Boar intro-Baby age?

[vicky1804]

Hi
My boars 2 1/2 years old. Iv done intro's in the past but alsways with a young boar 6-8 weeks old. I wanted to know what the maximum age the new boar could be for intros?

Thanks
Vicky

 

[Rachel WD]

You'll probably get someone with more experiance answering this shortly but I would have thought the 'easiest' bonding would be with a boar who hadn't gone through the hormonal/teenage/adolescent stage (3-5 months old but could vary). A lot would also depend on the personalities of the piggies.

 

[missy]

I don't have much experience of bonding pigs but have asked this question myself before. I was advised (on here) that the best chance of success would come with a very young boar of no more than 5-8 weeks old. After that it definitely gets more tricky.

I tried to bond my 3 year old boar with a young boar of around 12 wks old and, after a very promising start, it all failed miserably within about a week! (Although that's not to say that it can't work at that age - it's just apparently much less likely to work.)

If you're not going to try with a baby then I was advised to try with an adult, anything from a year old upwards. At least with adults, it's pretty easy to see if they like eachother, right from the start, and if they do, then it's very unlikely to fail later on.

Good luck!

 

[Pippa9701]

I bonded a 7 week old boar with an 18 month old boar and that worked out well. The youngster sees the adult as a father figure and I haven't ever seen him test for dominance. The older guinea pig will not go anywhere without the younger one and vice versa.

I have heard that babies are best being bonded before they are 8 weeks old with older males.

I also paired 2 young boars one was apparently 7 weeks old but now seeing how baby guinea pigs grow he was more like 3-4 weeks old (pet shops for you) and an 11 week old boar, they were slightly more difficult but worked it out quickly and won't be without each other.

I have had no end of trouble trying to pair up some of my females as some of them are very dominant. Some of them were young females, not all pairings work out. In the end they all got put in with a neutered boar and he showed them who was boss.

 

[vicky1804]

Thanks guys
I have a choice between a 14 week old, which I fell in love with. The person got mixed up and thought he was younger or another boar who is 9 weeks old.
I'm not sure I really prefer the older piggie.
My boy was not the dominant in his last pairing

 

[zombieprincess]

I've had success pairing 6 - 9 week old babies with adults, then about 18 months up with older boars.

With young babies they still want that adult figure to follow, but one issue that can arise is that they just turn out to be a clash of personalities, likewise if you go for older then you already have a good gauge on whether they will get on or not. If your boy was the more timid then you may find they may have a few issues if the 14 week old is of a more dominating personality, but on the other hand if he is your boy may happily let him take control, you need to establish from where your getting him from whether he can go back if they fall out, or alternatively be given the chance to introduce your boy to them both and see who he picks. My Heston met 3 young boars when i was finding him a companion and he only got on with one who was 7 weeks, he didn't like the 6 week old first moment they met and the 10 week old bullied him.

 

[Wiebke]

You could try your boar with another laid back adult boar; especially as he was not a dominant boar. That way, you avoid the stroppy teenage months which can hit any time between age 4-10 month.

The best way to find out what works is if you could arrange some "boar dating" on neutral ground before you bring any boy home.

Here is a list of reputable rescues who may help you:
http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp#England