Current situation and question on boar neuter and bond with young sow

[kasera]

Sadly I have lost a couple of piggies over the past 6 weeks. I now have 1 sow who was previously living with a much older sow and (neutered) boar

The sow who is left:

1. eating hay and veg normal.
2. Normal wheeking when preparing veggies
3. Talks to herself as she move around cage
4. overall behavior does not indicate depression

But I don't want the unhappiness of being a lone guinea.

Have preferred having a boar in with sows, mimics the natural order of things, but:

Most rescue are quite far from where I live and I don't have car nor want to use public transport due to the corona virus. I am keeping out eye for unwanted piggy ads which sadly are pretty common on gumtree etc.

At what age can a boar be neutered if I were to get one who was not? Would a baby boar bond work with a sow who herself is only 12 weeks.

My options to get a new boar are limited. Pet shops are bad, breeders to make a quick buck are bad, but there is not much option. The main aim is to get a healthy piggy

 

[Piggies&buns]

I am sorry for your losses.

a boar can be neutered from 4 months of age (once the testicles have descended), they then have to be kept away from a sow for six weeks after the operation to become infertile. If you get a young unneutered boar, then you would have to keep him alongside your sow in a separate and very secure (a boar can be very determined and climb c&c cages to get in with a sow) cage until he is old enough for neuter and ais weeks afterwards.

As a bond comes down entirely to character compatibility, by getting a piggy from any other means than a rescue centre, you do have the possibility of failure in bonding and then having two single piggies. The good news is that your sow being so young will be desperate for company so should be accepting of a new friend.

do be careful when bringing home piggies from ads and websites. People selling animals in this way can be very economical with the truth and you do run the risk of bringing problems into your piggy home - illnesses, health conditions etc. Not everybody is going to be like this, but health issues is something you need to consider along with the fact that getting a piggy on spec can mean they don’t actually like each other and won’t bond.

 

[Wiebke]

Sadly I have lost a couple of piggies over the past 6 weeks. I now have 1 sow who was previously living with a much older sow and (neutered) boar

The sow who is left:

1. eating hay and veg normal.
2. Normal wheeking when preparing veggies
3. Talks to herself as she move around cage
4. overall behavior does not indicate depression

But I don't want the unhappiness of being a lone guinea.

Have preferred having a boar in with sows, mimics the natural order of things, but:

Most rescue are quite far from where I live and I don't have car nor want to use public transport due to the china virus. I am keeping out eye for unwanted piggy ads which sadly are pretty common on gumtree etc.

At what age can a boar be neutered if I were to get one who was not? Would a baby boar bond work with a sow who herself is only 12 weeks.

My options to get a new boar are limited. Pet shops are bad, breeders to make a quick buck are bad, but there is not much option. The main aim is to get a healthy piggy

Hi!

I am very sorry for your losses.

At this young age (pre-puberty) piggies are desperate for company and especially guidance from an older piggy to teach them to master their environment and the intricacies of social etiquette; so they will be generally very accepting, especially of a neutered boar (which sadly don't turn up very often.

Do you have an RSPCA branch that rehomes guinea pigs closer by? They now have the policy of only rehoming neutered boars and only with sows.

Here is our complete boar neutering guide, which should answer all your questions: Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
Our sexing guide contains pictures of full and neutered adult boars: Illustrated Sexing Guide

You may find our singles guide helpful in assessing potential issues if you rehome a single piggy on spec - they may come with their own hang-ups. Unlike with a good welfare standard rescue, all the risks are on your side. Since anybody in this country can call themselves a rescue or a breeder (and any shade between the two) without licensing or control, the results can be accordingly. We can only guarantee for the rescues that have passed our careful vetting process.
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
Rescue Locator

Our comprehensive step-by-step bonding guide has special chapters on cross gender bonds and baby bonding (with videos) and pictures: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

If you could tell us your county, we might be able to help you better with more local information.

 

[kasera]

Thankyou, am in East London.

I had a look at RSPCA nearest piggy 72 miles away and the other boars are only rehoming to a particular area at present. The closest of 24m were a pair which won't be suitable. Downside of not being in a nice country area stuck in the city.

I am concerned with lockdowns that may be coming and my sow being stuck on her own. I've seen some baby boars but as around 8 weeks, that's another 8 weeks before can get in for the neuter, and then 6 weeks of post op before being able to put together. Hate looking at ads though, makes want to be able to help all of them. With some cage tweaks could have any new piggy easily live side to side, with roofing the boar to prevent his eager advances.

