And Then There Were Four...

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AlbiePercy

AlbiePercy

Teenage Guinea Pig
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So I broke the cardinal boar rule and expanded my two boars into a mini herd of four. I had to. They weren't being cared for properly and I just had to rescue them. At the moment the squabbles have died down and we're having a little four-piggie-pileup in the corner. They've been pretty good for the last 12 hours, so fingers crossed.
I'm excited to introduce to you all....
Remus (Remy)
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and Ollivander (Ollie)
Ollie1.webp

Ollie is Percy's brother (they came from the same girl) and they have the same markings. Ollie has a double eye patch though!

They went for a trip to the vet this morning. Both piggies teeth aren't fantastic. Ollie is missing a front tooth and both piggies have broken front teeth. The vet and I are watching and waiting, hoping that an improved diet with hay and fresh veggies will help their teeth come right. She had a look at their back teeth and said they were a little overgrown, but they are so wiggly it was really hard to get a good look. I also don't have access to a proper piggie vet. But at least this vet does have her own herd.

Both piggies are a bit malnourished. They're both on the small side, especially Remy. Both pigs are struggling a bit with food, I'm monitoring them but not sure if it's teeth related, fear related or they just don't know what hay and veggies are. I haven't been able to get a weight off them yet as they are very skittish. They have hardly been handled, so at the moment Remy is in freeze mode and Ollie is in flight mode at cuddle time.

Remy also has vision problems. The vet suspects that he has no vision in his left eye and only limited vision in his right. She said he could even be totally blind, but we're thinking not, as although he prefers to hide in the corner at the moment, the few times he's been out and about he doesn't seem to use the edges for guidance.

They're going to need a whole lot of love, but they're in the right place for it. I'm eagerly awaiting more C&C grids to arrive so I can double their cage space.

And here's a photo of Albie and Percy just because they should all be represented here!
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I do hope it all works out for you. They look lovely and are no doubt pleased to be in such a good home. Let's just hope that they remain in good behaviour. Do you have plenty of space and a plan B in case they fall out?
 
I've got more grids coming, so they'll end up with two 2x4 cages together in an L shape. I have an outdoor hutch as a back up. It's nearly summer here in Australia, so they'll be warm enough. I really hope they'll keep getting along! So far the only real squabble is between second and third.
 
Stunners! Good luck, hope you manage to get it to work, good back up plan if not. Hope to see more photos
 
Still working okay! Both Percy and Ollie have little wounds on their mouth/noses but the squabbling has really died down. I didn't see the cause of the wounds so I'm hoping they were feet not teeth!
Here are all four taking a nap under the new hay bag
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And Remy
Remy2.webp

And Ollie having snuggle time in the snuggle sacks. Remy will let us hold him without it, but Ollie just fights to get away the whole time. He's much better inside the snuggly.

Ollie2.webp
 
keep a close observation on those wounds,and on the dynamics of the group.ive 3 boars together,but thats because the boss is 4 years old and others are 6 months old but very laid back boars.ive had 3 boar pairs and all pairs fell out ith all out fights.had to neuter all of them and get them girlfriends.it is a very rare event that four boars get on ,watch those wounds,once blood is drawn it usually is the end of that particular bonding !good luck.x
 
Little wounds haven't changed and are healing nicely. I finally got weights off the two wiggly pigglies.
Ollie is a slender 970g and Remy is a tiny 775g. Both of them are eating a lot better than the day we got them though, so it shouldn't be long! Remy's front teeth are looking a lot better and he's come out of his shell and is no longer hiding in the corner. Ollie's tooth has a tiny bit regrowing now, but it was broken right off at the gum line, so will take a bit longer. Both piggies have master the hay bag and the drink bottle. :)
 
So happy to read this thread. Plus I am really interested to see how a proper boar tribe evolves.
I know it can be done, and you clearly know what you are doing, so fingers crossed it continues smoothly.
Plus I always love your pictures that have that divine guinea pig fleece in it!
 
@Swissgreys I love fleece and especially my purple piggie fleece! I've got a couple of days off coming up so planning a road trip to a larger town with better fleece supplies! An extra 2x4 space means I'll have to double my existing fleece pile! I currently have around 6 weeks worth of fleece as I save them all up and make one giant trip to the laundromat!
I'm really really hoping that they stay together as a boar tribe... It would make life easier, and I think the newbies can learn a lot from Albie and Percy.
 
Congratulations on your new piggies and well done for taking them in. It sounds like they have landed on their feet in your wonderful piggie savvy home. I've everything crossed for your four to work together although plan b sounds good if not. Please keep us up to date with how things are going.
I love your purple piggie fleece, I've never seen one with guinea pigs on here.
 
