females shyer?

grassypiggy

grassypiggy

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i'm getting my first girls from a rehomer soon, but to be honest, i was kind of hoping for boys because i've heard they are easier to tame. has anyone found girls harder to tame and bond with?
 
I have personally found that it just depends on the individual guinea pig.
I have had both calm and friendly males and females, so I am sure you will easily be able to bond with whatever piggies you get.

The real key is taking it slowly and being patient at the start and giving them time to settle.
 
I have 3 girls and the are all different personality wise. Meg is very shy and skittish and she was born here (shop pregnancy) so she has known me all her life. Velvet is a confident girl who hates being picked up but loves her cuddles and The Ever Beautiful Betsy is just gorgeous.
 
My two boars are very tame, but i have also had sows and they were tame too. It mainly depends on their character and occasionally how they have been previously treated, but even piggies from previous bad conditions can be tamed just as easily, personally counts mostly.
 
I think it honestly depends on their individual personalities. I have a pair of girls and a pair boys, and I'd have to say that my girls are a lot more friendlier and outgoing. They were wheeking at me within a week of getting them, they love running around my living room, whereas my boys hate even the mention of floor time and still just sit there frozen, but I also got the girls when they were a lot younger, and they're still babies.

I think, also, it's just about enjoying them for them, and not really having any set expectations or time limits. It certainly takes the pressure off!
 
thanks for the responses! and to Bill and Ted, i'm not sure about their previous condition besides that they lived with young kids and have a pretty sad looking cage :( so very good to know!
 
Depends on the pig really, background also.

Allow them to settle then start interacting with them, we start taming by trying to hand feed a few veggy treats in the cage by offering some nice veggies to the new piggy when they are in their hidey, hopefully they will take it off you as you hold it in for them... after a while try offering it a little further from the hidey so they edge out and take it from you.
Food is the best way to bribe, use food when you get round to lap times also. Start lap time for a short amount of time at first and build up. We started off we laptimes for 1 minute with new piggies then pop them back, slowly increasing the time. They will soon associate you with food and good things but at first it takes a while to gain their trust.
 
I think it depends more on the piggy than on the gender... I've only ever had sows and they have had a variety of personalities, from nervous to bold. All new guinea pigs are going to be nervous and skittish (it comes with being a prey animal) and you need to take things slow at first, but all my girls have been great pets and definitely not shy once they settled in.
 
I’ve had piggies of both sexes and I don’t think their gender determines friendliness - like humans, it’s just their individual personalities that determine that.
 
Food is definitely the key to piggie acceptance. Food, patience, love and care but you can enjoy their interactions and little personalities even if they are not that human centred x
 
I agree with the others it's down to pigsonality.
I've only ever had girls because when I researched mine all the books I could find (no Internet connection then) said girls were friendlier. Also they were easier to rebond after a loss.
A lot of members seem to have very snuggley boys, with humans & their boarfriends.
Most of my girls have been cuddlers though, Grace my big-pig cuddle monster & Dash would snuggle up & doze off regularly. Orca who I still have doesn't relish being picked up, but will waddle onto my arm, cuddle up, gently chatter with approval then doze off eyes closed :hug:

Girls seem generally easier to bond with others I've only had 2 in over 20yrs that had to be separated because of bullying /fighting.
I think boys are generally more difficult to bond initially, but possibly have a stronger bond afterwards.
But 2 boars together is the maximum recommended otherwise they're mostly going to fight!
A compatible group of sows, can be as big as their pigsonality's allow (ask @ Wiebke)!

Time, patience, TLC & food will all make whichever sex you end up with a more relaxed & friendlier to humans (don't tell Ruby @Swissgreys ).
Good luck with your new guineas. X
 
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I’ve had 12 pigs in my time, mostly girls with some boys scattered in here and there (currently on two boys) and I would second what everyone says about there being no real difference.

Also having had dogs and rats, I can tell you there is a definite difference between the sexes, but that’s something I have never noticed about pigs 🙂
 
thank you all for all the responses ! very helpful ! good to know there isn't a big difference. i did lots of rat research previously so i thought maybe pigs were the same way (big differences between genders). yes, i do plan of giving them lots of time to settle in a quiet, cool room that i don't frequent very much to avoid spooking them. then i will try some lap time. the one minute idea sounds perfect! ☺
 
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