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Apparently We Should Neuter?

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TheCavySlave

TheCavySlave

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So we took the boys to the vet and Godfrey has eye drops (wish us luck) but the vet said we should neuter the pigs?! Because it means they can live together...
I'm kind of against this, I don't think I want the risk even though they're both young and healthy. Any advice?
 
I remember reading several times that neutering doesn't alter their behaviour. So if it's only so they can live together I would say: no, don't do it. Because neutering them won't affect how compatible they are with each other.

Good luck with the eye drops! x
 
That's what I was thinking! But now I'm worried, why did the vet recommend it? Something about if one dying, the other can find a mate. But frankly I think they should stay as they are, surely a somewhat risky operation that probably won't affect compatibility isn't worth it? Ugh, I'm so puzzled. Why would a vet recommend something like that?
 
I had one neutered & put him in with a whole boar, they lasted about a month, before they wanted to kill each other. You vet shouldn't have said this, he obviously no's nothing. If it was me I'd keep them apart, to avoid this again.
 
Definitely keeping them apart, and am currently set against neutering.
Unfortunately I didn't go to the vet myself, my mum and sister did so I'll see exactly what the vet said.
But if a vet says neutering is definitely the right thing to do, maybe my pigs aren't in safe hands with a vet like that, if that makes sense?
I definitely worry too much...
 
Regarding if one dies you should find him another friend. But that doesn't mean you put them in a cage to kill each other.
Is your vet a cavy savvy vet?
 
According to the website, yeah, I THINK so...
What is worrying me is that they won't get lonely, right? They don't mind being separated by the bars? Better than them going into a murderous battle.
 
TheCavySlave said:
So we took the boys to the vet and Godfrey has eye drops (wish us luck) but the vet said we should neuter the pigs?! Because it means they can live together...
I'm kind of against this, I don't think I want the risk even though they're both young and healthy. Any advice?
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Neutering won't make fighting boars live together, sorry. It doesn't change their social behaviours (which includes mounting), it doesn't change their personality (a bully stays a bully, and two dominant boars will still clash) and it also won't curb their hormones all that much nor will their hormones die down instantly.
All it takes away is basically the ability to make babies so a boar can live safely with a sow after a 6 weeks safety wait. The little baby in my avatar on the left is the unplanned daughter of a supposedly over 5 weeks post-op boar (not one of mine), just to prove that point. She is not the only case I have come across.

I have currently got a boar pair where the adult (neutered) boar failed to get on with any sows he met, but reacted much more positively to my various husboars during roaming time. So he has now got a little teenage boarfriend, who I had neutered in January for safety reasons in case there is an accidental meeting with one of my many sows.
Nye is still going through all the normal stages of teenagehood. We had the testing period around 6 months when his juices were running sky-high and I needed to split him for a couple of days to calm him down again after he ended up with a rather scratched nose. He is at the moment firmly in the taxing 8-10 months period where he is constantly pestering his companion right up at the line, but is generally careful to not step over it - although he is sporting another scratch on his nose again.
The two boys get on well, are close and are well matched personality-wise, but neutered or not, they are still two boys with all the trouble that hormone spikes bring!
PS: Nor does neutering take care of the boars stink. Neutered boars can still crank out testosterone laden pee if they get excited. My recently adopted neutere Pioden would fail any exhaust test. I currently live the appealing stink of a pair of very well matured worn sweaty socks in my living room... :mal:

I still think that if it is just surface scratches and not deep bites, all is not lost in terms of them being able to live together again. As long as they have only hideys that have two exits, as my own two boys do. This especially if there are no hostilities through the bars, they interact without stiff bodies/fur standing up etc. and there is not one boar that is suddenly looking much happier when away from the other. It means that the bond is not yet broken permanently. But you have to wait until your boars are healed up again.

If you want to neuter your boys so they can ultimately live with a sow or two each (your set-up allows that without any further changes), I would recommend to contact rescues in your area to ask them for piggy savvy neutering vet recommendations so you can then bring your boys for sow dating at the rescue 6 weeks later. They will know which vets are exerienced with boar neutering. ;)
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I agree, I would also personally not trust a vet to neuter my boars if he recommended it for keeping boars together, as he is obviously not all that piggy savvy.
 
