Bonding Two 1.5 year old bonded females to 8 month old neutered male

Momofmany22

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone I’m new here! I hope I’m doing this correct. 😳 Well I have Two bonded little ladies who are about 1.5 years old. Who have been together since they were babies. I acquired Clover first and she was only alone for a week and then I acquired Loofah. After quarantine for the both, the intro for them went well and moving them to the cage was a very long I felt like 2 week “who is the boss” game mount and strutting and submissive squeals. Clover seemed to be the dominant pig and The roles went back and forth it seemed over the months and these days Loofah seemed like the dominant pig. So I decided I wanted to add to the herd, and along came Calvin a skinny pig he was quarantined and neutered and after recovering from his neuter (over 6 weeks) I attempted to do an intro with the 3 of them. The normal behavior occurred he was strutting mildly mounting the girls and chasing them and they would spray him and chatter mildly and move away and he got the hint and would eat for a few seconds and start attempting to mount again and strutted around . After about 45 minutes Calvin seemed to become frustrated and had started lunging and chattering more severe specifically toward Clover. Clover had began puffing up, squealing and hissing at this point and well. I let them try to work it out for a little longer, then they both began posturing and Calvin was lunging more aggressively at Clover, I separated them with a towel and put a barrier between the the girls and him and let them settle down. But there was still some annoyed squealing from Clover. I decided to just put them back in their separate cages and try again the next day. Next day comes I gave them a buddy bath and that went well. I placed them in a large clean intro area again and everyone was eating and peaceful. Calvin made some attempts to mount but got the hint when the girls said quit. They did well for 60 minutes and I felt comfortable enough to put them in their newly cleaned cage. When I put them in their cage. Clove became defensive after a few minutes and would hiss and lunge at Calvin chattering and Calvin would popcorn off and check on Clover again with the same result. There was some yawning from Calvin as he watched Clover from across the cage. Loofah has seemed to be a fly in the wall during all this a just gave off some annoyed squeals when Calvin came close. I watched for 20 minutes and they had settled down and were eating. I then ran and took a shower and came back still wet to check on them and Calvin had been attacked pretty good. Two wounds on his face three on this body and scratches in his belly. 😢I separated them immediately and tended to Calvin’s wounds nothing needing medical care. Clover seemed just annoyed by his exsistance when I returned to pig area to put him in his cage and was even a little grumpy with Loofah. It has been 2 weeks now since intro and Calvin has healed nicely. I have a C&C a 2 by 4 with a 2 by 2 loft. I don’t know if I can ever re intro them again in the future and am actually scared to do so but if there is hope? I don’t want him to be alone and am not opposed to getting him a friend if need be. I just need help with which route to take, if I wait longer for Calvin’s hormones to settle? If something maybe going on with Clover medically? I am shocked she attacked or if having two separate cages with two pigs each so Calvin isn’t alone? Or rig the cage so they can all interact. I’m not sure if I can expand cage too much bigger as it fits just snug in the area I have. But any suggestions I am open too. My heart hurts that this bonding went bad and I know I made a few mistakes. If there is further info that I can provide that will help let me know. Thanks in advance!
 
