Adult Boars And Baby Boars?

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Kirsty

Kirsty

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Hi all,
So to much sunrise after loosing my guinea pig Darwin, speckles and max have re-bonded together and seem to be getting on just fine. no fights only a few mounting but nothing out of the ordernary!

Anyway I'm planning on getting two baby boar guinea pigs soon which are 7 weeks old, they will be together in a separate hutch that I now have spare because soeckles and Max have bonded and sharing. I was just wondering whether the baby and adult boars will have to have seperated floor time from each other? Or will my adult boars accept the littlens?
 
Please keep them separated - don't break what is not broken!

Piggies don't enjoy social time; for them, each time they meet, they go into the full bonding ritual. It is very frustrating and upsetting when you abort and they have start back in square one. If you are unlucky, you can end up with several boars that won't go back together once the babies hit the big hormones.
 
I have heard though that adult boars accept baby boars? Soeckles and Max are livings together quite nicely now when they were originally seperated if you can remember from my previous threads..

So the babies and adults would have to have separate floor time? I didn't think the adult boars would be dominant over baby pigs ..
 
Two adult boars may accept a single baby boar, but it can also destabilise their relationship if the youngster turns out to be dominant; boar trios still have a fail rate of over 50% even if they have at least one adult boar in the mix. Boar quartets are about as unstable as it gets; I have yet to hear of one that has made it past a few months!
 
Ahh that's really sad news for me :( now I'm left in a slight pickle as I would love two baby guinea pigs and have already sort of reserved some, will be quite challenging allowing them to have different floor times though :-/ as they share a shed for the winter and have just enough space to run freely inside for two pigs , I couldn't split it or nothing because it's not big enough space :-/
 
This is the floor space they have for in the shed in winter xx
 

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It sounds hard but it'd be much better for them to stay in two pairs. I have two pairs of boys and they used to have floor time when they were younger but once they hit their hormonal teenage years they just couldn't get on enough o do it. Now they are older they sometimes share lap time but only under close supervision.

In the wild boars wouldn't really spend time with other boars, they only want a herd of females to themselves.

We'd all love more piggies but sometimes it's hard but we have to stick with what we've got and spoil them rotten :)
 
MerryPip said:
It sounds hard but it'd be much better for them to stay in two pairs. I have two pairs of boys and they used to have floor time when they were younger but once they hit their hormonal teenage years they just couldn't get on enough o do it. Now they are older they sometimes share lap time but only under close supervision.

In the wild boars wouldn't really spend time with other boars, they only want a herd of females to themselves.

We'd all love more piggies but sometimes it's hard but we have to stick with what we've got and spoil them rotten :)
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Sorry, don't mean to hijack this thread - but would you mind telling me at what age the hormonal activity starts? We have a 6 month and a 4 month old pair of bonded boars (had them a week, adopted them from a rescue) and were considering getting a little nipper to join them.
 
I'm not sure entirely what age there hormonal period starts, but I can out of experience not recommend you to get another boar to add to the pair. I myself did the same originally and brought 3 pigs I've had nothing but mayhem with them as they all couldn't get along together as a three "twos a company, three's a crowd' defiantly goes by this with guinea pigs! Which left one of my pigs living alone for a while, until the pair one of the guinea pigs passed away in which I have just been able to pair the two back up but I have just been lucky that it has worked!

But anyway, I wouldn't recommend getting a third guinea pig
 
Kirsty said:
I'm not sure entirely what age there hormonal period starts, but I can out of experience not recommend you to get another boar to add to the pair. I myself did the same originally and brought 3 pigs I've had nothing but mayhem with them as they all couldn't get along together as a three "twos a company, three's a crowd' defiantly goes by this with guinea pigs! Which left one of my pigs living alone for a while, until the pair one of the guinea pigs passed away in which I have just been able to pair the two back up but I have just been lucky that it has worked!

But anyway, I wouldn't recommend getting a third guinea pig
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Thank you Kirsty - will heed your advice :).
 
Kitty41 said:
Sorry, don't mean to hijack this thread - but would you mind telling me at what age the hormonal activity starts? We have a 6 month and a 4 month old pair of bonded boars (had them a week, adopted them from a rescue) and were considering getting a little nipper to join them.
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Hormones kick in anytime from 3-6 weeks to 18 months in our experience. If you've got a lovely pair of bonded boars, I wouldn't rock the boat by introducing another one. Worst case scenario is that you end up with 3 single boars all of whom hate each other and a big vet bill to treat bite wounds.... Keep your happy pair together and if you fancy more piggies I'd got for a seperate second pair, a second cage isn't much more space than the size of cage you'd need to keep a lively boar trio in anyway!
Your guys are in the prime age for a fall out if things get difficult anyway. It's so hard with bonding. Us hoomans expect our piggies to just get on with any old pig we decide we like but it's not what piggies like. They are fickle little things and like to pick their own friends based on personality anyway. It's a bit like us picking a husband/wife from a catalogue then expecting to live in a bedsit forever without ever arguing, it's just not realistic for us, so why should it be for them ;)
 
Kitty41 said:
Sorry, don't mean to hijack this thread - but would you mind telling me at what age the hormonal activity starts? We have a 6 month and a 4 month old pair of bonded boars (had them a week, adopted them from a rescue) and were considering getting a little nipper to join them.
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The teenage hormones can hit any time between 4-14 months old. It is not continuous, but happens in spikes. Some pairs make it over a year old before hitting trouble. thankfully, the majority of subadult boar pairs make it together, but even in a pair, separation may be necessary. Add a third boy into the mix during that and you have a recipe for disaster!

If you want more boars, please rather start a new pair or wait to see whether your first pair is still together as adults and is not looking for a new companions.
 
Again, Wiebke and MerryPip, grateful for your advice and the information. We'll be on the lookout for any argy bargy between the two piggies. Getting them into a larger enclosure by the end of this week (4x2 c&c cage with loft) will help in giving them more personal space. They do currently rumble at each other, but I haven't worked out which one is vying for dominance, and there certainly isn't any fighting.
 
I hope they stay good buddies for a long time :) A bit of rumbling and chasing is normal. my brothers Hamish & Angus are 3 and still a good rumble followed by a bit of a chase and a few popcorns thrown in but they are really close and hate being away from each other... Boys will just be boys !
 
Had 3 boars, all between 10 weeks and 3 months before a tragic incident occurred. I was left with one of the trio and pair him him just a wee piglet, estimated about 7 weeks. They bonded immaculately.
And the Craigslist happened. 2 recues, one 3 years old and one 2 years old were going to be sent to the shelter and it broke my heart.
the 2 and 3 year Olds have a perfect bond, much like the other pair. However, the old of the pair a neopalion complex and like to get chatty so often. The older rescue pair love the baby pig. Barely blood shed, yet a couple of snip snaps, yes folk.
the impossible can be done.
 
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