Hi, I've got sows, so no personal experience with boars, but from everything i have read on this lovely forum your boys should be fine living next door to each other seperated by grids. That way they still have each others company without fighting. I don't think your vet is very cavy savvy, neutering will not change their character, it just enables them to live with sows after 6 weeks post op wait. I hope your boys injuries heal quickly.
 
A vet tried this tosh on me too, I changed vets. The new one is much more pig savvy and fully agreed when I said I thought no difference would be made in their behaviour if they were done! They actually suggested that the stress of the op and having to be kept apart whilst healing would cause more damage to their tentative bond than letting them get on with it, so there you go! I guess you just have to make an educated choice after digging to find information enough to give you a well rounded opinion.

Jury is still out on that other gem I hear a lot, the "oh it's spring, that makes it worse if they're intact." stuff? Yeahhhh, not sure about that one either. My boys are very chill in the warm so far!
 
I don't think there is any point if they don't live together, I think Honeybunnies Rescue neuters their boar pairs (I might be wrong though) because if one dies then the lone boar can be kept with females. They rehome them as bonded pairs like that, so it is not for aggression issues.
 
You do need to know exactly what the vet said.

One vet I saw believes in any male pet being neutered as he thinks it's kinder if they are not going to be able to mate...saves them from frustration.

I had my 2 boars neutered because I wanted them to live with my sows. If they were in the same room as the sows they would fight and I couldn't keep them in separate rooms.
 
As others have said, neutering, though can alter the behaviour of some animals, does not alter piggies behaviour. If they are not compatible now then they still won't be after neutering. It will not make them calmer, nor will it quell any mating desire or dominance traits. If they are content being next to each other then I'd leave them be. If you do decide to see if they can find another to properly live with then I would recommend boar-dating at a rescue. If you wish to stick with the pair of them then as long as they are content then I wouldn't worry. :)
 
JenniferG said:
You do need to know exactly what the vet said.

One vet I saw believes in any male pet being neutered as he thinks it's kinder if they are not going to be able to mate...saves them from frustration.

I had my 2 boars neutered because I wanted them to live with my sows. If they were in the same room as the sows they would fight and I couldn't keep them in separate rooms.
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Boars don't inevitably fight if they are in the same room; I have two boys living on a table above all my sows and they time share the free-roaming area where they come face to face with sows - which they mostly ignore (and vice versa). This latter is why I won't have full boars, not because it makes a difference in their behaviour (which is doesn't).

My neutered boars still mate with sows in season and behave as they should; group life functions totally normally.
 
I tried this many years ago with one of my first piggies after having it recommended by my non pig savvy vet. It didn't change him at all, and he had to stay separate.
 
Your vet may be applying lessons learned from other species (in some species, neutering DOES reduce aggression) with guinea pigs, where it really does not change behavior. If they don't get along now, they probably won't get along after being neutered. Neutering would give you the option to introduce each to a sow, but otherwise likely doesn't justify the risk of an operation for no real benefit.
 
We have a strict neuter policy here at TEAS. All boars are castrated prior to rehoming, but boars who are here as permanent residents are only neutered if they are unable to live with other boars.

I feel very strongly about neutering boars before rehoming, regardless of whether they are going to live with a boar or a sow, as too often boars end up living alone if their partner dies, or if they fall out at some point further down the line.
 
My last experience of trying to find a single boar supports the decision of neutering by rescues.

Jon was in a happy trio but when one of his cagemates died the bond failed drastically.

He was alone for quite a while (about 4 months I think) before I was able to find Podrick. I had to drive all the way to Scotland to get him (I'm in Leicester).
 
I took in a rescue just over a week ago...he had been alone for while because his brothers found a home together quite quickly but he couldn't get on with other boars. He was neutered so that he could be homed with sows. We have him in a separate cage as he isn't ready to be with our sows yet but he gets very excited when he sees them through the bars.
 
TheCavySlave said:
So we took the boys to the vet and Godfrey has eye drops (wish us luck) but the vet said we should neuter the pigs?! Because it means they can live together...
I'm kind of against this, I don't think I want the risk even though they're both young and healthy. Any advice?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't, as far as I can gather it won't change them so they can live together.
 
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