Trio of sows?

[Little Piggles]

As you may know I currently have two girls aged about 9 months. I would love to add to my gang in the future but my main concern is keeping Pippa and Willow as happy as possible. I could take on a neutered boar, but what about another girl? I believe girls are relatively easy to introduce (as opposed to boars) but I wanted to make sure that one girl wouldn't end up being a third wheel and end up always being left out.

To help a little, these are the characters of my current girls...

Pippa - dominant sow, non-aggressive but will nudge Willow if she's in the way or is fed up of her company, Usually likes her own space (i.e. sleeps in her own pigloo), Happy to share food and laptime etc. Happy to lay next to Willow (until she gets bored and then will wriggle or shove until Willow moves a bit further away)

Willow - More confident that Pippa, More of a people-pig, Very placid, Will occasionally shove back at Pippa but is submissive to her, Happy to lay with Pippa, Enjoys a fuss (both from us and Pippa)

They have never fought, but I wouldn't say that they are exceptionally close. My reasoning for this is neither bothers if the other is taken from the cage. And I mean at all! They just carry on regardless! They rarely cuddle up, although are happy to lay next to each other, and usually find their own space during down-time too.

I am quite confident that Willow would accept another girl, but wouldn't want this to put Pippa's nose out of joint and leave her out.

What are the general views on adding an extra girl to a pair? And if it is deemed to be a good idea, am I better getting a younger girl (to encourage Pippa as top-pig?) or an older lady?

These are all just theoretical questions at the moment. It will probably be Spring at the very earliest (if ever) that I start looking for a new girl.

Any reactions/suggestions are gratefully recieved

 

[Furries]

Three's a crowd. My own (albeit limited) experience of this was a disaster; the original two bullied the third.

If you're going to introduce more girl piggies; I would introduce two. Otherwise I'd go for a neutered boar (rescues will have them).

 

[Modwyn]

I had two sisters and decided to get a third rescue and after careful introductions on neutral ground they were fine, I thought the new one might be left out but nope they took her into the fold and everyone got on great.

I think it's goes by piggie to piggie on how successful it would be.

 

[lindsay7]

I had two girls then added a third that all got on fabulous then added a neutered boar and they are all still very happy and get on fantastic 2 1/2 years later.

I do have three boars living together two lived together for over two years then we added a third of similar age and they are perfect so i guess we are very lucky here with our familysx)

 

[Little Piggles]

Thanks guys! I realise it's a bit a of a hard question to ask as each pig varies so much in character to the next.

I really appreciate your own experiences in this situation!

 

[piggyme234]

I have two groups of three girls. Poppy and Daisy joined Rosie from a large group at a rescue with no problems. Kizzy and Lexi joined Charlotte as a bonded pair, they had a few dominance issues as all 3 were about 1 year old but are quite happy now.

 

[*SRH*]

I have three sows living together. When one of them went for an operation it was not accepted back straight away.

I have a very dominant boss, who is very protective over them other guinea pig Hazel. She will always be at guard when it is cold. She is aggressive toward any other things that may be a threat.

Hazel is a very quiet and friendly girl, she will socialize happily with anything, she will be quite happy to get on with anyone as long as she is safe.

The other guinea pig, who went for an operation, happily got on with Hazel, however, Hazel trusted the boss so much she agreed with her.

There was lots of teeth chattering and little lunges. At one time the boss attacked the guinea pig who returned back from her operation.

The key to succesfuly adding another sow, to two others is to place them in neutral territory and observe for two a while.

It can be very hard to tell when to seperate them so use these points as a general rule.

Normal, safe dominance behaviour with no intent to harm;
Rumblestrutting, butt sniffing, butt nudging, chasing, butt dragging (to leave a scent) mounting, nose to nose lifts(dominant sow has the higher head) a LITTLE amount of teeth chattering, raised hackles.

Behavior which could lead to a possible attack;
Constant teeth chattering, nips (hair may be left in teeth), wide yawn to show off their teeth, snorting or hissing. This behavior should be monitered closley but after this behaviour has happened for a while dominance will normally be sorted.

Fighting with intent to harm the other guinea pig;
Bite attack- these are lunges and blood may be drawn.
A mixture of raised hackles, loud angry teeth chattering and rumblestrutting.
Both animals rear up on their hauches- when this has happened try and seperate, it is a signal that they are about to have a full battle.
Full battle- Both of the guinea pigs will be locked up in a moving ball of fur. Throw a towel over them as angry guinea pigs will bite anything.

Make sure that before they have moved to their new house, there are no old scents left and it is all completly clean.

After a while, the boss with be sorted so three sows will live happily together. At first, it is also a good idea to provide lots of food, so they do not believe that food is scarce.

I hope that helps as good luck with it.

 

[threelittlepigs]

My original three were a trio of sows (hence my user name). Sadly, Poppet passed away in Feb 2008. She had been the top pig and her death was a massive blow to her surviving sisters. For about four weeks after her death they squabbled over every piece of hay, pellet or carrot going: it was really unbearable!

I decided to introduce a third sow to rebalance the herd and it was a disaster. Treacle (now top pig) bullied the new arrival terribly, chasing her away from the food and water. I got a neutered boar from Freshfields animal rescue in Formby soon afterwards and after some initial trouble with introductions (Treacle got bitten when I was out at work) everything has settled down very nicely. I would recommend the neutered boar option!

 

[Wiebke]

Three sows can work - it depends on the character combination, like with boars. I would not recommend it if you have a very dominant girl or if the new one is an amibitious soul.

I was very successful in introducing my neutered boar and then had no problems adding any girls afterwards as he was a great help with the integration.

 

[Lucille]

I want to introduce a new baby sow to two adult sows, how is the best way to do this?