Can 2 boars and one sow live together?

[nat99]

Hello, I'm looking for some advice with a situation that I have.

I had a family member ask me recently if I would want to take on their 2 male guinea pigs that are approximently 3 yrs old. They don't want them anymore and the only reason they got them in the first place is because I have guinea pigs also.

For some context I have owned guinea pigs for over 10 years, but now I only have one girl remaining, Poppy who is 7 yrs old. The reason why I am not getting her a friend is because I don't want to have a never ending cycle of guinea pigs. Poppy's cage mate passed 3 months ago and it would break my heart to give Poppy up to someone else so I chose to keep her by herself.

Is there any instances where you can keep 2 boars and one sow together? I don't see how they would get along since its not a good combination, but Poppy is 7, she is spayed and she has arthritis. So would there still be a possibility for them to fight over her? Or maybe they could live side by side with a grid separating them?

I would hate to see these boys go to someone else that would not properly take care of them, so I'm trying to think of a way to keep them even though I said that I didnt want to take on more piggies. If there is not possibility that the can live side by side then I would recommend for that family member to give them up to a guinea pig rescue that is near me because they are amazing and that's where I got most of my piggies from.

Any help or advice would be appreciated please.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm afraid you cannot keep two boys and one sow in the same cage together - it would be a disaster. The boys would fight over her and would have to be separated.

If the boys are not used to seeing or smelling a sow then they will be highly unlikely to be able to be side by side with her either.
Boar pairs who have never lived in the same room as sows growing up will get riled up by even smelling a sow. So even being in the same room as her, never mind side by side, might cause the two boys to fight with each other and ruin their bond.
There are some cases where you might be able to get the boys used to sow smells to be in the same room, but it is a huge risk to take for their bond.
There would be no guarantee that if the boys did fight and had to be split up that your sow would even accept one of them (older sows can be less willing to accept new company) - so you could end up with three single piggies with three separate cages all side by side.

If boars have grown up from a young age with sows in the same room, then they would be less affected by sow pheromones and thus being in the same rooms/side by side might be a possibility.

If you would be able to keep them in a different room to your sow, then that would be the safest option for you to be able to keep the boys and protect their bond.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

I agree with @Piggies&buns that this is one of the big no nos that usually results in fighting and fall outs between the boars.

 

[nat99]

Thank you for your replies! I thought that maybe since she was an older pig and spayed then the boys wouldn't care and therefore not fight over her. But at the end of the day she's still a female so that makes sense!