Bonding Large Herds

[Dilly's Piggies]

I have 9 female Guinea Pigs that are living in 2 separate herds due to two of them fighting, the two boss piggies from either herd just don't like each other and always end up in a flying piggy tornado, this has happened 3 times however no piggy has ever been injured despite it looking scary. I'm still hopeful one day I can have all 9 together in the same cage but I know this is going to take a very long time and lots of hard work to give them the best chance of getting along, and I'm aware it may always be this way and they will never get along, but I'd at least like to try.

My cage will be changed soon, the herd of 4 are in a 2x8 at the moment but it'll be changed to a 4x4 with a 1x4 loft, the herd of 5 have a 4x4 with 2x3 kitchen area attached, they will also have a 1x4 loft added. I'm planning to make this change very soon so both cages will be side by side on the floor instead of stacked on top of each other, my plan is to have a grid divider and let them live side by side for a while until hopefully one day I can remove the divider and have them all together in the enormous cage.

I see people, mostly rescues with big sheds and 30+ piggies all together, I just don't know how they do it! Does anyone have any tips to help make this as successful as possible? I'm very aware this may not ever work.

 

[Wiebke]

To be honest, from my own experience with a herd of up to 14 piggies (1 husboar and 13 sows), trying to merge two groups where the tops sows won't come to an agreement is not going to work.

You basically have to carefully build up a herd from scratch around a dominant leader piggy. This worked fine for me for several years until the original First Lady got older and was de-throned by an ambitious younger sow which provoked a year of constant unrest and bullying. I had to pull out several piggies to either join another group or form their own couple, and in the end I had to split the remaining Tribe into two. There were too many piggies which were no longer on speaking terms.

When you want to create a large group, you have to take into consideration that group dynamics change over time, and they can go sour. You also need to have other options for any frail, difficult or bullied piggies aside from the big group. Stuff simply happens. My experience mirrors that of several other long term members that have tried to form a large group.

Maintaining a large group and making sure that all piggies have their needs covered, it A LOT of work and it is not cheap; you also have to factor in that you (or a family member) are not always well and that things can change over time. I currently have 26 piggies living in next door pens in smaller groups or pairs, as they get on. They kind of have a big group experience, but have still got each their own territory. But I am cage cleaning and washing on a near daily basis, I am going through 10kg of hay per week, about 10 kg of pellets in a month and my vet cost can be astronomical. Illness and deaths come in bunches, as come phases when there is a lot of strife amongst the piggies and you really do not know who you can fit in with who... Personally, I find smaller groups of 4-6 piggies much eaiser to maintain. They also reflect more the kind of small subgroups of sows that associate with a boar of their choice. I have currently 5 husboars who live with between 1-5 sows each.

Large herds depend on having lots space so they can form smaller subgroups with their own little territories. it is usually a few sows that associate with a boar of their own choice within a large group as long as they have enough space to get away from each other without causing fights. You count about 1 sq metre per piggy minimum. I would also strongly recommend to build up a larger group slowly so you can work up to the work load and find out where your personal limit that you can really cope with is. You have to be very honest with yourself in that point.

I am currently telling the story of my Tribe, the good as well as the bad, in Guinea Pig Magazine. The first two parts have been in the March and May issues (issues 37 and 38) and the last part is in the upcoming issue 39. You may find that it gives you a bit more of a realistic idea of what goes into a large group adventure than just a cute video of a horde eating in a big pile.
Guinea Pig Magazine is available in a cheaper downloadable version, not just in print. Guinea Pig Magazine