Hi everyone I’m new here! I hope I’m doing this correct. 😳 Well I have Two bonded little ladies who are about 1.5 years old. Who have been together since they were babies. I acquired Clover first and she was only alone for a week and then I acquired Loofah. After quarantine for the both, the intro for them went well and moving them to the cage was a very long I felt like 2 week “who is the boss” game mount and strutting and submissive squeals. Clover seemed to be the dominant pig and The roles went back and forth it seemed over the months and these days Loofah seemed like the dominant pig. So I decided I wanted to add to the herd, and along came Calvin a skinny pig he was quarantined and neutered and after recovering from his neuter (over 6 weeks) I attempted to do an intro with the 3 of them. The normal behavior occurred he was strutting mildly mounting the girls and chasing them and they would spray him and chatter mildly and move away and he got the hint and would eat for a few seconds and start attempting to mount again and strutted around . After about 45 minutes Calvin seemed to become frustrated and had started lunging and chattering more severe specifically toward Clover. Clover had began puffing up, squealing and hissing at this point and well. I let them try to work it out for a little longer, then they both began posturing and Calvin was lunging more aggressively at Clover, I separated them with a towel and put a barrier between the the girls and him and let them settle down. But there was still some annoyed squealing from Clover. I decided to just put them back in their separate cages and try again the next day. Next day comes I gave them a buddy bath and that went well. I placed them in a large clean intro area again and everyone was eating and peaceful. Calvin made some attempts to mount but got the hint when the girls said quit. They did well for 60 minutes and I felt comfortable enough to put them in their newly cleaned cage. When I put them in their cage. Clove became defensive after a few minutes and would hiss and lunge at Calvin chattering and Calvin would popcorn off and check on Clover again with the same result. There was some yawning from Calvin as he watched Clover from across the cage. Loofah has seemed to be a fly in the wall during all this a just gave off some annoyed squeals when Calvin came close. I watched for 20 minutes and they had settled down and were eating. I then ran and took a shower and came back still wet to check on them and Calvin had been attacked pretty good. Two wounds on his face three on this body and scratches in his belly. 😢I separated them immediately and tended to Calvin’s wounds nothing needing medical care. Clover seemed just annoyed by his exsistance when I returned to pig area to put him in his cage and was even a little grumpy with Loofah. It has been 2 weeks now since intro and Calvin has healed nicely. I have a C&C a 2 by 4 with a 2 by 2 loft. I don’t know if I can ever re intro them again in the future and am actually scared to do so but if there is hope? I don’t want him to be alone and am not opposed to getting him a friend if need be. I just need help with which route to take, if I wait longer for Calvin’s hormones to settle? If something maybe going on with Clover medically? I am shocked she attacked or if having two separate cages with two pigs each so Calvin isn’t alone? Or rig the cage so they can all interact. I’m not sure if I can expand cage too much bigger as it fits just snug in the area I have. But any suggestions I am open too. My heart hurts that this bonding went bad and I know I made a few mistakes. If there is further info that I can provide that will help let me know. Thanks in advance!
Maybe before introducing them in person try a split cage for about 1-2 weeks. Then put them on Neutral ground with food so they do feel so threatened. I would recommend doing this one piggy at a time so having Calvin and clove together on neutral ground with you watching them . And then doing the same with Loofah and Calvin one again continue that for a couple days . After that maybe try putting clover Loofah and Calvin on neutral ground all together again and see if things improve . While you do all of this like a said at the start I recommend having the split cage it will help a great deal.
 
Thank you! I was wondering if intros split will make a difference! I will rig their cage so they can see each other easier on a regular basis.
 
Oh dear maybe there is something about ladies named Clover and skinny pigs... my baby skinny pig had a huge fight with my boss pig Clover when I first introduced them, both ended up hurt and at the vets... it only took seconds before they were both bleeding...
It might not be what you want to hear and others may disagree but I would say if Clover clearly hates Calvin and has hurt him already then it wont work out and it will only be a matter of time before poor skinny boy gets seriously hurt. What might be a warning nip to a furry pig can damage a skinny pig very badly, our little skinny girl ended up with an abscess from a bite wound from our furry Clover pig, it went so deep without any cushioning fur for protection.
I would suggest keeping them seperately and taking Calvin dating at a recue to find his own friend who wont bite and scratch him, our skinny girl lives in a separate cage now with a lovely husband who treats her very gently!
 
