Advice with bonding

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Hi :)p

Need a bit of advice please, a couple of weeks ago I adopted a 6 year old boar from Pets at home and was hoping to adopt a youngster to bond with him at a later date once he'd settled in. Now, someone has just asked if I would like to rehome a 10 month old boar. So I'm just wondering how easy would it be to bond them? Would I be better off with a baby maybe 6-8 weeks?
I don't know what to do!

Thanks xoxo
 
Well some people may disgrace but from years of experience I wouldn't see that as a problem personally as I have bonded many of my boars with other boars that have been several years old.

My previous guinea pig who died a few weeks ago was bonded with a pair of brothers who were 2 years old and Fennel was 4 and they all got on fine.

I am now looking to bond my new 6 month old boar with them and I think it'll all go fine.

I usually let them meet each other (once quarantine is finished) between a cage so they can see one another and have a little sniff.

Then I have them all in neutral environment so neither owns anything

Sometimes people may bathe them together or put a little perfume on their hands (for when they pick them up) so they both smell the same.

I then have them on the floor and obviously it'll get smelly, be plenty of squeaking and rumbling and then I will just look for the signs of possible aggression e.g. loud teeth chatter
 
Hello :)

It's difficult to know with boars tbh. Age isn't necessarily a MAJOR factor but personality. For example, if you get an 8 week-old boar, he might be fine and happy right up 'til he hits the hormones at 3 - 5 months and then totally change in attitude to his furry friend. Unfortunately, there's no real way to tell until you make the introductions.

The main advantage of a slightly older boar is that you won't have to deal with the hormonal stage of adolescence - his personality and attitude to your older boar won't change too much over time so at least you know where you are.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
 
You have to try... You CAN bond adult boars (and - once bonded - their relationship is as stable as a sow relationship!), but it hinges on whether the two are character compatible and like each other in the first place.

I would strongly recommend a round of boar dating on neutral ground. If the 10 month old boar doesn't work out, I would rather contact a rescue which will let your boar find a new friend amongst some quieter boys than going for a hyper baby.

You can find a collection of tips for introducing guinea pigs in our reference section.
 
Thank you hanwombat, I definitely think it's worth a try, and if it all goes wrong I do have a spare cage :)
That was very helpful thanks Mikulinek, that's a good point you made about personality being a major factor, will ask the lady what his temperament is like when I speak to her later.
I think it helps that Merlin is pretty laid back as well :)
 
Thanks Wiebke, hopefully it will work out alright between them, there aren't that many rescues near to me unfortunately.
Will check out the reference section :)
 
Quick update-

Have just spoken to the lady with the ten month old piggie, she's bringing him round at the weekend so we can introduce him to Merlin!

I have a trixie 130 trun I'm going to put them in I just have a couple of questions.....

How soon will I know if they are going to get on? If they do get on how soon before I can put them in the main cage together?

What I was going to do if they do get on is to give merlins cage a good clean, disinfect everything, put in clean bedding etc and then put them both in together. Is this ok?

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to do everything right! :)
 
Good to know what to expect.

Introducing them in neutral teritory is best....some people put them in the bath with a towel, I put mine in the kitchen where neither had ever been.

Have a look at this link so you know what to expect when you introduce them: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

I put mine together in properly in a cage after a few days but my pair are never shut in a cage so one could always leave if the had a disagreement. Other members may have better advice here :)

Hope this helps :)
 
Ok thankyou twopiggies, if the introduction goes well I will keep the new little one in a separate cage for a few days.:)
 
Hope the introduction goes well. Hopefully if Merlin is a laid back piggy, he won't mind if your new piggy is dominant but you can't really tell until the introduction.

A piggy might be laid back with you but his attitude to another piggy might be entirely different. Like Wiebke says, it's worth it if they do bond because they'll be really good pals but it's a trial and error process unfortunately.


Best of luck!

:)
 
Here is the link for boar behaviour, so you can see and judge what is going on:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

Fall outs can happen 2-3 weeks after an initially good intro if the initial underpiggy is deciding to chance their bid for power. Bonding is a slow process, but it follows definite rules and has discernible stages. The more space you give the boys the better! Also make sure that they have everything in twos and well spaced apart.

Best of luck!
 
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