Update! We still have our little boar tribe happening. Remy has really settled into family life. He'll happily let us cuddle him and catch him and he's very accepted into the piggy hierarchy (he's the bottom pig, but he doesn't seem to mind!). His teeth have grown out properly and are now looking like normal guinea pig teeth! He's put on weight and is now 890g, so that's a 100g increase in approx a week, just due to love and proper food! Yay!
Ollie on the other hand is still very very skittish and refused to accept a place in the hierarchy. There's no blood being drawn and only minor squabbles so all is not lost yet. Just when there's grumpiness to be heard, you know that Ollie is part of it somehow! His teeth are growing, but as he only had the one front tooth previously, it is growing too long. It's going to need vet attention and I don't have access to a great piggy vet. His weight is stable at 970g, but he's not as interested in food as the other 3. We're getting there slowly!
 
Lovely to see your new boys! :love:Sounds like Remy is really starting to grow and thrive.
Like others have mentioned, I am bit sceptical about the foursome lasting, Ollie is likely to challenge the older two from the sound of it. I have only ever stuck to keeping boars in pairs. But let us know how it goes!
 
lauraboara said:
Lovely to see your new boys! :love:Sounds like Remy is really starting to grow and thrive.
Like others have mentioned, I am bit sceptical about the foursome lasting, Ollie is likely to challenge the older two from the sound of it. I have only ever stuck to keeping boars in pairs. But let us know how it goes!
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I'm skeptical too. I have a back up plan and can split them back into pairs, but I'm still willing them to get along!
 
It's been 3 weeks and the mini herd is still in existence! There's still some grumbling at each other, but the lunging has settled right down. Today was bath time, so I've got a collection of grumpy fluffy pigs on my hands!
Both pigs teeth are looking good! Straight and even like good piggy teeth should look. Ollie's weight has plateaued at 960g, since he's stayed around that weight for the entire 3 weeks, I'd say that's where he's supposed to be. I was hoping he'd crack the kilo, but oh well.
Remy on the other hand is going to be a boombah! He's jumped up to 910g which is an increase of 135g in 3 weeks. He definitely needed it. I'd still like him to keep going to the kilo mark, but I can no longer feel his bones easily, so I'm happy!
Remy is letting us have cuddle time and he's much more settled when he's being held. He's still squealing the house down while he's actually being caught though and he has let us trim his toenails without too much fuss.
Ollie despises being held, but he's getting better in the snuggle sack, so early days yet. I can't wait until I can go to work and not get alcohol rub in the many many scratches his feet make! (I'm a nurse!) Still no luck with his toenails yet, he's far too skittish.
Albie and Percy have taught them that if there's rustling in the kitchen it must be for them and in order to make the food hurry up they must squeak at the top of their lungs! I don't actually mind, it's great to see them interested in veggies!
 
Hi! I would love to know how your boar herd is going.... We have the same situation with four boys in a cage 3 feet by six feet lots of dominance from the top piggy and bullying of the second piggy with the other two standing by. All are in their hormonal stage around 4 or 5 months, seems we broke all the rules, but we are really hoping to be the exception with them staying together although we are prepared to separate. So far it's been two weeks no injuries but lots of lunging and mounting
 
Virginia said:
Hi! I would love to know how your boar herd is going.... We have the same situation with four boys in a cage 3 feet by six feet lots of dominance from the top piggy and bullying of the second piggy with the other two standing by. All are in their hormonal stage around 4 or 5 months, seems we broke all the rules, but we are really hoping to be the exception with them staying together although we are prepared to separate. So far it's been two weeks no injuries but lots of lunging and mounting
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Heya, welcome to the forum :)
Our squabbles have died down now with everyone seemingly accepting Ollie as their leader. We still have a lot of rumbling, mainly from Ollie which drives me slightly insane! 3x6 is a good size. Mine's 8x2 and I'll be trying to expand that when we move house next week, as I think even more room might help the chattering. My pigs are all adult pigs though, with my youngest being a bit over 12 months and my oldest 4. I hope it works out for you, but I certainly wouldn't be trying it with a group of adolescent boys!
 
AlbiePercy said:
Heya, welcome to the forum :)
Our squabbles have died down now with everyone seemingly accepting Ollie as their leader. We still have a lot of rumbling, mainly from Ollie which drives me slightly insane! 3x6 is a good size. Mine's 8x2 and I'll be trying to expand that when we move house next week, as I think even more room might help the chattering. My pigs are all adult pigs though, with my youngest being a bit over 12 months and my oldest 4. I hope it works out for you, but I certainly wouldn't be trying it with a group of adolescent boys!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice, we are thinking of dividing the cage in half so the bullied piggy doesn't have to deal with it anymore... Cross our fingers for pairs that get along maybe once they are older we can try to make them a herd like yours again
 
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