Bullying pig

Piggiewheekwheek

Piggiewheekwheek

Junior Guinea Pig
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So I have a new problem that has reared its head this afternoon.....
Last night I changed my piggies bed from shavings to noodle mats
Now my dominant pig is bullying the other and not letting him out of his bed onto the mats he seems to have claimed them as his own,
He has been chasing him all day and I have even caught him with gizmos hair in his mouth😫
No blood has been drawn and they are not fighting but peanut just keeps chasing gizmo back into his house whenever he comes out
Gizmo is now scared to come out and I'm scared what might happen at night when I go to bed incase they really start fighting 😱
Will I end up separating them or will they settle down when the novelty of the mats has worn off?
 
Hi
I can't be certain how old they are,I rehomed them from a pretty clueless guy tbh..he said they were 5 months old and I have had them for about 2-3 months
But I think peanut is older than gizmo,he said they were brothers but I don't believe that they are.
I left their bed and hidey in when I changed the bedding
I had to bath them both cos they stunk..could that be the reason? They just don't smell the same?
Maybe they will settle down in a few days
But now peanut is lying in front of gizmos bed like he's just waiting for him to step out of it to chase him.
I don't really know what to do for the best atm.
 
So they could be 7-8 months which is right in the middle of the teenage months, hormones are high and dominance behaviours will be seen a lot between now and 14 months of age. It could be the bath, changes in their cage and hormones have come together to make a perfect storm. Leave them to it, don’t separate unless they have a full on fight and blood is drawn. Do they have a big enough cage and two/three of every item?

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Bonds In Trouble
 
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Your probably right,I think I will just have to leave them to it,I'm just worried about gizmo getting food now if peanut won't let him eat..
Hopefully they will settle down in a few days.
My cage I feel is a tad too small for them atm,its 80cm by 130cm, I can't buy a bigger cage now as
I have an 8ft 6 shed laid in my garden I bought for them but due to a series of unfortunate events I have not managed to build it yet and now I feel the weather is too cold to put them out anyway
They have two beds but i can't fit 2 of anything else in there so they have to share,I know it's not ideal.
In spring they will be going into their big new home but until then it's the best I can do.
 
If I’ve calculated properly (maths isn’t my strong point!) it’s approx 11 square feet. 10.5 is recommended but for boys bigger is always better. Oh yes, I remember you having problems with your shed.
Would there be the possibility of attaching a temporary pen to the cage to give them a little more room, even for part of the day? I’m only saying this because space can be a cause of tensions and if there was the possibility of some adjustments to get them through the teenage months then it may help. My boys were originally in a recommended sized cage but teenage times hit and an increase of their space into my storage area of their shed helped calm things. You do need to be careful about suddenly making a bigger cage as if can set off territorial disputes (and that may be what is happening) but being able to get away from each other helps!
 
Seems we can't do right for doing wrong with boars😫
I have had sows before but never boars,they are hard work sometimes lol
I don't have anywhere else in my house to put their cage to attatch a run sadly,they are on my dining room table at the minute!
I have 2 dogs so can't keep the cage on the floor.
I do do floor time with them in their pen(which incidentally caused my woes in the first place lol) but they just chase each other round squealing and peeing and pooping everywhere so I don't think they really like it.
 
I’d make sure that all hides have two exits. Also, when feeding make sure there is a large gap between the plates. Or hand feed them all veg and then the pellets in a bowl with at least two body lengths in between.

I think the lack of space is contributing to the behaviour. 150cm+ is best for boars. Is there no way you could put it on the floor and cover the play pen so the dogs can’t get to them? Or somehow train them to not go near there (unsupervised)?
 
Piggieweekweek said:
Seems we can't do right for doing wrong with boars😫
I have had sows before but never boars,they are hard work sometimes lol
I don't have anywhere else in my house to put their cage to attatch a run sadly,they are on my dining room table at the minute!
I have 2 dogs so can't keep the cage on the floor.
I do do floor time with them in their pen(which incidentally caused my woes in the first place lol) but they just chase each other round squealing and peeing and pooping everywhere so I don't think they really like it.
Click to expand...

I’ve not had sows, but the thought of them being feisty when in season worries me more than teenage boars! Once the teenage part is done with boars often they start to mellow!

Chasing can be normal dominance behaviour and if one is squealing, then it could be in submission - not necessarily a sign that they don’t like floor time, but it is more of an opportunity for them to sort out their relationship. Just throwing that out as an idea as there isn’t even detail to be able to decode what is going on with that!

It is going to be difficult with dogs, but do have a think and see if there is something you can try. Too small of a space causes problems with boars and fall outs and then you’d be looking to need to separate them permanently. And as siikibam said, ensure all hideys have two exits so there is nowhere for one piggy to get cornered
 
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