Unhappy pig

[Evo]

Hello, recently I had to separate two of my male pigs as their gentle fighting turned into a hole in the neck, bloody nose, fat lip and a vet visit. Chase starts fights with Noah and then Noah fights back injuring chase.
since separating, Noah is so much happier but chase is not. First they were in separate cages outside, chase would wheek, pace frantically and destroy everything in the cage. We moved them so they could see each other but no improvement. The vet suggested bring chase inside, so we have where he isn’t so destructive but squeaks if he can’t see anyone, squeaks when you cuddle him, is constantly drinking and pacing. We have two other older males but he doesn’t get on with them and fights with them. Sorry this is long I just want some advice to make my pig happier ?

 

[Wiebke]

Hello, recently I had to separate two of my male pigs as their gentle fighting turned into a hole in the neck, bloody nose, fat lip and a vet visit. Chase starts fights with Noah and then Noah fights back injuring chase.
since separating, Noah is so much happier but chase is not. First they were in separate cages outside, chase would wheek, pace frantically and destroy everything in the cage. We moved them so they could see each other but no improvement. The vet suggested bring chase inside, so we have where he isn’t so destructive but squeaks if he can’t see anyone, squeaks when you cuddle him, is constantly drinking and pacing. We have two other older males but he doesn’t get on with them and fights with them. Sorry this is long I just want some advice to make my pig happier ?

Hi and welcome

Unfortunately, some piggies are more affected by teenage hormones than others.

You can either consider having your fallen-out boars neutered so they are can live with a sow each after the necessary 6 weeks safety wait (mixed gender pairs are the most stable of all but one party needs to be de-sexed) or keep them as a live-alongside pair with interaction/ongoing stimulation through the bars but their own territory. Guinea pig bonds stand and fall with whether you have achieved a personality match or not. Plenty of space to allow especially teenage boars to get away from each other as they would normally to minimise fighting is the other requirement. What should not happen is that piggies live totally alone without any kind of interaction at all for the long term; they are a social species, even if they are much more complex than most people expect.
If you opt for mixed pairs, then please keep any established boars-only pairs our of reach of sow pheromones, as a sow in season can cause an upset or even fall-out (the detailed rules for boars and sows are in chapter 3 of our boar guide, see link below).

The information in these guides here will hopefully help you to do your research and work out which is the best way forward for you:
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

PS: Several of my own neutered 'husboars' are or have been fallen-out 'unbondable' teenage boars who have had a very happy second life with a sow companion or even a sow group. You can however not have more than one boar per group with sows.

 

[Evo]

Hi and welcome

Unfortunately, some piggies are more affected by teenage hormones than others.

You can either consider having your fallen-out boars neutered so they are can live with a sow each after the necessary 6 weeks safety wait (mixed gender pairs are the most stable of all but one party needs to be de-sexed) or keep them as a live-alongside pair with interaction/ongoing stimulation through the bars but their own territory. Guinea pig bonds stand and fall with whether you have achieved a personality match or not. Plenty of space to allow especially teenage boars to get away from each other as they would normally to minimise fighting is the other requirement. What should not happen is that piggies live totally alone without any kind of interaction at all for the long term; they are a social species, even if they are much more complex than most people expect.
If you opt for mixed pairs, then please keep any established boars-only pairs our of reach of sow pheromones, as a sow in season can cause an upset or even fall-out (the detailed rules for boars and sows are in chapter 3 of our boar guide, see link below).

The information in these guides here will hopefully help you to do your research and work out which is the best way forward for you:
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

PS: Several of my own neutered 'husboars' are or have been fallen-out 'unbondable' teenage boars who have had a very happy second life with a sow companion or even a sow group. You can however not have more than one boar per group with sows.

Thank you