Third boar?

[harmonichs]

Hello! I currently have two guinea pigs, both around 8 months old. I have had them for about 6 months. They get along fine. There is definitely a dominant one in the pair! I've been thinking of getting a third boar. I know having a trio is risky and they don't often work, but I've done all the research I can on proper introductions! I have a 15 sq ft cage right now. There is a 3x4 section and a 2x3. It's all a C&C cage just in a weird shape. I already have multiple hides, water bottles, food bowls and hay racks. They also get about an hour of floor time daily! I do have a backup plan if any fights were to break out. Could a trio work with my current setup?

 

[Tara95]

Hi I wouldn't risk it for a second it's very unlikely to work unfortunately. It's all about character compatibility you may for example get a baby and it may work for a month or so (best case scenario) but when that boar grows up it's incredibly unlikely to work. The unfortunate thing is it may wreck the bond your two boars already have as it will be a complete change of heirarchy. If you want a few more guinea pigs could you not have 3 or more sows? Aslong as they are kept in a seperate room to your boars as that could also break the bond. I currently have a set up of just over 50 square feet and although that sounds like alot my five sows still have their occasional struggles over space so I can invision even if I had 3 boars (that require more space than sows) it is still very unlikely to work with my set up. Normally if you were bonding 2 boars I would recommend a rescue as it can be more challenging to bond 2 boars, I very much doubt a rescue would allow you to bond 3 boars as it's just too risky for good reason.

 

[Piggies&buns]

There is almost certain failure going to occur if you try (fights). Doing the proper introductions isn’t going to make a difference to liking each other or forming a hierarchy.

Of course the decision is yours but it is a high risk move there is no benefit in disrupting their bond if it is a good one, for the sake of having a third piggy which is highly unlikely to work out for the long term.
At best, upon failure your pair will remain in tact in their relationship and can stay together and then you’ll have a single piggy whom needs his own 6ftx2ft cage and his own new friend), or it could break the relationship of your current pair as well and then you’d have three single piggies, all needing separate 6ft cages and a new friend each.

Added on top, your current boars are right in the middle of their teens - while most boar pairs are fine, their relationship isn’t out of the woods yet so I would personally focus on them and ensuring they have a good bond for life. We sometimes see boar pairs get to the end of their teens and then suddenly and unexpectedly it goes wrong.

But in answer the question at the end, no a boar trio would not work in your current set up. To even attempt a trio - as I said, we do not recommend to do so - your cage needs to be at least doubled in size. Each boar would require a square metre each, so you cage needs to be bigger than 32 square feet. Even if you could make a cage that size, space is only part of the issue, character compatibility is the most important part and it’s difficult to get that right in a boar trio

To get more piggies, the safest thing to do so that nobody gets hurt and bonds aren’t broken, Is to set up a second cage and have a completely separate pair of bonded boars.
You could not get sows if they are to stay in the same room as simply smelling sows can cause your current boar pair to fight With each other.

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

 

[Tigermoth]

Don’t do it!

Youve done your research on good introductions, now you need to do the same sort of research into why it’s a bad idea!

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Actually, couldn’t agree more with what’s been said above. I have 8 boars, happily bonded in individual pairs. And even then I still have far too much testosterone around and I’ve seen fall outs happen simply because they have male neighbours! Luckily my boys have all settled with their neighbours and other boar smells, but that’s not to say fall outs won’t happen in the future! Especially when my younger ones hit their heightened hormonal months.
Please don’t add a third boar to a happily bonded pair. I have to carefully introduce new pairs just as neighbours to the others! Even then I get lots of rumblings going on.

 

[harmonichs]

Thank you everyone for your replies! Now that I’m thinking about it. it doesn’t seem like a very good idea. Glad I came here before making my decision

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you everyone for your replies! Now that I’m thinking about it. it doesn’t seem like a very good idea. Glad I came here before making my decision

Adding a third boar to a pair can destabilise the pair if the stress is coming down between them and at the worst you can end up with three singles that won't go with any of the others. We have seen it happen. While it occasionally does work out, it won't much more often.
Boar trio problems are one of the most common problems we are contacted about in this section. If you have have a stably bonded pairs of sub-adults, please stick with two until you are sure that they are still together or consider finding each a new friend if they have a fall out.

More information on boars: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

The best rescue in your neck of the woods by far is Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue if you want to avoid any of the usual pitfalls.
Rescue Locator (see link below the UK map for contacts for good welfare standard rescues in some other countries, including the USA)