Set up for 3 boars

[Leah3005]

does this set up look suitable, in the biggest pen I have a bonded pair of boars, and in the smaller 2 pens I have a roughly 1 year old boar and then a roughly 5 year old boar. The two that are on their own I was hoping to bond however they haven’t taken to each other hence why they’re separate. Any help is appreciated

 

[Roselina]

Hello Leah3005 and welcome to TGPF - there are lots of very helpful, knowledgeable people on here and we’re all very friendly and love guinea pigs
What a shame those boars didn’t get on but it happens sometimes.
I’m not as experienced as many members here and I would checkout the guide on housing in the guinea pig info

Cages And Hutch Guide

Hopefully that link works.
I think if you could extend all the cages …..as a 2x5 is the right size for two boars, just by a couple of grids.
Someone more knowledgable will offer more advice.
Good luck and your boys look lovely

 

[Siikibam]

Hello and welcome. The cages look good but they are unfortunately all too small. A boar pair needs a 2x5. A singleton needs a 2x3 as minimum. Is it possible for you to extend the cages somehow? Is that the door in front of the widest part of the cage? How about extending the length and going round a corner if there is space?

The alternative could be for you to stack the cages. You could have the pair in a 2x6 and then the two singles side by side in a 2x3 each - either above or below the pair.

I’m sorry your boar pair didn’t take to each other. It can be difficult (but not impossible) to bond a boar in their teens. Living as neighbours is the next best thing to sharing living quarters with another piggy. They can still have the interaction they need through the divider.

I don’t know if your title is a hint at what you are considering, but please don’t. Trying to bond one of the singles with your pair could result in three singles, as worst case scenario.

I hope you can find a way to extend the cages as they really do need that space. How old are the bonded pair?

PS your bonded pair should ideally have two hides with two exits and water bottles. I know that there’s the corner house and tunnel but I would say that’s not quite enough. It’s better to eliminate any chances of issues or piggy backed into a corner by having houses with two exits. This is more the case for boars than sows.

I would also remove the corn? chew/treat thing in the pairs’ cage. It’s not safe for them as far as I’m aware.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm sorry to hear the two singles wouldnt bond with each other

I can only agree with the advice above though in that all of the cages need to be made bigger to meet their needs and welfare requirements.

As Siikibam has said, the bonded pair need their cage to be increases to be a 2x5 cage.
The 2x3 cage they have doesn’t provide enough room. A cage being too small can result in them falling out (particularly if they are young piggies and yet to become teens) through lack of space and it would be a shame if they also had to be kept separately. They also need two of every item in the cage, particularly hides, and all hides need to have two exits (so the wooden corner hide has the potential to become a problem if one piggy traps the other inside)

Each of the singles need a minimum of a 2x3 each. That is a welfare requirement minimum of 8 square feet per single piggy. The cages they have are 1x3 cages and 1 grid wide cages should never be used no matter how many square feet they cover (in this case though they only come to about 3 square feet per piggy)

Stacking the cages as Siikibam has suggested is a great idea if you dont have the floor space, although it doesn’t look as if you have correx liners underneath the fleece. For cages to be stacked, they need correx liners to provide a solid base.

 

[Leah3005]

Hello and welcome. The cages look good but they are unfortunately all too small. A boar pair needs a 2x5. A singleton needs a 2x3 as minimum. Is it possible for you to extend the cages somehow? Is that the door in front of the widest part of the cage? How about extending the length and going round a corner if there is space?

The alternative could be for you to stack the cages. You could have the pair in a 2x6 and then the two singles side by side in a 2x3 each - either above or below the pair.

I’m sorry your boar pair didn’t take to each other. It can be difficult (but not impossible) to bond a boar in their teens. Living as neighbours is the next best thing to sharing living quarters with another piggy. They can still have the interaction they need through the divider.

I don’t know if your title is a hint at what you are considering, but please don’t. Trying to bond one of the singles with your pair could result in three singles, as worst case scenario.

I hope you can find a way to extend the cages as they really do need that space. How old are the bonded pair?

PS your bonded pair should ideally have two hides with two exits and water bottles. I know that there’s the corner house and tunnel but I would say that’s not quite enough. It’s better to eliminate any chances of issues or piggy backed into a corner by having houses with two exits. This is more the case for boars than sows.

I would also remove the corn? chew/treat thing in the pairs’ cage. It’s not safe for them as far as I’m aware.

Thanks for the advice, I will extend cages for them. Title is a typo rather than a hint lol. I’ve only recently got the 4th piggy. What’s the reason for needing 2 hides and bottles etc for my bonded pair? Just curious, thanks again

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks for the advice, I will extend cages for them. Title is a typo rather than a hint lol. I’ve only recently got the 4th piggy. What’s the reason for needing 2 hides and bottles etc for my bonded pair? Just curious, thanks again

So they don’t ever have to share anything and can have their own territories - having two of everything helps reduce the risk of them falling out.

How old are the pair?

 

[Leah3005]

So they don’t ever have to share anything and can have their own territories - having two of everything helps reduce the risk of them falling out.

How old are the pair?

2+ And have been bonded since babies and not had any upsets with them

 

[Roselina]

It’s lovely to hear your story about your piggies
Good luck with the new set up