A Chance To Pair With Another Boar

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Harvey

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hey all, so I have been talking to a local pet shop who said they have had no problem with boars staying together, they have said I am able to go in tomorrow with my boar and introduce him to one of the baby boars they have. Rocko is just about 5 months, do you think this is a good idea and I should try x
 
First off have you tried a rescue as I'm not trying to label your pet shop as bad or anything but their aim is to sell whereas a shelters aim is to rehome. However, I don't see why it would hurt to try. If the pet shop has been successful before then hopefully they will be again. (Make sure it is a boy they give you though) I would try a boar with a personality different to the boar you already have. Two dominant boars are more likely to fight then a dominant boar and a timid one. Also bare in mind that when they reach their hormone age they might scuffle and fall out.
 
I'm a bit unsure of it all, there's no rescue centres near me I'm in Glasgow. I am just inexperienced with it all I'm not happy to pay £80 for castration but I feel he really needs company xx
 
As previously mentioned, it would be wise to go with a young and submissive piggy. Also I can't agree more, you'll have to double, triple check the genders of both piggies before introducing them. You can't always trust other people to do it for you as mistakes are made on a daily basis.

Otherwise, you can let Rocko choose himself a nice male friend, if he doesn't take to any of them then you could consider the neutering and look at bonding with a female sow at least 6 weeks after the op. Castration won't help him bond with males any better though.

Hope he finds himself a forever friend! :)
 
Thank u cavy....I really am in two minds is it normal to be scared about it I'm starting to think I won't bother...I think there's that much talk about 2 boars together x
 
Yes it's totally normal to be scared, each introduction is a bit nerve-wracking even for those who have done plenty :) (I've only done a few myself but some of us here have done loads and no-one can be certain how each one will go)

Approved rescues are a great way to go, it's always good to give a piggy a second chance of a good home, but I know sometimes it is hard to find an available pig locally. The options are to wait until you can get him to a rescue or go with the dating option at your local pet shop. No-one's going to judge you, you must decide what is right for your piggy and your circumstances.
With a rescue you have more certainty of an experienced person over-seeing the introduction, which is reassuring when you are new to the 'game', and as mentioned you will be more certain of an accurate sexing.
However there are some good pet shops out there, my local family one would have done the same for me. They had carefully vetted the small-scale breeder that they used before agreeing to take their baby guineas once a year for selling on. They actually cared. They no longer sell any animals, but yes, they were one of the better pet shops.

All you can do is judge what is best for you and your piggy, but be aware of the pit-falls of purchasing from pet stores. As I say, you get some good ones who actually care about where they get their animals from, many really don't. There are many guinea pigs in rescues and it is always helpful to take one on to make room for those who need to be taken in, but you must be the judge of your own situation.

Do you know anything about the pet shop's supplier? Have they done introductions before? Do they realise that it could take a while and may need to try more than one piggy to get a good match?

I do see your predicament, the recommended rescues are some miles away. There's the SPCA centres Scottish SPCA centres but honestly I don't know at all how good any of them are x
Glasgow Glasgow SPCA
 
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Oh it's 100% normal to be scared! I was petrified when I bonded my lot :))

Just try and think about how much it will benefit your piggy and it'll help you through it. That's what helped me any way :)

Try talking to the pet shop and express your concerns, ask them how they will deal with the situation. I'm sure once explained they will be willing to help in some form or another. Good luck! :)
 
The pet shop I bought rocko off of onlybuse the one breeder I'm sure and that pet shop won't entertain me with bonding him with another boat. This other pet shop came recommended but I don think know them personally they said I could bring my wee guy over...it's hard knowing who knows about pigs and who just talks a good story. Would I know straight away if he didn't get in with the boat introduced? Unfortunately there are no tescue centres donu think a guinea pig needed would help me x
 
God lots of spelling mistakes that I can't get into to correct Last sentence is would a guinea pig breeder help me bond him x
 
If the local SPCAs cannot help then I'm not sure what to suggest but others may have some knowledge there.

