Bonding

[Tiamolly123]

Hi I have 6 Guinea pigs I have 2 in 2 cages & 2 in another cage. We have found 4 are quite happy in the play pen. I would like to introduce the other 2, I'm certain 1 would go in fine. The trouble is the last one is bossy & we already have a boss. Boss no 2 has already attacked a piggy when they were together, nasty bites. It would be nice to have them together as I'm getting a C&C cage this week giving them more room. Would Tia have enough going on that she would ignore tic Tac or not. Also regarding the boss's will they sort themselves out, or lm asking for trouble.

 

[Tangerine49]

I will be watching this post with great interest, my pigs are very distracted whilst out but my babies tend to run to the adults for cover if they get spooked so I assume mostly they would be ok but if in a huddle may squabble I'm interested to see what everybody else suggest though!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi I have 6 Guinea pigs I have 2 in 2 cages & 2 in another cage. We have found 4 are quite happy in the play pen. I would like to introduce the other 2, I'm certain 1 would go in fine. The trouble is the last one is bossy & we already have a boss. Boss no 2 has already attacked a piggy when they were together, nasty bites. It would be nice to have them together as I'm getting a C&C cage this week giving them more room. Would Tia have enough going on that she would ignore tic Tac or not. Also regarding the boss's will they sort themselves out, or lm asking for trouble.

Hi! Am I right that you are talking about 4 sows? When merging two pairs, it usually hinges on whether one of the top sows submits to the other or not. I have a had a fair number of bondings fail because this did not happen and tensions stayed high even on day two.

You can give it a try, but be prepared that your desire is not what the piggies are happy with. if it works out, then you have to brace yourself for about two weeks of it while the hierarchy is established from the top and slowly travels down the ranks.

Here is more information on bonding and when to call it off:
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Sow Behaviour

 

[Tiamolly123]

Hi! Am I right that you are talking about 4 sows? When merging two pairs, it usually hinges on whether one of the top sows submits to the other or not. I have a had a fair number of bondings fail because this did not happen and tensions stayed high even on day two.

You can give it a try, but be prepared that your desire is not what the piggies are happy with. if it works out, then you have to brace yourself for about two weeks of it while the hierarchy is established from the top and slowly travels down the ranks.

Here is more information on bonding and when to call it off:
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Sow Behaviour

Mm, I think it is not worth the effort, it may end stressing them all & I'd hate that. It was just that it would give them more room in the C&C cage, I can always add on to the cage, thanks for the advice