Auntie being mean to new baby

[Mari2053]

My female guinea pig just gave birth today and every thing went well but her sister is acting really territorial and is nipping and pushing the new baby out of the hides. I will be adding an extension to the cage tomorrow but for now I separated the mom and baby from the other female guinea pig. Should I have done that or do I let them be?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

Separating bonded sows during the late stages of pregnancy or the nursing period may result in a permanent fall-out but it can become necessary if either the mother is aggressive/over-protective against her companions or a companion is getting in between the mother and the baby to the extent of trying to remove the pup.

If this dominance behaviour doesn't settle down, then please separate.

 

[Mari2053]

At the moment I have a cage partition up so they can smell and see each other. I plan to increase their enclosure size today so hopefully more space helps them be less hostile.

 

[Wiebke]

At the moment I have a cage partition up so they can smell and see each other. I plan to increase their enclosure size today so hopefully more space helps them be less hostile.

Make sure that you only have huts and any hides with two exits and no dead corners where the little one can be 'locked in' so the usual dominance chucking out of a prime place - which has to be tolerated - can happen with a lot less drama.
I would also recommend to sprinkle feed any veg, forage and pellets to avoid bowl hogging and soiling.

You can try to see how the three are doing during meetings outside the cage once the pup is fully mobile and active

Please ask for our tips re. cage extension and moving your piggies across. What most owners don't know is that guinea pigs are territorial. There are some tricks that can minimise triggering a full-on group re-establishment dominance process.

Here is our baby and mother care information access link: Babies and mother care information collection incl. help with any dads