As for them not getting on, well sometimes they decide straight away, and you'll know it with their teeth-chattering and getting worse until they fight. Fights can happen suddenly, or can build up. It's best to separate before that point but sometimes it all happens so quickly! I'd take some thick gloves along in case this happens. They can bite you by mistake so gardening gloves or similar are a must.
Sometimes they keep testing each other, in fact often they do, and this can either calm down or escalate. It can be a slow build-up to acceptance or rejection. Sometimes there can be a bit of teeth chattering and you think it will fail, and then it calms down. I found in my last one, one of the sows began teeth chattering for a minute or two, however my boar didn't chatter back and things settled down into quite a smooth introduction. At that point though I was thinking it would end up in failure. It was the fact that my boar backed away from the situation (which he has never done before) that saved the day and they are now very harmonious. Some coriander distraction may have helped too. It had helped that the sow in question had behaved submissively at the start of the introduction, and I think Freddie the boar had already got into his head that he was boss at that point so perhaps didn't view the sow's chatter as a challenge. I don't know.
I don't always find it easy to tell from straight away if it will go well or not. The ones I've done involving teens and adults have always been tense to begin with. I've left mine for several hours together before feeling confident enough to place them into the cage together (with one exception - bonding my newest sows to my recently bereaved sow went smoothly pretty much from the start).

It's good to bring some food along and their favourite treat to distract them if things start getting a bit worrying, but they do also need time to sort themselves out without interference, if that makes sense? I diffused the sow-to-boar chatter with some coriander, then let them get on with it and all was calmer. All in all I consider that a good introduction! Perhaps others have had much better ones :)

I have had sows offer nothing but reassurance to babies being introduced into the herd. Other sows have chased and 'bullied' the new baby for a day or two.
Babies are often accepted but not always, and sometimes when baby hits the hormone phase two pigs can fall out.

Sometimes if you find a submissive adult, it can be the way to go as by then the pig is likely to stay submissive. A good introduction can be where one humps the other, and the other one doesn't try to hump back. It's likely to work out. When they both hump/challenge each other things can take a while to settle or escalate into failure. I guess you will know a good one when you see it, a bad one too, but the ones that can go either way are hard to judge for a while.
 
God lots of spelling mistakes that I can't get into to correct Last sentence is would a guinea pig breeder help me bond him x

Well breeders are like wild-cards, you get some really lovely ones who treat their breeding pairs as pets, with just an extension of the hobby in to occasional breeding. My Penny was a breeder pig and the lady who bred her, well put it this way, Penny's father was the lady's favourite cuddly boar, a rather spoiled cuddly boar :) She only ever let her sows have two litters before retiring them and never sold them on. Lovely well-cared for pigs, all of them. She's a lovely lady and I'm sure if I were to bring one over to her for intros she'd be very happy to do so. In fact she would find it reassuring herself. All of mine since have been rehomes, by the way.
However there's some dreadful breeders out there. Even some of the so-called small-scale ones are pretty grim. I could link you to a blog by a particular rescue centre where they are involved in rescuing some of these breeder piggies and it would break your heart. Some sows are so weak they simply churn out babies until they die from their bodies being over-taxed, no vet treatment, no care.
And then there's everything inbetween.

So I'm sure some would be happy to let you go round and take a good look at all of their pigs, and will be perfectly willing to accommodate your dating request, but there'd be plenty who would not. If you choose a breeder then please choose wisely. Some are great, many are dreadful.
 
Thank you critter that's some advice I appreciate it. Rocko is 5 months and this other wee guy is 8 weeks I was going to take rocko over to let them meet then at home clean the cage out get two of everything and introduce them in the bath (not water just with a towel down) I have another cage incase things go wrong , rocko is such a character which worries me the wee torag knows how to get out his cage so we have had to lock it lol xx
 
So I done it they have been introduced in a separate cage in the pet shop then in the bath tub plus they traveled home in the same box...there is a lot of jumping on rockos part and a lot of loud purring! I really hope I have did the right thing and they get along xx

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Time will tell. Fingers crossed for the start of a long and happy friendship :)
I see you have two of everything which is a good. The jumping and purring are certainly not bad signs. Sounds like he's making excited little jumps and perhaps he's purring to show dominance, but if that's all that's happening then it sounds mild and good :)
 
