Daphne lost her sister and was grieving. I went to a rescue and bought home George. He is neuteured and seems to like her, but is displaying all the wrong signs around Daphne. Daphne is content to ignore him, but he chatters such a lot it gets her angry. He had a bad experience at the rescue with other boars and had to be separated. He is 4 months so I think he just is nervous and confused. How can I help him be more relaxed?
Sow And Neuteured Boar
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Briony_S
Senior Guinea Pig
How long have they been together? I can take a while for new pairs to settle down. I have a married couple and it took a couple of months for my sow to teach him to behave himself.
Have you put them together straight away or let them spend some time (ideally at least a day or two to give the newbie time to settle in and down) next to each other in a run inoors with interaction through the divider? That can give them time to get used to their presence and it will take a lot of extra stress out of the bonding proper.
Please separate them. Unlike with boars, you can do a bonding over several days if the tension is not going down. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-introducing-and-reintroducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
Please separate them. Unlike with boars, you can do a bonding over several days if the tension is not going down. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-introducing-and-reintroducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
They are in separate cages but can see each other through wire. Today seemed quite hopeful. Daphne ran around a lot and went up to cage where George was. She made a wheeking sound which I took to be good and they touched noses. I really feel if handled right they will get on. Good to know that your couple took a while. Gives me hope!
They are separate and can see each other. Today Daphne ran around a lot and up to George through the wire. They touched noses. She is not making any aggressive sounds to him. I am taking time over this as I do understand George has had a lot of change and new things to get used to. His confidence has grown and they eat at the same time, but in separate places and again through a divider. Daphne was wheeking for her food today something she has not done since George came so I think things are getting better. Just don't want to ruin it all by putting them together too soon. I have free time this Sunday so will spend it with them following all the instructions from guinea pig forum.
Best of luck, but thinks are looking positive! Give them time to settle next to each other and interact through the bars.
My grumpy older sow Fudge took a while to bond with Mr Ted and he has to be the most timid neutered boar! He,too, had a rough time with another boar in rescue and had been neutered to give him the best chance. I have a large c and c, separated it and put one in each half. At first he kept rumbling and rumble strutting at her and as soon as he did she would move away and ignore him. After a few days she moved her bed to be next to his on either side of the bars so that they slept close to each other but separated. I took that as my cue to introduce them in the bonding pen (set up run indoors) with no hideys, just piles of hay and veg. First time we had flying fur balls and I had to throw in a towel over her and separate them. Tried exactly the same thing on several subsequent days and held my nerve until they managed a couple of hours of just tolerating each other. They have been husboar and sowfe now for over a year. In time he learned to stop rumbling and throwing shapes at her and she learned to tolerate him. They don't snuggle up but are devoted to each other. I consider them a Well bonded couple, but it wasn't plain sailing! Don't rush things and don't panic if at first it isn't all sweetness. Boar/sow pairs can take a while to bond.
Yes they do interact through the bars. Thank you for your encouragement. It is a new experience for me too!
Thank you for this. It sounds very similar to what I am going through. I really had no idea about guinea pig bonding and just generally knew from their reactions that they were not immediately hitting it off! Daphne hasn't moved her bed to be near him, but she goes up to the bars and they eat near each other. He does do the rumbling but it does seem to be a bit less than when they first were introduced. One thing is for sure Daphne has got over losing her sister so thats a positive.
This is interesting. I adopted a neutered boar and sow 3 weeks ago and was concerned that he rumbles at her loads. Mainly it's if she suddenly runs under a platform when he's there already. She's completely unperturbed by this and snuggles up to him, which he seems fine with and he happily shares food with her etc. I was very concerned they were heading for a fight so contacted previous owners to ask if he'd always done this ( I thought it might be due to new surroundings). They said that he has and that the rumbling is just normal male-female 'courting' behaviour, which doesn't go away after neutering. However, to me it sounds like annoyance at her invading his space. He is very quiet and nervous....tends to hide alot, whereas she is brave and quite feisty. No teeth chattering at all or fighting. Although I did see her snatch some food from him once, then he ran away. I hope they'll be ok. They do snuggle quite a lot, despite his rumbling.
Yes characters are the same. She is brave and feisty and he is nervous. I did not know that rumbling was normal courting behaviour - certainly sounds like he is annoyed or worried. So its just a matter of tolerance all round including me!
I'm not sure that it is normal courting behaviour- this is just what previous owners thought. I've seen him sniffing her bum and circling her once whilst rumbling (she totally ignored this) and to me that looked like courting. The rumbling when she runs towards him, I think is more nervousness and irritation. Hoping he comes round.
Thank you. I am putting it down to George being nervous and young. Daphne also has sticky up hair so that could also make her look scary to George (who is smooth haired). I will keep trying to help them. Thanks for the support.
Rumbling is very normal for a boar in company with sows. I sometimes think that a "married boar" is losing their vocabulary at first and everything is coming out as a rumble... 
It means that he wants her; he is telling her what a strapping lad he is!
Sows have a special whine to tell the boar that they are not ready - yet. But they will be...
But giving the two time to get used to each other without the stress of bonding thrown in will make the actual bonding process much more relaxed. Unless it is babies desparate for company, I always wait with intros for a few days to make sure that the piggies in question know each other and have got their bearings in a new home - and that the interaction is ideally friendly, like eating together and interacting through the bars in a friendly way. It is worth taking your time in this phase!
It means that he wants her; he is telling her what a strapping lad he is! Sows have a special whine to tell the boar that they are not ready - yet. But they will be...
But giving the two time to get used to each other without the stress of bonding thrown in will make the actual bonding process much more relaxed. Unless it is babies desparate for company, I always wait with intros for a few days to make sure that the piggies in question know each other and have got their bearings in a new home - and that the interaction is ideally friendly, like eating together and interacting through the bars in a friendly way. It is worth taking your time in this phase!
I have given them a bonding bath today and spent loads of time with them. At the moment they are in an open cage with loads of room in my hall to run around in. They have settled in separate compartments of the cage. I am watching them as he is still making rumbling noises. They have eaten together although he does not have any manners and tries to snatch food from Daphne. She has been very tolerant. They did have a little scuffle but that seems to have settled down now. We are much further on than we were so I am hoping they will like each other more than just tolerating each other!Rumbling is very normal for a boar in company with sows. I sometimes think that a "married boar" is losing their vocabulary at first and everything is coming out as a rumble...
Sows have a special whine to tell the boar that they are not ready - yet. But they will be...
But giving the two time to get used to each other without the stress of bonding thrown in will make the actual bonding process much more relaxed. Unless it is babies desparate for company, I always wait with intros for a few days to make sure that the piggies in question know each other and have got their bearings in a new home - and that the interaction is ideally friendly, like eating together and interacting through the bars in a friendly way. It is worth taking your time in this phase!
It sounds very encouraging! The rumbling is par for the course; you will hear that all the time with a "husboar". Make sure that you do not have any hideys with only one exit in the cage until they have settled well together. Just give them space and time for the dominance phase, but acceptance seems to have happened.
I have put in tunnels and a cardboard box with exits in and out. Am just concerned as I have to go to work tomorrow so will not be there to watch them. If they manage to spend all night without a problem do you think I can leave them safely? They are both OK at the moment. Heard a bit of movement and one of them was eating. Been about an hour now and no teeth chattering. Think they must be tired!
If they get through the night safely, they should get through the next day safely, too!
Giving both piggies the chance to settle down and get their bearings seems to have done the trick.
Giving both piggies the chance to settle down and get their bearings seems to have done the trick.
Oh I do hope so they are very special guinea pigs. Daphne actually lives at a day centre for adults with learning disabilities. She and her sister had a shed and a large cage with a loft. And a run in the garden. They were so loved by the guys I look after, and obviously Daphne still is. When Clover died over Easter Daphne was not eating so I got George from the rescue. Myself and my friend Hayley look after them at weekends. Once I am sure they are happy I will take them to the day centre. I will clean out the day centre cage with vinegar and water as this worked today very well.
Well thats it I am now at work wondering what they are doing. They have sat side by side, mainly because I think they thought I was going to bathe them again! They have also had little disputes about food, which is plentiful (lots of fresh hay) and spread all around for them both to eat. Daphne is boss and George has to do what she wants. I made a cardboard tunnel stuffed with straw and she decided she wanted it. Just hoping they are OK.
Its Friday and all OK. They spent Wed night and Thurs night in a cage together with no problems. I then took them this morning to our day centre where they spent a couple of hours in their cage. Then with the weather being so nice and dry grass they went out in their run. First time ever George has been outside! Everyone loves him. My friend Hayley has taken them home for the weekend and they are snuggled up in their cage asleep. So happy this has worked and I cannot thank everyone enough who took the time to support me with the bonding. What an achievement!
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