advice please on bonding

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i am looking to either try to bond my 4/5 month old boy with my 2 6month old boys or to get him a new friend.

I was originally going to get him a friend but i am not sure now seeing as he was climbing all over the other guinea pigs and even bite one of my boys noses. I have always wanted an black and white aby guinea pig so am looking for one of those if i am going to bond him but i have been told i shouldnt get a baby as my 4/5month old will be too rough with him. but the likelyhood of getting a aby the same age is going to be hard. also i am worried fudge has been on his own for the last 2 months that he doesnt know how to interact with other pigs or prefers it on his own but he does seem lonely.

any advice greatly appreciated as i keep having this going around in my head. have decided neturing him and getting a wife pig is too expensive and dont want to put him through an unnecessary op.
 
Hi!

The safest way of bonding your single boy is by dating him at one of our recommended guinea pig rescues under expert supervision; that maximises his chances of finding a character compatible friend while minimising the risk for you of ending up with two single boars who do not get on. The key to a stable boar bond is character compatibility, not looks, I am afraid.

You have a couple of rescues not too far away from you, Hazelcroft by St. Albans and Hillsbrooke near Hitchin. You can find the contact details on our map of recommended good standard and practice guinea pig rescues.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=209994852075231951564.0004b8fd9391b4257d8eb&msa=0

Personally, I would not try bonding him with your two other boys. It is extremely rare that a subadult trio of boars makes it thought the big hormones without a fall out; at worst you can end up with three single boars who refuse to go back together.
 
Heres just bits of useful information,

Finding a pig

Make sure you find a good source for your baby. Pet shops WILL NOT have babies young enough for the younger/older boar process. Please try all the rescues within traveling distance before looking for a breeder. Even if they have no babies they will be able to put you in contact with a GOOD breeder. Not just anyone.


What you will need when coming to bond your piggies ?

Neutral area.
A neutral area basically means a space that smells like neither of the guinea pigs. During a warm day, the garden in a nice sized run may be a good option or another indoor option could even be the bath tub with a towel laid down.

Bonding food.
Something like grass, or a bowl of veggies on a small plate that the two piggies can sit around eat together, a nice big pile of hay is never a bad idea either.

Towel.
If all does go wrong you should NEVER put your bare hands in to separate two piggies that are fighting. Throwing a towel over one of the piggies and then picking them up is the safest option to avoid injury to you or the pigs.

Hideys.
All hidey houses and areas used during bonding should have at least two exits to prevent any piggies becoming cornered or trapped inside them.
Another thing when bonding an adult with a baby is to try and make an area that only the baby can get into, so that it can escape the adult if it all gets too much for them.

Older boar with baby.

Boars are notoriously the more difficult of sex's to bond, due to male hormones running high and the fight for one to be the more dominant.
Getting 4 to 6 week old baby boar is thought to be the best chance you have of getting your piggies living in pairs. The success rate of introducing new pigs is higher with this method. The older of the two piggies are likely to take on the 'daddy' role as such.

When it comes to the bonding process, allow a small controlled area to be available with easy access for you to stop any scuffles that may occur, put them both in the caged area, in this area you should have at least two hiding places, one preferably that is only accessible by the baby, also a nice pile of hay or maybe a bowl of veggies or some grass to munch on, do not take your eyes of them for at least an hour. Things can change fast during the bonding process.

DO NOT: Bath a tiny baby boar to remove the scent. In theory this is a good idea but a little baby will not cope with the stress or water. Better to put dirty bedding into his coat. He will then smell of the big boar and this will completely confuse him for a bit.

Two adult boars.

Bonding two adult boars is a slightly harder task but not impossible. It is best done over a gradual period of time with alot of care.

Day 1
First take each guinea pig in turn and sit them on a blanket on your knee. Let the other guinea pig sniff the blanket after the first guinea pig has gone back in his cage.

Day 2
Sit both guinea pigs on your knee together. They should not fight in this situation, even if they do not eventually get on together.

Day 3
The next day take both pigs out of their cages and introduce them on neutral territory.

You may hear alot of squealing and loud noises, also its common to have alot of humping but this is all normal dominance behaviour. For more information on the dominance behaviour between guinea pigs go to the 'behaviour' page. As with bonding an adult and baby, the controlled area should have at least two hidey house areas with at least two exits to prevent any cornering, the same with the bonding food and hay pile also.
If the bonding process does not go well, a bonding bath is a good way to get the two adults to have similar scents.
 
Thank you for your replies. I have tried the rescue centres around my area but they dont have any single boars at the moment. so looks like i will have a bit of a wait.

My two boys are getting their bond back and have settled into their new adapted cage and yesterday I heard them wheeking at me like they used to x) :)) make me so happy. So now they are settling I definitely wont be trying to bond them with Fudge.

I was considering getting him a baby boar but am afraid he wont bond with him either so will be left with 2 single boars. So will try and wait til a rescue centre has one i can boar date him with.
 
I am glad that your other two boys are settling down together.

If you don't mind going a bit up the M1 (or going by train), Debbie from the Excellent Adventure Sanctuary is bonding boars for RNGP Rugby in Northampton. That is well within piggy travelling distance.
http://teasnorthampton.co.uk/
http://rngp.org/

Honeybunnies by Leicester (just off the junction M1/M69) may also be within a fairly decent reach considering the traffic links. http://honeybunniesleicesterrabbitandguineapigrescue.webs.com/
 
Yes I wouldn't put him in with the remaining 2 boys - apparently trio's of boars don't often work out well....
 
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