Bonding Males - not bad, but not great?

[CurvyCavies]

We adopted a guineapig and she ended up pregnant with a little boy. So we are attempting to find a bond for him. We neutered him and turns out he is clearly has only child syndrome and seems to be pretty opinionated. He got along with all but one girl and bullied her to the point he needed separated.

We adopted a male yesterday, knowing there is only a 20% chance that they will bond, so we are aware that we might need to return him if it goes south. But here’s how it’s going:

There was some teeth chattering and question of dominance, some hair pulling, but never any balls of fighting. Ended in some stare downs and oddly anti climatic. We put them in a pen and the new one was pretty cautious (he’s has a very chill personality but has also gone through a lot of change this month). The resident had a dominant air about him since he knows the area so we put them back in the neutral temporary pen where they seem to be getting along better. He is still charging at him, the new guy runs away and chatters for a second and then calms down.
We’ve seen obvious failed bonds with males but are still unsure this is going to work with how territorial the old one is being. There has been no humping, no all out fighting, just occasional chasing/lunging. The new one always seems on edge but they both have eaten with each other, cleaned in front of the other one, etc. Do we just keep waiting? The adoption clinic said we’d know within an hour if it’ll work out but I’ve also heard that it could take weeks. I also don’t know normal boar to boar behavior as we have only had females. Any advice?

Photo: new one tri colored- Mufasa
New, all black- Toothless

 

[CurvyCavies]

Oops! Old is Mufasa! Toothless is the new one

 

[Piggies&buns]

Its not a case that there is only a 20% chance - a successful bond comes down to character compatibility and more boar pairs make it together than not but the two piggies must have compatibility and mutual liking. If they do, then they will be fine.

How old are they? Bonding teen boars can be harder as hormones can get in the way. A boar who has previously lived with sows can be less willing to go back to living a bachelor live with another boar.

They need to stay in the neutral territory bonding pen for several hours/overnight so they can get through the initial stages of acceptance and dominance. Dont be tempted to move them to the cage too soon - the more of the process the get through in the bonding pen the better as changing environment does cause a new round of dominance. You will see lots of normal dominance behaviours (chattering, chasing, mounting, rumbling) and if it is only dominance behaviours, then you let them get on with it - boars just need to work through this process to form their relationship.
If they dont like each other at all, then you will usually find that out in the neutral territory bonding pen - you will see an outright failure and any blood drawing fight means immediate separation.

If things go well after several hours in the pen, You then thoroughly clean out the cage they are to live in. Move them together to their cleaned out cage so they can start living together. It then takes two weeks of permanently being together for them to sort out the fine print of their relationship and hierarchy. There is a chance it can go wrong at this point if they actually cannot come to an agreement over those fine details. But as I said above, more boar pairs make it together than not and if they do like each other, then they will be fine.

The key with boar pairs is lots of space - they need a cage measuring 180x60cm (6ft x 2ft) as lack of space will cause problems for them as they are more territorial. Ensure all hides have two exits so no piggy can get cornered inside one and that there is multiple of every item so they dont have to share anything. Always handle the dominant boar first so that you are respecting their hierarchy.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[CurvyCavies]

Its not a case that there is only a 20% chance - a successful bond comes down to character compatibility and more boar pairs make it together than not but the two piggies must have compatibility and mutual liking. If they do, then they will be fine.

How old are they? Bonding teen boars can be harder as hormones can get in the way. A boar who has previously lived with sows can be less willing to go back to living a bachelor live with another boar.

They need to stay in the neutral territory bonding pen for several hours/overnight so they can get through the initial stages of acceptance and dominance. Dont be tempted to move them to the cage too soon - the more of the process the get through in the bonding pen the better as changing environment does cause a new round of dominance. You will see lots of normal dominance behaviours (chattering, chasing, mounting, rumbling) and if it is only dominance behaviours, then you let them get on with it - boars just need to work through this process to form their relationship.
If they dont like each other at all, then you will usually find that out in the neutral territory bonding pen - you will see an outright failure and any blood drawing fight means immediate separation.

If things go well after several hours in the pen, You then thoroughly clean out the cage they are to live in. Move them together to their cleaned out cage so they can start living together. It then takes two weeks of permanently being together for them to sort out the fine print of their relationship and hierarchy. There is a chance it can go wrong at this point if they actually cannot come to an agreement over those fine details. But as I said above, more boar pairs make it together than not and if they do like each other, then they will be fine.

The key with boar pairs is lots of space - they need a cage measuring 180x60cm (6ft x 2ft) as lack of space will cause problems for them as they are more territorial. Ensure all hides have two exits so no piggy can get cornered inside one and that there is multiple of every item so they dont have to share anything. Always handle the dominant boar first so that you are respecting their hierarchy.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

Thanks for your response and the resources! I will be making my way through them shortly.

Mufasa (resident pig) is about 8 months, the new one, Toothless, was left outside the shelter in a box so not exactly sure his age, but they labeled him as 1 year 1 mo. Toothless is noticeably smaller even though he is the elder.

They have been in the same pen for a week now and no blood has been drawn. Mufasa has calmed his punching down and Toothless is always quick to tell him he doesn't want to fight. They are in a 4'x4' and is still in the neutral space that we started in. It seems to be working well and they like each other enough. Still hoping they grow to like each other more. Mufasa is use to being around other pigs in sight so my hope is that he is happy to not be alone. I am still nervous about moving them back into the room with the sows. If they are aware of the sows around, do they typically get more aggressive? We're due for a deep clean for both groups so trying to figure out if we should relocate the boys or keep them in a different room for a while.

Thanks again!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Keeping boar pairs in the same room as sows is advised against. Being within smelling distance of sows has the potential to cause the boys to fight over the sows (even if they cannot physically get to them) which can be bond breaking. Boars who grow up around sows can be less affected by sow pheromones but you obviously don't know anything of Toothless's background regarding sows. If he isnt used to smelling them, then he may have a very strong reaction. You would also need to ensure that the boars cage is very secure if Toothless isnt neutered. Boars can be very athletic and escape cages to get in with sows.

If they must be in the same room its best to have stacked cages with sows at the bottom so the boars are less likely to smell the girls. Alternatively have them as far apart as possible with a divider higher and wider than the cage so to reduce the drift of pheromones. Always handle boar pairs first so to not risk transferring smells.

This guide explains

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars