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To Neuter or Not!

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pigsdad

Hi every one, just a question on Neutering. On visiting our Vet, for treatment for mites, we asked with regards to Neutering our 3 Boars, but he is very much against it and said that it is very dangerous for the Pigs. I know that it can be very dangerous and stressful for the pigs, but we wanted to get it done, not just now, but in the near future and were planning ahead, to find out the cost etc... but once the vet told my husband that he wouldn't do them we were flabbergasted :-\ and forgot to ask what the cost would be anyway.

Can anyone tell me what the pro and cons are on this subject, please ? I don't want to put them through huge amounts of pain needlessly, but long term it means they can be with our other pigs ok without worrying about little accidents!! ? 88)

many thanks for viewing this topic

Pigsmum
 
I wouldn't neuter my piggies...I don't think it's worth the risk.

With piggies, it's a lot..err, more dangerous than it is with say a cat or a dog. It's not recommended to neuter your piggies unless it's to give them a girlfriend - but even then you should try pairing with males first.

Are your three boars living together happily? If they are then I would say leave them be O0

If you do still want to get them neutered then you need to find a vet who is very good at neutering piggies and confident in doing so.

edit: here are some threads I found for you which have been posted before about neutering piggies.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=11308
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=10771
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3512

Hope they helped ;)
 
No Neutering is not for me either. I think some people do it too easily (not a dig at anyone here, someone I know) Things can happen out of our control. I couldn't do it to my pigs as my daughters would be heartbroken if anything happened to them at such a young age.

Louise
x
 
Hi,

I lost a much-loved piggy after a post-castrate complication (he developed a hernia). If your boars are getting along and not fighting I would be very much inclined not to take the risk.

Hope this is helpful :)
 
I personally wouldnt do it either BUT the vet you saw did not sound competant in performing such an operation. I know that other members on here have had lots of boars castrated with no problems at all. If you let us know your location, I am sure there will be an exotic vet somewhere not to far from you if you wanted to get them done. I know Karen from the Reading guinea pig rescue has her boars done before re homing them and has not had a problem yet, but the vet she uses does this operation very regularly.
So I would say, do a lot of research finding the best vet, do not be afraid to question them on their sucess rates etc. I wouldnt use the vet you saw at all. Also, as regards cost, I read on here before that if you contact the RSPCA, they give a £15 voucher towards the costs of neutering, so that is worth persuing also.
Good luck!
 
lavenderjade said:
I personally wouldnt do it either BUT the vet you saw did not sound competant in performing such an operation. I know that other members on here have had lots of boars castrated with no problems at all. If you let us know your location, I am sure there will be an exotic vet somewhere not to far from you if you wanted to get them done. I know Karen from the Reading guinea pig rescue has her boars done before re homing them and has not had a problem yet, but the vet she uses does this operation very regularly.
So I would say, do a lot of research finding the best vet, do not be afraid to question them on their sucess rates etc. I wouldnt use the vet you saw at all. Also, as regards cost, I read on here before that if you contact the RSPCA, they give a £15 voucher towards the costs of neutering, so that is worth persuing also.
Good luck!
Click to expand...

I agree Fiona, I would think this vet was not confident which is why he was so negative. If a boar cannot be placed with a male piggie for whatever reason I personally would consider getting him neutered to go with a lady pig. There are risks, but if you find a blummin good pig savvy vet your chances are greatly improved! I wouldn't make the decision lightly but if it was best for the boar I would probably have it done, apparently you need to wait until he is around 10 months, according to the CCT.
 
Hi many thanks for your feedback i do not want to get my wee pigs done as they all get on great it is just we let our boars and sows have floor time in the run together and they are great to watch and all get on fine they are very closely watched by me or my wife for hanky panky but as someone said before it does not take them long to catch the sow and have his couple of seconds with her and she ends up falling pregnant so we keep them in separate hutches when they are not playing in the run . As for our vet he said he has lost 3 wee pigs when they went to get neutered as he said it is a very big thing for them to go through so i think he was thinking of the pigs best interest i just want to do wright for our wee pigs as they are part of our family now and we do not want to put them through this operation if there was a chance we would loose them . we just want them to keep playing happily with there wee sow friends as they are so great together and funny to watch sorry for going on but as most people on this site know there wee pigs mean the world to them and just want to do the wright thing many thanks again for your comments



pigsdad
 
sorry about the above post moving i must have clicked on the move button stupid me sorry again


pigsdad :embarassed: 98) 98) stupid me again i just went back in and pressed modify message and i got it to stop going from side to side clever me O0
 
Have you thought about maybe getting another run and putting it next door to the other so that they are next to eachother (can see/smell/speak to eachother through the mesh) but can't get to eachother? Then there is no risk of them mating ;) Not only is it risky putting them together because they may mate, but also because your boys could start fighting over the girlies :(
 
Jane said:
I wouldn't neuter my piggies...I don't think it's worth the risk.

With piggies, it's a lot..err, more dangerous than it is with say a cat or a dog. It's not recommended to neuter your piggies unless it's to give them a girlfriend - but even then you should try pairing with males first.

Are your three boars living together happily? If they are then I would say leave them be O0

If you do still want to get them neutered then you need to find a vet who is very good at neutering piggies and confident in doing so.

edit: here are some threads I found for you which have been posted before about neutering piggies.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=11308
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=10771
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3512

Hope they helped ;)
Click to expand...



hi i have just read all the threads above and my wife and i are not taking the wee fellas to the vets we will just separate the sows and the boars with either another run or just put them in at a different time i don't want any harm to come to them or put them through it if it is a case of just keeping them apart many thanks for reading this and your advice

pigsdad O0 O0
 
3 males together will fight once they are older and do eachother serious harm particularly if they can smell females around. A pair may work with no females about. The only reason to neuter males is so they can live wth females, it won't prevent fighting. There is a degree of risk but if your males end up fighting that risk is prferab;e to their living sad lonely lives. If you find a rescue that routinely neuters boars as we do and use their vet then the risk is minimised as the vet will be confident and capable.
You should keep your males well away from the females and have completely separate runs for them so they can't smell the girls. Always handle the boys first too.

I would recomend at least nuterng one of the boys so he can live with the girls and keeping the other two as a pair away from the others.

Best Wishes
Louise
Hopper Haven Rabbit and Guinea pig rescue
 
I am ALWAYS for neutering if its an option. O0 As boars can fall out, and then owners are left with double everything ::) ;D

Firstly, that vet clearly is not guinea savvy, as vets that dont have exp with guineas would say that. When talking to a vet ask them what their success rate it, and if they dont want to do it - they dont have the knowledge, so go elsewhere.

Whether you neuter or not, you should find yourself a more guinea knowledgable vet, so any problems you may have in the future will be treated effectively

I dont think, however you should neuter for the sake of it, as yes, there are risks involved, like anything!

The best combination I think is a sow and a neutered boar (maybe two) and unless you are neutering to put a boar with a sow, there is no need.

Neutering a guinea pig will not change his personality, or make him less fiesty/more docile.
 
Hi Hopper Haven,

Afraid I have to disagree with you.I have a group of 4 boars who have been together for years without fighting.They are not related and were not babies when introduced to each other.Over the years I have had other successful groups of boys.

They are in the same room as my sows.,which does not seem to bother them.
 
I did have three boars living happily but upon illness one had to be seperated and now I can't get them back. It can be done with multiple boars, granted it is rarer but I wouldn't say it is impossible.

Louise
x
 
Hi love, i can't make a comment on neutering as my boars have not been fixed. Our two boys lived together happily and then we found that one was being very bossy and giving the other heck, so they were divided but could happily chat away and see each other thru a divider in their cage. They also had supervised playtime together, LOL there would be a few rumbles etc.. but they'd settle down quickly and were more interested in play time and the treats ;D ;D ;D
There's always pros and cons with any types of operations, this is one you will need to research and discuss with the vets, you need to be really happy and confident with the vets you're using also O0
Best of luck with your piggies :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
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