Bonding help please

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Guineapiggirl34

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We have two females, both mostly grown one is very dominant (1080g) and big she is build like a bulldog! She was submissive to her past boyfriend as he was bigger. Today we are bonding our little castrated boy (841g) with them.

Long story we put them on the floor with hay, they were petrified of the open space, so mum cleaned the girls cage well and put them in the cage, they weren’t petrified anymore but he and the big girl started arguing. (I though due to her feeling territorial over the cage) So we put the back on the floor. They are all now feel safe on the floor walking around getting I;the pile of hay eating. But the girl is doing the boss stuff, scenting the floor, rumbling etc. I am concerned that say they get on now with her as the boss, what happens when in a few weeks he gets big and horny and starts trying to be the boss as he should be… will the fights be terrible? Help please.
 
A sow is in charge of any ‘mating’s. She will not allow him To mount her unless she is fertile and willing. She will put him in his place and he will have to learn.
It is not the case that he ‘should’ be in charge. It is entirely possible that the sow is dominant in the pairing
 
This is them, all on the floor with hay and my brother sitting with them. I would say seems to be going well they are all squeaking happy noises and eating.
 

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Ok so if he is going to be submissive , that power balance shouldnt change as he gets older? He will just be humpy pig when they are in heat? It is totally the opposite of the last male pig he was definitely in control although he used to boss the big girl pig and she basically would say no way I am Not getting down from here /moving from here etc off. So although he was most dominant she would just say no! Whereas the little girl pig would say yes sir no sir!
 
Sorry to keep bothering you the boy pig has now decided to grind his teeth a lot which I know is not a good sign. They have been on the floor together for an hour, I thought that was long enough for a bonding to be successful. I am going to try and find your bonding page again. I really want this to work, they have been desperate to get to each other through the bars for three months!
 
Okay, so need really advice, I already started a thread but need quick help. So male and female that were getting along fine are now fighting, they were up heads up like a fight teeth chattering. I don’t want to stop it if it is part of the bonding they have stopped now. What do I do separate the, wait a couple of weeks and retry? Or keep at it. No blood draw yet.
 
Sitting peacefully next to each other right this minute. But the fighting is stressful I don’t want to let them hurt each other but I don’t want them to be separated unnecessarily…
 
They are my babies, I have both terrible anxiety and very severe cfs/m.e. So I just need some moral support I am making the right decision. Thank you so much for your help esp guineas and buns who replies so much.
 
How long have they been together, is this a new bond?
I've only ever bonded boars to boars. I hope a bonding expert will be along for you soon.
 
Hi

Are you bonding them right now or are they already bonded?

If it is during the bonding, they are currently working out the leadership via chinning but it can escalate into (non-violent) tussles. Bites and outright fights don't usually happen in mixed gender bondings unless one party is a highly fear-aggressive piggy totally on edge.

See what happens in the next round, whether one of them is giving way or whether they cannot come to an agreement (failed bonding). Is one piggy more side-on when they are confronting each other (i.e. they cannot back up their claims but do not want to give in)?

You may find our bonding guide helpful, as well as these two behaviour guides:
- Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours
- A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours
- Guinea Pig Behaviours in their Context

PS: I assume that the boar is neutered? How old are they?
 
I am bonding them right now. They have been on the floor for about an hour and a half. I did have another thread going but it seemed to be escalating. I have a small girl, a big bulldog like big girl who was fairly submissive to her last husband, but he passed away. The new boy is very small he’s been castrated. We’ve had him for three months next to the girls. Today We’ve put them on the floor. They were terrified of the floor so we put them into the cleaned girls cage, but there were arguments so within a minute we put them back on the floor. They seemed to be getting along fine. They are squeaking most of the time then suddenly the big girl pig and the small boy will chatter rise up on their hackles and fight kinda like fights, but no blood drawn then they go back to squeaking happily, et cetera.
 
The little girl pig (bonded to the other big girl pig) is keeping right out of the way. It is the big girl and the little boy fighting. Is it better to wait til he is bigger?
 
Guineapiggirl34 said:
I am bonding them right now. They have been on the floor for about an hour and a half. I did have another thread going but it seemed to be escalating. I have a small girl, a big bulldog like big girl who was fairly submissive to her last husband, but he passed away. The new boy is very small he’s been castrated. We’ve had him for three months next to the girls. Today We’ve put them on the floor. They were terrified of the floor so we put them into the cleaned girls cage, but there were arguments so within a minute we put them back on the floor. They seemed to be getting along fine. They are squeaking most of the time then suddenly the big girl pig and the small boy will chatter rise up on their hackles and fight kinda like fights, but no blood drawn then they go back to squeaking happily, et cetera.
Click to expand...

It sounds like tussles which they are careful to not let go over the line into an outright fight. They are currently in the leadership phase, which - like a boxing match - happens in rounds. If they are talking, and even better, if they are signalling with their body language that they want to still be friends, then let them be. If fronts are hardening and especially if your older sow doesn't want him in her space, then you have unfortunately had it.

Putting him into the girls' cage was for them like an invasion and he will have felt like an invader; it puts everypig on the wrong foot.
Just peg a sheet or large towel over the bonding space but leave the front and sides open so you can watch. That usually does the trick for any piggies of mine. Can you take a little video of any of the confrontations and upload it on a public setting on a place like youtube that doesn't require membership to watch. You copy the video and paste it into your next post.

How old is your boy exactly and how old are your girls?
 
The boy is only 4 ish months old maybe 5? The girls are 10 - 11 months, we only did the original bonding 9 months ago and he passed away so quickly he wasn’t well.
 
I don’t know how to get these up for you I will try YouTube, but for the mean time taking out fluff is bad yes? And is a this will never work? Or wait a couple of months til he is bigger and retry?
 
Guineapiggirl34 said:
I don’t know how to get these up for you I will try YouTube, but for the mean time taking out fluff is bad yes? And is a this will never work? Or wait a couple of months til he is bigger and retry?
Click to expand...

A mouthful of fur is the sow equivalent of a boar bite. It sounds like your larger sow is not accepting him. Once sows have made up their minds that they don't want a piggy in their group, unfortunately they aren't change it for the next few years or never. :(

Is your little boy neutered, anyway? At 4-5 months of age his testicles are still in the process of decending and he is just starting teenage. He would be just about at the lowest possible age for neutering in the UK.
 
Omg this is such bad news, I am very ill so reply on my mum and dad to look after them. I am 35 but have severe me cfs. They manage to wash one fleece every two days they won’t want to do a fleece everyday, I don’t have room for 2 4/2 cages, only just room for a 2x4 with a 2x3 next to it. The boy shouldnt be alone. Really I wanted them all together in a 2x6 space to move. I do t know what to do. This has given me a severe me flare up and I don’t know what to do. I love them all so much.
 
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