3, or 4 piggies?

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Wellsmum

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We recently got three piggies but I am considering getting an extra one. I realise they may not all get on and I will need to do intros etc but in others experience how will the social groups work?
Could I potentially end up with two bonded pairs, or 1 bully and three underlings? The current 'pack' are two sisters and another that is one week older. They all get on OK although it is quite clear the older one is the boss!
Any views peeps?
 
personally with girls i always think an even number is better as 3 is a crowd and you could end up with an odd one.
 
I agree, if you have a decent sized space, even numbers are always better, but please make sure any intros are conducted on neuteral terratory and bonding is carefully monitored.
 
Sorry piggyfan, i hope it didnt come across as "odd numbers never work!" :))

I just ment it might help stop any "odd one out" also, if wellsmum has the space and time for an extra piggy she could be giving a rescue piggy a new home :)
 
We had five (sadly only 3 left now) but they were introduced individually apart from twins and we never ever had any problems. They were all girls.

I used to love watching the way they would interact with each other. As you say, you can see who is the boss, and over the months the pecking order became obvious right the way down through. But they all got on really well.
 
Thought I was reading about myself for a moment - I had 3 piggies, 2 sisters and another a few weeks younger and thought long and hard about getting another. My mind was made up when I was offered a poor piggie who had already had several homes. I did intoductions in the run on a fresh patch of grass and made sure their home was all clean and fresh. There was a bit of "chattering" but that was it, the 4 girls were friends. If you have the space and funds for another go for it.
Sadly I had to have the youngest of the original 3 PTS a few weeks ago
 
Four piggies are usually better than three - a trio can be great when it works, but you are much more likely to end up with an outsider problem than with four piggies. At that number, they often start behaving like a group - anything more and adding newbies is often a lot more easy, unless you get a piggy that doesn't like being part of a crowd.

PS: You can always consider adding an already neutered boar, provided you can get to a rescue and "boar date" your girls; so you don't end up with a piggy that doesn't fit in. I find that in a group a neutered boar is soaking up a lot of the girl grumpiness and squabbling.
 
I agree, adding a neutered boar is an idea if you are worried about them getting on. Theres a lot of boars in rescues. its something to think about. Adding a boar would be the most stable. But i started with 3 sows, and now i have 10. (one being a neutered boar tho) I added one or two at a time and had no problems what so ever. Although the latest three are prooving a bit more difficult (hoping things will calm down a bit). A younger sow would usually be the easiest option if you wanted a sow.

x.
 
Thanks folks...I did get another piggy and so far so good... there are little altercations but otherwise all is good - the new run area / fresh grass idea worked across - especially as little piggies are such little piggies!

In fact the only problem we had was that our run - which is the 48 by 72" one has bars that are spaced just a fraction too wide so the little pig can escape! It's all been fixed now but she did go astray for about 5 minutes this morning until we found her under the lavender.

Just need a name now...altho at the moment it's snickers. She is a mix of agouti & cream smooth haired....
 
we recently bonded 3 sows plus 1 it take some time and still minor fighting - but nothing serious.But you really need big space for 4 sows.I think around 4m2 at least.
 
Isnt it all relative. It surely depends how much time you spend with your guinea pig, how much activity they get through bonding and exercise time. And 4m squared is a larger area than most peoples gardens these days so although 'in theory' it would be a fabulous idea, it is highly unrealistic...
 
our run is bigger than the 'preferred' amount suggested on other Cavy sites, so I think it's all good.@)
 
Loving this thread - thank you for starting it!

I have 3 sows, and have started noticing its always two and one (they do swap and change, so its not one lonely one) and there is quite a bit of arguing (nothing too serious though!) so was considering a 4th girl or a neutered boar. This has helped me decide to try and get a neutered boar :D
 
kotov said:
we recently bonded 3 sows plus 1 it take some time and still minor fighting - but nothing serious.But you really need big space for 4 sows.I think around 4m2 at least.
Click to expand...

Are you sure you meant 4 metre square? I have a herd of 9 girls and one boar and they arent in a space like this? They have a 6 foot run and upstairs too in a C&C.

x.
 
Cavy Cages suggest a preferred space of 13 sq ft and then it says 30x76"... which is 2 x 6 grids (14inch panels) - yours is 72 inches long so it cant be far off but then that was guidelines for 4 piggies! TBH I thought it was a huge space and with only 3 piggies in it looks expansive....especially as they tend to stick together. They have plenty of space for running and jumping. I would imagine with 9 in it is a bit crowded but like I said in my post before - surely it has to do with stimulation too. Plus it is only a 'preferred' size.... I think the fact you are on this forum shows you are a good cavy carer!;)
Plus yours is layered as well which doubles up your space....
 
Thanks, heres their home, and they are happy enough, dont seem to be crowded, but there we go. :)

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x.
 
my thoughts based on observation of behavior my sows and 1 boar.
our Boar had 2x100cm cages and always asking for floor.

When we adopted him he lived in 70cm cage.He not interested in floor. When we put him walk he cant go more then 1m without making a stop and lie down and rest couple minutes.
 
lauralucy said:
personally with girls i always think an even number is better as 3 is a crowd and you could end up with an odd one.
Click to expand...

I have three girls and one of them quite likes being the odd one. I recently got a new girl to "replace" one of my trio after she passed away as the odd one out got annoyed with her daughter for bothering her all the time. Now they're part of a trio again they're getting on much better. Not saying it applies to all pigs though. Never had any experience with a bigger group than three but i guess it depends on your piggies as to how they take to it. I'd suggest dating and letting them choose a friend particularly if the older one is very dominant. Hope it all goes well. :)
 
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