you have made the right decision as you who Honey is with if you wish to; too short to break any bond. You do not need a lot of space for a few hours to work out by which divider Honey ends up sitting and sleeping most; i.e. who he wants to be with more. We cannot tell you off the cuff sight unseen whether Honey is with the boy he wants to be with.

Your three boys are currently at the all time testosterone high and the classic teenage fall-out age. Please do not try to reintroduce; it will not work.

Your overall cage space looks to rather too small with the smaller cage being a glorified hamster cage (and even they actually prefer larger premises) as sadly still sold by far too many pet shops around the world.
The lack of space that teenage boys need will have contributed to the problems. Normally the boys would simply part ways with the 'loser' moving away. They cannot do that in a cage setting where they cannot even get away from each other, sadly. Shop bought teenage trios have unfortunately a very high fail rate because they have to balance three personalities that mat or may not match through the massive hormone spikes that happen over the course of the 10 months of teenage and that sometimes can last into younger adulthood, too.

Yes, we found that after we purchased the 6x2 cage the fightg stopped for a bit as they got space and comfort but the fighting has really gotten out of hand now as we find tufts of hair lying around. So now we have piut a wall in between. Is 3x2 too small for 2pigges .This will only be temporary until Honey chooses his preferred piggy. Will we need to get the piggy Honey is not with ,a girl(we will neuter him first)or boy?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes, we found that after we purchased the 6x2 cage the fightg stopped for a bit as they got space and comfort but the fighting has really gotten out of hand now as we find tufts of hair lying around. So now we have piut a wall in between. Is 3x2 too small for 2pigges .This will only be temporary until Honey chooses his preferred piggy. Will we need to get the piggy Honey is not with ,a girl(we will neuter him first)or boy?

A 3x2 is ok for a few hours to test who Honey wants to live with, but is too small to be a permanent home.
A pair of male piggies living together need a cage which is 5x2

(to add, for a boar trio because they find it very hard to form a bond anyway it makes space even more of a factor. A 6x2 is still too small to try a boar trio (a 6x2 is fine for two boars but not for three) - they require something more along the lines of a 9x3 but even then it won’t address the character compatibility problem that most boar trios face).

You will need to either keel your single piggy as single but living alongside the pair for companionship through the bars or bond your single piggy with another male. You will not be able to bring any female piggies into your home because for the two boys who remain a pair, if they smell a female then it may cause the two boys to fight with each other which will also break their bond and thereby mean you end up with more single piggies.

 

[Aarya]

A 3x2 is ok for a few hours to test who Honey wants to live with, but is too small to be a permanent home.
A pair of male piggies living together need a cage which is 5x2

You will need to either keel your single piggy as single but living alongside the pair for companionship through the bars or bond your single piggy with another male. You will not be able to bring any female piggies into your home because for the two boys who remain a pair, if they smell a female then it may cause the two boys to fight with each other which will also break their bond and thereby mean you end up with more single piggies.

What of the piggy pairs are kept in different places.is it ok if we keep them in a 3x2 cage for 2 to 3 days?

 

[Piggies&buns]

What of the piggy pairs are kept in different places.is it ok if we keep them in a 3x2 cage for 2 to 3 days?

If you wish to neuter your single male (and following the six weeks post op wait to become infertile) and bond him with a female, then the male/female pair would ideally need to be kept in an entirely separate room. This is so the bonded boar pair do not smell the female at all.
You don’t really want to introduce any sows into the room of a bonded boar pair, particularly that of a teenage boar pair.

You need to get the pair into a bigger cage as soon as you can. Lack of space can cause boars to fall out and risk fighting.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Aarya]

Thank you for all your help