Does size matter?

TerryThePiggy

TerryThePiggy

Junior Guinea Pig
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I recently adopted a little baby girl who is very small, i think she is about 12-16 weeks... is she too young to try to bond with my 2 year old neutered male ? I don’t worry about them getting on, I worry about him terrifying her considering he’s definitely twice her size ! Would she be very scared and most likely injured during bonding ?
 
Maybe someone can you give you a better idea of the boar-sow dynamics at play (mine are all females), but I have bonded a small baby to a much larger pig more than once without anyone being hurt or frightened (and actually on one occasion, the baby emerged as the dominant female over a much larger but very submissive/timid pig.) Little pigs don't seem to know that they're little and bigger pigs are no more likely to harm a smaller pig than a same-size or bigger pig.
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Here is Hadley meeting Leela for the first time... you can see the size difference!1543463004600.webp1543463004600.webp1543463004600.webp1543463004600.webp1543463004600.webp1543463004600.webp1543463004600.webp1543463004600.webp
 
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Size doesn’t matter. My little girl was just 150g when I bonded her to the rest of the herd. (2 adult females 3 adult neutered males and 3 babies including her) Plus 2 rabbits.
 
TerryThePiggy said:
I recently adopted a little baby girl who is very small, i think she is about 12-16 weeks... is she too young to try to bond with my 2 year old neutered male ? I don’t worry about them getting on, I worry about him terrifying her considering he’s definitely twice her size ! Would she be very scared and most likely injured during bonding ?
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Hi! Babies are truly desperate to belong! The sooner you can bond, the better.


Size is not problem. Piggies do not hurt babies - the littles are far too agile for that as long as they have space and you only have hideys with two exits. Accidents happen only if you stick a baby into too small a cage with no escape and expect the piggies to get on when you stage in effect an invasion of territory.
What you have to brace for is the dominance that put them firmly at the bottom of the hierarchy. It is generally quite emphatic but short.
Our bonding guide discusses the dynamics and typical behaviours of introducting a young piggy to a group.
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

You may find this bonding video here helpful. It shows my two year old (admittedly) gentle Dylan with two newly separated 3 weeks old baby boys. As you can see, he has no chance of touching them unless they are willing. ;)

And here is then 6 weeks old recently bonded Carys having a popcorning romp. She lives with neutered boar Gethin (coming up to 3 years) and 7 1/2 year old lady Ffwlbri. She is not the first young adoptee I have bonded with an adult boar.

My big Carwyn and his 5 week old wifelet Heini had a very close, loving bond for the 3 1/3 years they lived together. Carwyn died a few weeks ago aged 6 1/2. When he mounted her the first time (her willing as he couldn't catch her), he could stand with both front legs on the floor! :D
 
She will be absolutely fine. My last bond was introducing a small 6 week old sow to a group of adults including a 2 year old neutered boar. He did want to climb on her several times but she was just too quick and nimble for him.
 
Hetja said:
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Size doesn’t matter. My little girl was just 150g when I bonded her to the rest of the herd. (2 adult females 3 adult neutered males and 3 babies including her) Plus 2 rabbits.
Click to expand...

Hi, sorry to question, but how long have your herd been together? Three males with sows is usually a recipe for fights, so I'd be fascinated if you've managed to make it work.
Rabbits shouldn't be kept with piggies as they can carry diseases that are harmful to the piggies, and can accidentally injure or kill them. It used to be the done thing, but guidance has moved on.
Sorry, I'm not meaning to be offensive, just really interested in your post and how the dynamic works.
 
Reenie said:
Hi, sorry to question, but how long have your herd been together? Three males with sows is usually a recipe for fights, so I'd be fascinated if you've managed to make it work.
Rabbits shouldn't be kept with piggies as they can carry diseases that are harmful to the piggies, and can accidentally injure or kill them. It used to be the done thing, but guidance has moved on.
Sorry, I'm not meaning to be offensive, just really interested in your post and how the dynamic works.
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This is now some years ago. They lived together like this for quite a long time. The males were all very gentle and well socialized. Except for one little fight they never had a problem together. The males were early neutered (before the age of 4 weeks).
The rabbits were very gentle as well and the had enough space for both species (5-6 square meters during night, around 30 square meters during day)

I’m somehow into large mixed guinea pig groups and larger male groups. It really fascinates me to find out what it’s important to make them work.
Until now I can say the most important thing is that the males grow up in a mixed age group with at least one adult (1.5 years plus) and that they have enough space. Early neutering helps as well (under the age of four weeks) as they can stay with their family and learn from them.
 
Hetja said:
This is now some years ago. They lived together like this for quite a long time. The males were all very gentle and well socialized. Except for one little fight they never had a problem together. The males were early neutered (before the age of 4 weeks).
The rabbits were very gentle as well and the had enough space for both species (5-6 square meters during night, around 30 square meters during day)

I’m somehow into large mixed guinea pig groups and larger male groups. It really fascinates me to find out what it’s important to make them work.
Until now I can say the most important thing is that the males grow up in a mixed age group with at least one adult (1.5 years plus) and that they have enough space. Early neutering helps as well (under the age of four weeks) as they can stay with their family and learn from them.
Click to expand...
Amazing. Thanks for this. The early neutering seems to be the way ahead.
 
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