bonding two babies with a teen and adult

[mel42]

hello my aunt recently added two babies (2 week old cracker and 4 week old oreo) two her cage. before she got the babies she had two piggies (5 month old patty and 1 year old karen) they were a mamma and baby pair that they got at a shelter. now that she has these new babies she has tried to bond them two her old piggies but they are being very mean two the babies and bite them a lot especially patty. but its really confusing because sometimes karen will protect the babies from patty biting them but other times she will help patty bite them. and it makes me really sad because i hear the babies making that "i want my mama" wheek a lot and oreo will freak out and start wheeking if patty even comes anywhere close to her face. oreo by far has been beaten up the most. the babies are totally fine with each other though and will often huddle together at the opposite sid of the cage from patty and karen. my aunt was thinking maybe to separate them until the babies are older but i dont know.
anyway we could just use some advice on what to do, thanks.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Hiya, sorry you’re having problems! Did you follow the bonding guides on here with the neutral ground introduction etc?

It can be difficult because if they don’t like each other that’s just it.

How big is their cage?

 

[Wiebke]

hello my aunt recently added two babies (2 week old cracker and 4 week old oreo) two her cage. before she got the babies she had two piggies (5 month old patty and 1 year old karen) they were a mamma and baby pair that they got at a shelter. now that she has these new babies she has tried to bond them two her old piggies but they are being very mean two the babies and bite them a lot especially patty. but its really confusing because sometimes karen will protect the babies from patty biting them but other times she will help patty bite them. and it makes me really sad because i hear the babies making that "i want my mama" wheek a lot and oreo will freak out and start wheeking if patty even comes anywhere close to her face. oreo by far has been beaten up the most. the babies are totally fine with each other though and will often huddle together at the opposite sid of the cage from patty and karen. my aunt was thinking maybe to separate them until the babies are older but i dont know.
anyway we could just use some advice on what to do, thanks.

Hi and welcome!

From the sound of it, the bonding is going normal. The 'biting' is called nipping. It is a carefully judged gesture of power that lets the underpig just feel the teeth without breaking the skin. The appropriate reaction is loud submission squealing - which is NOT pain, simply a "I am not contesting your claim to dominance, so lay off me!"

Guinea pigs live in strictly hierarchical groups. The behaviours you are seeing are vital to establish this hierarchy without which their society would not function. Weaned babies are emphatically put at the bottom of a group even by their own mothers once they lose the special protection as nursing babies and become full members of a group. The babies are always very vocal and dramatic, which can be very upsetting for any human owner who is not prepared for that.

Please take the time to read these two guide links below to understand the bonding process and social interaction between guinea pigs. It is much more complex (but also much more fascinating!) than you'd expect. Guinea pigs are a species with their own social rules that are very different from human ones. We cannot apply our human feelings and interpretation to guinea pig society. The bonding process is also much more complicated and takes much longer than most people think.
You will find the guides very helpful in making sense of what you are seeing. Your piggies are now in the dominance phase.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

PS: Have you double-checked the gender of the babies before bonding to make sure that you have only got sows?
Sexing Guide

 

[mel42]

yes i checked the genders they are all sows
they have a double decker cage thats about 12 square feet of unbroken space

and i have bonded my pigs together before but i guess i was just a little scared because my pigs bonding went a lot smoother. with my pigs they pretty much just peed on the new pigs face and were done
thanks for the advise