2 piggies or 3?

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lauraburtdavies

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Me and my partner are doing our research before adopting some guinea pigs next spring. I have always liked the idea of having 3, but I wanted to know what the general advice is and whether 2 or 3 is considered better for the piggies? I aim to rescue so would be most likely single sex groups (unless a group of one neutered boar and 2 sows happened to be in need of a home), so I was wondering if anyone had any advice or similar experience? Thank you! :)
 
Never more than two boars no matter one anyone may say, this forum is littered with fights, fall outs and disaster when people have attempted it

Some info on groups here Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

We started off with two girls, Pitch & Putt the piggies in my avatar.

After we lost them we had another two ladies Cookie & Treacle and also had a single special needs piggy Megan who could live with other piggies due to various medical conditions.

After Treacle died we got cookie two friends Vimto & Sarsaparilla - went to a trio we soon added Widget and had for girls for around 2 years before losing Cookie, then Sarsaparilla and a month later Vimto

We are now at two again with Widget and Chickpea

So feel we have organically grown over the years

Pairs are often very close and all the pairs we have had have had lovely bonds. Our Foursome at one point was amazing to watch the interactions of our little herd and great fun. The one thing I will say is don't go too crazy to start with, we had two poorly piggies at once when we had four and with syringe feeding etc... it became crazily emotionally and physically draining,

You could go for a trio of girls, some rescues have trios in to go together or can bond three sows together for you.

Same with a Husboar and two girls - Never two boys and a girl though
 
I would go with a neutered boar and a sow;you can add another sow later once you're more confident I don't know about other rescues but the one near me always has neutered boars in need of a home and mixed pairs are the easiest to start with
 
sport_billy said:
Never more than two boars no matter one anyone may say, this forum is littered with fights, fall outs and disaster when people have attempted it

Some info on groups here Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

We started off with two girls, Pitch & Putt the piggies in my avatar.

After we lost them we had another two ladies Cookie & Treacle and also had a single special needs piggy Megan who could live with other piggies due to various medical conditions.

After Treacle died we got cookie two friends Vimto & Sarsaparilla - went to a trio we soon added Widget and had for girls for around 2 years before losing Cookie, then Sarsaparilla and a month later Vimto

We are now at two again with Widget and Chickpea

So feel we have organically grown over the years

Pairs are often very close and all the pairs we have had have had lovely bonds. Our Foursome at one point was amazing to watch the interactions of our little herd and great fun. The one thing I will say is don't go too crazy to start with, we had two poorly piggies at once when we had four and with syringe feeding etc... it became crazily emotionally and physically draining,

You could go for a trio of girls, some rescues have trios in to go together or can bond three sows together for you.

Same with a Husboar and two girls - Never two boys and a girl though
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It has been really hard to get a concrete opinion, but this all makes complete sense so thank you for clarifying everything for me! I love all your piggies names :)
 
lauraburtdavies said:
Me and my partner are doing our research before adopting some guinea pigs next spring. I have always liked the idea of having 3, but I wanted to know what the general advice is and whether 2 or 3 is considered better for the piggies? I aim to rescue so would be most likely single sex groups (unless a group of one neutered boar and 2 sows happened to be in need of a home), so I was wondering if anyone had any advice or similar experience? Thank you! :)
Click to expand...

Hi!

Three boars is generally a big no no unless your rescue happens to have one of the very rare stable and closely bonded boar trios available for adoption. We see perhaps one boar trio up for adoption per year in the UK; that should hopefully tell you something, considering that boars make the majority of piggies in rescue!

Trios are the most difficult constellation to get right as they are more often than not a 2+1 affair with an outsider problem of some sort or other. Sow trios can work if they are well matched (but an even number of sows is generally preferable); two sows and one neutered boar are even more likely to succeed as long as the two sows are good friends. I currently have got three stable 2 sow/1 husboar combos living here and have had a number of them in the past.
Boars work best in pairs; quartets have a near 100% fail rate unless they are disabled/carer companion combo or a pensioner group where the testosterone has long run out.
It always comes down to the personalities involved and the unique dynamics that develop between the piggies. When a trio works it is great; but in my own experience more trios have failed in the longer term than have succeeded.

A good standard rescue will be prepared to bond a 2 sow/1 neutered boar trio for you, as long as you are not too stuck up on which piggies you want to adopt since mutual liking, character compatibility and acceptance by the sows (which is never a given) come a very long way before age, gender and looks. In the long term, you are more likely to fall in love with a happy piggy group than with a pretty one that is not working out. ;)

Recommended and vetted good standard UK rescues: Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues
Recommended and vetted rescues in some other countries: Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Three boars is generally a big no no unless your rescue happens to have one of the very rare stable and closely bonded boar trios available for adoption. We see perhaps one boar trio up for adoption per year in the UK; that should hopefully tell you something, considering that boars make the majority of piggies in rescue!

Trios are the most difficult constellation to get right as they are more often than not a 2+1 affair with an outsider problem of some sort or other. Sow trios can work if they are well matched (but an even number of sows is generally preferable); two sows and one neutered boar are even more likely to succeed as long as the two sows are good friends. I currently have got three stable 2 sow/1 husboar combos living here and have had a number of them in the past.
Boars work best in pairs; quartets have a near 100% fail rate unless they are disabled/carer companion combo or a pensioner group where the testosterone has long run out.
It always comes down to the personalities involved and the unique dynamics that develop between the piggies. When a trio works it is great; but in my own experience more trios have failed in the longer term than have succeeded.

A good standard rescue will be prepared to bond a 2 sow/1 neutered boar trio for you, as long as you are not too stuck up on which piggies you want to adopt since mutual liking, character compatibility and acceptance by the sows (which is never a given) come a very long way before age, gender and looks. In the long term, you are more likely to fall in love with a happy piggy group than with a pretty one that is not working out. ;)

Recommended and vetted good standard UK rescues: Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues
Recommended and vetted rescues in some other countries: Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations
Click to expand...
this is such great advice thanks, it's good to know that rescues may offer to bond a trio :) and as long as I have happy and healthy guinea pigs, I really don't mind what they look like
 
If they do the bonding it takes away all that stress for you x
 
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