Bonding - is this normal or a cause for concern?

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piglew

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We put our original guinea pig (a 4yo sow) in with her new 'friend' at the weekend (a 3yo sow).

We did the bonding in a neutral area, large space etc. All went well last Friday, so we moved them into their C&C cage the following day (having cleaned it thoroughly and put all new fleeces, hides etc in there). Our original guinea pig was the dominant one, and new pig accepted this.

At first, in their C&C cage, all seemed to be OK. We were getting a fair bit of dominant behaviour from original pig, but nothing too overboard.

Today, though, she seems to be pestering the new guinea pig almost non-stop.

The new pig is in one of the hides, and our original pig keeps on circling it then going in and pestering new pig. She is letting up very occasionally, but doesn't give her long before she starts circling it again.

The new pig isn't letting herself be chased out. She's making lots of submissive noises but seems happy to stay put. If our original pig gets too annoying, the new pig does let her know (I'm not sure if she's giving original pig a nip or just moving her head quickly).

Is this normal behaviour or should I be concerned?

No blood has been drawn but I am a bit concerned by the escalation in domineering behaviour and where it might lead.

Edit: one other thing I should mention is that our original pig is a bit smaller than new pig, so I wondered if she's acting over the top because she feels a bit insecure. She was also the dominant pig before we lost her sister last month, but she was the bigger of those two.
 
Hi

Please remove any hides with just one exit but allow your girls to work things out. By what you are telling us, your original piggy is still the leader but she is insecure in herself with a new and larger piggy and is just throwing her weight around.

How strong dominance is in the post-intro territorial group establishment/dominance phase generally depends on how confident the leader is in themselves; the less they are throwing their weight around, especially when it is her territory. Dominance is also a lot stronger when you only stage a short intro in the bonding pen and move the piggies to the cage pretty soon. I have come to appreciate that the more of the roughest bit they can work out on neutral ground, the leas dominance there is when you move them to their territory.

As long as the wobbly confidence of your widowed piggy is not met with resistance and there is no aggression involved in it, you should be fine. The post-intro phase takes about 2 weeks but the roughest bit should be over after the first 2-3 days. Most owners are not aware that the bonding process takes a lot longer than you'd think.


The full bonding process with attendant behaviours: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours (see chapter 7)

Typical sow dominance behaviours: Sows: Behaviour and Female Health Problems (including mounting and ovarian cysts)

All the best. Be patient and give them time.
 
piglew said:
Thank you. It has calmed down since this morning, and original pig was just licking (I think) new pig's ear, which seems like a positive sign.
Click to expand...

Yes, ear licking translates as 'I want you to be a welcome part of the group I am leading'. It is the friendliest and mildest form of dominance and always good to see. :)
 
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