Adopted a new piggie pair; possible failed introduction

[Piggiedad97]

Hi everyone. I'm a first time poster and also first time piggie parent. I have had a pair of females for the last 2 years, who get along pretty nicely with each other. Recently, I adopted another pair of females from an acquaintance who was looking to rehome them. They get along with each other just fine. I have each pair in their own grid cages right next to each other, and they have been next to each other for the last 2 weeks. Generally, they seem to just look at each other, sniff, and then walk away.

Today, I decided to try bonding in a neutral area. I got a zone set up in my living room for them all and slowly brought all 4 of them together in that area. They seemed to do their normal dominance rumbles/mounting etc for a little while, but at one point, two of the females really got into it, a blur of fur and were biting HARD. I immediately separated the two. Then, after a few minutes, I tried to reintroduce and a few minutes later, on of the other pigs got into it with the SAME one from my first pair, and blood was drawn both on my hands and one of their lips.

I'm actually quite a bit shaken. They are in their respective cages now sleeping peacefully with their cage mate, but I was hoping to have all 4 in one big area but it seems this might not be viable based on these quarrels I saw today. Is it worth reintroduction, or should I keep each pair in their own space? Any tips on reintroduction if it seems to be a viable option to try again?

Thank you, and if anything I have done is incorrect I'd be happy to hear and learn as like I said, I am new at being a piggie parent.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum and I’m sorry to hear this.

Assuming the other pair is also adult - this is where issues can occur. Each pair will already have their own dominant sow. When you try to merge them, it means that one of the dominant sows would have to be prepared to step down and lose her leadership position - and they are almost never prepared to do that, thus resulting in a failed bond.
When trying to add to an existing pair, any new piggies really need to be young/babies as babies will not challenge the hierarchy.

I’m afraid you can’t try again - they are not going to change their minds about each other - and they will need to remain in two separate cages permanently.

The guide below explains more

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

 

[Piggiedad97]

Thank you for the reply and the link to the guide! That makes a lot of sense. Yes, they are both adult pairs. That's quite sad, but I guess that's just the natural order of things. Ah well, they do seem to enjoy their separate "domains" so I'm sure they'll live happily as it is.