Ah I have no clue cavy, I have been on here reading non stop lol! Rocko is circling about like a bloody boa constrictor and long purring if that makes sense he's also walking over the top of him is that normal? the new wee guy stole rockos house last night they ended up sleeping side by side but tonight the baby went in the house but it was as if rocko was scared to enter it, he's in there now they have been for the past hour or so...,I'm on constant edge watching them scared to cuddle one incase the other feels left out lol. Cavy you'll be sorry you asked me I've just chewed your ear ;) xx
 
I'm not sure what size my cage is, I have posted a pic above hopefully I don't need to go bigger! Xx
 
It sounds like they are getting on well, my boys did this to begin with and I was so scared too, i think it's normal when you desperately want something to work out :) how are they today
 
A great did they that's good to know, I thought rocko was going to be the more dominant just cause we've had him and he's older but the wee new guy wouldn't let him into his own wee house last night so he had to go sleep in the other I felt so bad for him lol...do you know lf we're able to take them out one by one or do I need to do it together. Having two is really messy I've noticed I'm a clean freak and want to clean there cage all the time lol xx
 
You should be able to take them out on their own now, and they should be fine when you put them back together :) I was worried and thinking things like this when I first had my piggies bonded together but they are really nice together and get on really well :)
 
Yeah Stacyc I think because of all I had read I am expecting the worse and keep waiting on something happening xx
 
Yeah they are both male. I've always had just males and we didn't know it can be so hard to pair them we've never had a problem with them getting along and when I was a kid and didn't know any better we just bought one and then got him a friend years later and because we didn't know much about them we just put them together and luckily they were fine, it seems to be the more you know about them, the more there is to worry about. The 2 males I have now I got one from the pet shop and took him to the rescue to find a friend and he got on best with frankie who was a little baby at the time. They are really cute together and get on really well :)
 
Awe that is so nice to hear! I really hope the pairing works out for mine, they have decided to go into seperate houses I hope that isn't a bad thing but I will just need to wait and see xx
 
God lots of spelling mistakes that I can't get into to correct Last sentence is would a guinea pig breeder help me bond him x
I feel your pain with no rescues nearby... I don't have many near us and we travelled 3 hours to rescue that is recommended and excellent so it was totally worth it.

I think I'd be reluctant for shop to do the bonding... as someone mentioned above their ultimate goal is to sell unfortunately .

I very much doubt that shop workers/ownsers have enough time to know each animal's personality so they find match for your boy.

It's also takes some experience to bond as it's is nervewrecking and you have to watch out for signs and obviously know what you're watching out for too...

Should the worse happen and boys fall out further down the line when younger one grows up and his personality ( and testicles ) comes out then you're stuck with two guys that don't get on ... I know this pain from experience and our first pigs although not from he shop were from a farm and were just picked by the owner and given to us at 6 weeks old.. few months later they fell out spectacularly and it was very stressful and heart breaking ( and now we have 6 :) x
 
Sometimes mine do that, they like their own space sometimes but then they do lay next to each other when they want to :) it sounds like they are getting on fine, I'd try not to worry too much, easier said than done though :) x
 
I feel your pain with no rescues nearby... I don't have many near us and we travelled 3 hours to rescue that is recommended and excellent so it was totally worth it.

I think I'd be reluctant for shop to do the bonding... as someone mentioned above their ultimate goal is to sell unfortunately .

I very much doubt that shop workers/ownsers have enough time to know each animal's personality so they find match for your boy.

It's also takes some experience to bond as it's is nervewrecking and you have to watch out for signs and obviously know what you're watching out for too...

Should the worse happen and boys fall out further down the line when younger one grows up and his personality ( and testicles ) comes out then you're stuck with two guys that don't get on ... I know this pain from experience and our first pigs although not from he shop were from a farm and were just picked by the owner and given to us at 6 weeks old.. few months later they fell out spectacularly and it was very stressful and heart breaking ( and now we have 6 :) x

I know that's what I'm worried about when the get bigger the other wee guy (were struggling for a name) is so timid I don't know what he'll be like when he's comfortable, I honestly with all my heart hope this works out I will be gutted if it doesn't! There sleeping in seperate houses does that mean anything? If I'm honest I wasn't impressed with the pet shop but I'm hoping I can do this with all the information on here.
What did you do with your boys that gel out? Xx
 
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