Piggy is sniffing the air more over the past 12 hours, munching hay right now so am still happy there is eating, but I feel the air sniffing is wondering where her companion is. It is noticeably quieter, there used to be a lot of piggy chatter

 

[Wiebke]

Thankyou, am in East London.

I had a look at RSPCA nearest piggy 72 miles away and the other boars are only rehoming to a particular area at present. The closest of 24m were a pair which won't be suitable. Downside of not being in a nice country area stuck in the city.

I am concerned with lockdowns that may be coming and my sow being stuck on her own. I've seen some baby boars but as around 8 weeks, that's another 8 weeks before can get in for the neuter, and then 6 weeks of post op before being able to put together. Hate looking at ads though, makes want to be able to help all of them. With some cage tweaks could have any new piggy easily live side to side, with roofing the boar to prevent his eager advances.

Piggy is sniffing the air more over the past 12 hours, munching hay right now so am still happy there is eating, but I feel the air sniffing is wondering where her companion is. It is noticeably quieter, there used to be a lot of piggy chatter

Can you get as far as Chelmsford? The rescue there is not on our list but it is one of the closest from your side of the city and may be more easily to reach for you. Most of the London rescues are in suburbs and Essex is unfortunately one of the areas that is a desert when it comes to rescues. Not driving myself, getting to a rescue by public transport has always been a consideration for me; some rescues further away were actually easier to get to than more local ones out in the sticks.
Please be aware that most rescues have more piggies in the pipeline than they have listed on their websites. It is worth contacting any rescue you can get to and ask whether they have a suitable mate or a waiting list.
Here is the Chelmsford rescue: Blackberry Patch Guinea Pig & Rabbit Rescue

 

[kasera]

That isn't too bad a distance, I'll check out their pages. Is there a difference if they are not recommended on the forum? To be a recognised rescue would it be usually to be a registered charity in relevant country.

 

[Wiebke]

That isn't too bad a distance, I'll check out their pages. Is there a difference if they are not recommended on the forum? To be a recognised rescue would it be usually to be a registered charity in relevant country.

Hi!

We are looking at the whole rescuing process from arrival to rehoming in detail and how the rescue is operating at all stages and levels during our quite comprehensive vetting process. Some rescues fail clearly on welfare standard and practice grounds but others less obvious ones on what I call 'ethical' grounds, i.e. close links with breeders or being active breeders themselves, being a funnel for unwanted breeding stock (and thusly supporting deplorable breeding practices), promoting DIY home care products/diagnosing on spec without sending people to see a vet etc.

A recommended rescue doesn't necessarily have to be a charity as it can take a number of years to work up to that status (although we are always very happy when our one of recommended rescues gets there) but any recommended rescue has to both comply with the welfare and ethos of our forum. Our listed rescues are those that we can fully endorse in all respects and can guarantee that our members are in safe hands. We have learned the hard way to look very closely at who we really want to endorse.

There are some other rescues which are OK to use but we would not normally recommend them unless they are the best practical option for somebody who would otherwise struggle. And there are some rescues with charity status about some of whose practices re. guinea pigs we are not happy about, like some RSPCA branches for instance. It is not at all very straight forward once you start looking closely. But we are always happy to give new rescues aiming to operate on the highest level our support and endorsement; after all, we want to champion as many good guinea pig rescues as possible.

I hope that that helps you?

 

[Tara95]

Sadly I have lost a couple of piggies over the past 6 weeks. I now have 1 sow who was previously living with a much older sow and (neutered) boar

The sow who is left:

1. eating hay and veg normal.
2. Normal wheeking when preparing veggies
3. Talks to herself as she move around cage
4. overall behavior does not indicate depression

But I don't want the unhappiness of being a lone guinea.

Have preferred having a boar in with sows, mimics the natural order of things, but:

Most rescue are quite far from where I live and I don't have car nor want to use public transport due to the corona virus. I am keeping out eye for unwanted piggy ads which sadly are pretty common on gumtree etc.

At what age can a boar be neutered if I were to get one who was not? Would a baby boar bond work with a sow who herself is only 12 weeks.

My options to get a new boar are limited. Pet shops are bad, breeders to make a quick buck are bad, but there is not much option. The main aim is to get a healthy piggy

I am in a similar situation as I have a male guinea pig (who I purchased at 4 weeks old) and 4 sows sows who are kept seperately. Although, I love the boar to pieces I do feel sorry for him as although he can still see and interact with the other sows through the cage it does cause him distress as he wants to be with them. It's not a nice thing to watch all the time. Although he does popcorn and seems to be happy to a certain extent living beside them. My only positive is that I have found an exotic vet who specialises in neutering near me who will do the operation from 2 months (as long as they're the right weight, and developed). Hopefully your situation works out