1st post- possible bullying?

[jnenbnb]

have only had guineas 4 3 days but 1 is slightly larger than the other and keeps head butting the smaller 1 and chasing her around, the smaller 1 has squealed quite loudly once or twice, no evidence of biting yet but just worried that this means they may not get on. the smaller of the 2 seems 2 sit in a corner on her own in the shelter squeaking quietly 2 herself. both guineas approx 6-8weeks old and both sows. is dominance behaviour normal in sows? and what should we look out for as a sign 2 separate? could constant dominance behaviour make the smaller sow depressed and unhappy?

 

[jnenbnb]

also we have both sows (bumble and bee- bee the small 1) in a nero 3 de-luxe cage, is this large enough- could this behaviour be due to lack of space? is it ok that they share the shelter?

 

[cavy love]

it's possible that one of them's just showing who's boss, however if it gets nasty, it would be wise to put them apart.
keep an eye on them. it may be that the cage is to small, i don't know how big that one is, but being to close for comfort could definitely be a problem. if they start biting, you should split them up, maybe put some mesh down the middle of the cage if it's big enough, so they can still smell and talk to each other, but can't bite. i mean really anything that is causing damage to the other one should not be happening. are they sisters? guineas do sometimes make a real fuss over something quite small, mine sometimes squel and i rush to see what's happened and they're fine.however, again keep an eye on them. http://www.guineapigcages.com/ this shows how big a cage should be. constant dominance could make the sow unhappy so again you may just have to see what happens. hope this helps, but someone else, maybe with more experience might post soon, hopefully. good luck and keep us posted. Welcome to the forum by the way!

 

[lovely-piggys1]

i have to agree with cavy love here

see i got 2 sisters and only one is the boss it should calm down just watch out for any damage to the other one if there is spilt them

good luck someone else should be along soon O0 O0 :smitten:

 

[karenrgpr]

I think only time will tell, they need to sort themselves out Constant bullying would make the other unhappy, but give it a chance

Indoor cages need to be 140cm for 2 guineas, Ferplast do one, but not sure about the Nero 3

 

[jnenbnb]

thanks for the help. will just give it time and keep a close eye out 4 bite marks. will need 2 measure the cage and check it's big enough. thanks for the help and i'll keep you all posted.

 

[jnenbnb]

right i have measured the nero 3 de-luxe cage (which 'pets at home' said was big enough for 4) and it is only 666 inches squared which is 4.625 square feet, way below the 7.5 minimum. I want to resolve this and i am interested in C&C cages if that is what they are called? :-\
where can i buy the grids from? how much for? and are they actually sold as grids for building a pet cage? probably a stupid question but i am a total noob!

there has been no repeat of the bullying so far but still was shocked to realise how small this cage is and would like to provide a bigger space. the sows are still quite small at their age so i'm sure they'll be ok if it takes me up to a week to sort this out but any help given would be greatly appreciated. thanks....