Hi everyone I’m new here! I hope I’m doing this correct. 😳 Well I have Two bonded little ladies who are about 1.5 years old. Who have been together since they were babies. I acquired Clover first and she was only alone for a week and then I acquired Loofah. After quarantine for the both, the intro for them went well and moving them to the cage was a very long I felt like 2 week “who is the boss” game mount and strutting and submissive squeals. Clover seemed to be the dominant pig and The roles went back and forth it seemed over the months and these days Loofah seemed like the dominant pig. So I decided I wanted to add to the herd, and along came Calvin a skinny pig he was quarantined and neutered and after recovering from his neuter (over 6 weeks) I attempted to do an intro with the 3 of them. The normal behavior occurred he was strutting mildly mounting the girls and chasing them and they would spray him and chatter mildly and move away and he got the hint and would eat for a few seconds and start attempting to mount again and strutted around . After about 45 minutes Calvin seemed to become frustrated and had started lunging and chattering more severe specifically toward Clover. Clover had began puffing up, squealing and hissing at this point and well. I let them try to work it out for a little longer, then they both began posturing and Calvin was lunging more aggressively at Clover, I separated them with a towel and put a barrier between the the girls and him and let them settle down. But there was still some annoyed squealing from Clover. I decided to just put them back in their separate cages and try again the next day. Next day comes I gave them a buddy bath and that went well. I placed them in a large clean intro area again and everyone was eating and peaceful. Calvin made some attempts to mount but got the hint when the girls said quit. They did well for 60 minutes and I felt comfortable enough to put them in their newly cleaned cage. When I put them in their cage. Clove became defensive after a few minutes and would hiss and lunge at Calvin chattering and Calvin would popcorn off and check on Clover again with the same result. There was some yawning from Calvin as he watched Clover from across the cage. Loofah has seemed to be a fly in the wall during all this a just gave off some annoyed squeals when Calvin came close. I watched for 20 minutes and they had settled down and were eating. I then ran and took a shower and came back still wet to check on them and Calvin had been attacked pretty good. Two wounds on his face three on this body and scratches in his belly. 😢I separated them immediately and tended to Calvin’s wounds nothing needing medical care. Clover seemed just annoyed by his exsistance when I returned to pig area to put him in his cage and was even a little grumpy with Loofah. It has been 2 weeks now since intro and Calvin has healed nicely. I have a C&C a 2 by 4 with a 2 by 2 loft. I don’t know if I can ever re intro them again in the future and am actually scared to do so but if there is hope? I don’t want him to be alone and am not opposed to getting him a friend if need be. I just need help with which route to take, if I wait longer for Calvin’s hormones to settle? If something maybe going on with Clover medically? I am shocked she attacked or if having two separate cages with two pigs each so Calvin isn’t alone? Or rig the cage so they can all interact. I’m not sure if I can expand cage too much bigger as it fits just snug in the area I have. But any suggestions I am open too. My heart hurts that this bonding went bad and I know I made a few mistakes. If there is further info that I can provide that will help let me know. Thanks in advance!

Hi!

Allow your piggies to get to know each other through the bars first and allow your boy to work some of his hormonal overexcitement out of his system first before you introduce.

Please note that once piggies have decided that they do not like a newcomer, they won't change their mind. You are in with a chance as long as things are still in the 'maybe' zone, but not if this have gone too far - and the latter can be a matter of seconds.

Please take the time to read our updated and now very comprehensive bonding guide that covers the whole period from the run up to the end of dominance phase several weeks later: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Thank you everyone so much for the support! @PigglePuggle you are right skinny’s have no padding/fur to protect them, so that is the scary part about a re intro, he could be seriously injured. What a coincidence our Clover’s are bossy piggies! I’m in US in Arizona, the rescue I was familiar with has shut down unfortunately. I will have to seek out another rescue if there are others local. @Wiebke I will take your advice and also read the guide you posted thank you! The more knowledge the better!
 
Thank you everyone so much for the support! @PigglePuggle you are right skinny’s have no padding/fur to protect them, so that is the scary part about a re intro, he could be seriously injured. What a coincidence our Clover’s are bossy piggies! I’m in US in Arizona, the rescue I was familiar with has shut down unfortunately. I will have to seek out another rescue if there are others local. @Wiebke I will take your advice and also read the guide you posted thank you! The more knowledge the better!

Is the closed rescue Arizona's Piggie Poo or another one? Guinea Lynx :: US Guinea Pig Rescue and Shelter Organizations
 
Yes, the piggy poo. Or I am having a very hard time finding a website or further info for them.
 
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Late response I apologize, when I click the link it goes to a Go Daddy page. I can try phone number in the morning here.
 
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