Bringing Multiple Guinea Pigs From Different Locations:

[Yusuf]

hey, so after looking in MANY rescue centres, all over the midlands and surrounding areas, I have found 3 guinea pigs (1 male, 2 females) from one shelter and 2 from another (2 females) and I was wondering after health checks and generic stuff like that, i was thinking of just putting them in the cage together at once, or is that too stressful on them, I thought this would be a good idea cus I thought that them arriving in the house would be stressful enough and it would make the introduction easier on all of them

any responses would be helpful!

 

[piggyfan]

You cannot just put them in the cage as they have to be bonded on neutral territory. Will they not arrive on different days also? Maybe you could take the lone pig to the rescue with two and see if the rescue will bond them for you so you can take them all back at once?

 

[Yusuf]

its not a cage, I am thinking of allowing them free range to a room in the day and then sectioning it off for the night, and I will be going to get the trio from a rescue in essex while my girlfriend will be picking up the other 2 from a rescue centre in middlesborough, so theyll be home on the same day, but after getting them, were taking them to the vet straight away to make sure theyre completely healthy

 

[piggyfan]

Oh I see. Good luck. I hope the bonding works. It's great you are pro rescue.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

You may find our bonding tips helpful. Please keep your two groups next to each other for at least a day or two, so they can get used to their new home as well as each other. That takes a lot of extra stress out of a bonding proper, which needs to be staged on neutral ground where no group can dominate. Whether they get on ultimately, depends largely on whether the two top sows can sort out who comes top between them somewhat amicably and whether the boarless top sow will get on with your boy; I have had mixed gender group bondings go either way over the years. With mixed gender groups, an initial short acceptance phase is followed by a dominance phase/hierarchy sort-out, which on average lasts about 2 weeks in a group bonding.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sow-behaviour.38561/