2 brothers will they fight?

[Jem121]

I have recently purchased 2 males from the same litter. Although i have owned many male guinea pigs before they have never been from the same litter so not many of them got on. So in the end seperated them. Whats the chances of these 2 reaching maturity and fighting? Being brothers and being together from birth.

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry for you - but you have exactly the same chance of your latest duo getting into trouble during the stroppy hormonal months! The key to a stable boar bond is character compatibility, not relationship.

The best place to get a stable boar pair from is a reputable guinea pig rescue; their priority when bonding (or re-bonding single boars) is that they get on, not what age they are; good boar bonding takes time, care and experience. It is usually of advantage if only one of the boars is at the hormonal stage between 4-14 months old and that there is quite an age gap, so the hierarchy is clear.

 

[Jem121]

i picked my boys from Pets At Home :/ Is there anything you would recommend to stop them from fighting. I'm unsure about neutering as i know there are high risks for putting small furries under anesthetic. Would really love for them to stay together.

 

[gogoguineas]

Neutering doesn't guarantee a change in personality, all pigs are very different, I'm afraid there isn't anything you can do to make them NOT fight or ensure they always like each other, the same way you won;t, and cant be made to like every human you come into contact with. I would sit out, time will tell, there's every chance they will come through their hormonal months fine, they may bicker about it and there probably will be many displays of dominance but as long as there's never any blood shed I would leave them to work out their disputes, should they have any, in their own piggy fashion.

 

[Wiebke]

i picked my boys from Pets At Home :/ Is there anything you would recommend to stop them from fighting. I'm unsure about neutering as i know there are high risks for putting small furries under anesthetic. Would really love for them to stay together.

There are no absolute guarantees - when it comes down to it, they either get along or not. Neutering won't change much, unlike with rabbits; the dominance behaviour that binds guinea pigs together is very closely linked to sexual behaviour. It is only advisable if you want to put a boar with girls, but you preferably find an experienced vet with a good track record to minimise the all too common risks of post op complications. Your boys will also have to wait another 6 weeks after the op until they are fully safe to go with girls.

You CAN try and minimise some potential flash points - like providing as much space as possible to give each boar his territory (2x5 ft is our boar recommendation); having two hideys, bowls, water bottles etc - anything they can get possessive over.
There are more tips in our boar guide (with firther links): http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=76162

 

[Jem121]

The hutch is 5ft anyway by 3/ 3/12 ft wide so its big enough for them. There only 10 weeks at the moment. But my smaller male is 'Mounding' my other one already. They make the 'Machiene gun' noise (Thats what i call it p ) But he doesnt seem to mind it too much at the moment. Fingers crossed for my boys. If worst comes to worse i have got a spare hutch for one of them. I think i'll just ride it out and see how they get on.