Hello everyone! This process has become more complex than expected so I thought I'd document it here.
A few weeks ago I lost my beloved Sweetpea. As I talk about here
Due to her passing I now am left with a single female guinea called Fern. She's roughly 1 + 1/2 - 2 years old. She's a absolute sweetie, started off incredibly scared of people, wouldn't let me touch her, but somehow during Sweetpea's sickness, something clicked and she realised I wasn't a threat. She started letting me pet her in the cage and now routinely walks up to me for cuddles, and popcorns when I approach the cage / spot clean her and will happily have some lap time.
She is doing remarkably well without a friend, but obviously she still needs one. Before Christmas I returned to the wonderful rescue she came from and we tried a bond with a sweet young mum and her daughter. They were really gorgeous! But unfortunately things were very touch and go, and the dominance displays from the pair towards Fern weren't really decreasing as time went on, with alot of chasing and awkward moments. I did feel 50/50 on it as giving them back felt awful but at one point they cornered Fern and it got too tense to keep them together. There was no 'fight' but it was too tense for my liking. It was a shame as there were plenty of moments where they could co-exist fine and even sharing the food bowl all together (why do I bother putting 2 in?) but sadly it wasn't meant to be.
Both mum and baby + Fern looked much more relaxed once they were separated so they probably were quite happy with my decision anyway!
We're looking to do another attempt in the new year, not sure with who yet but I'm excited to find out.
I do wonder if Fern's personality might make things difficult, she's incredibly non vocal, I only really hear her when she wheeks for food, I noticed in the time they spent together she would rarely rumble strut / make submissive noises or any noises at all to either of them which might be a bit peculiar, as in no vocalising in either direction be it dominant or submissive, does that mean she's not communicating where she stands? I noticed with Sweetpea they had more of a partnership than a hierarchy , Fern was the senior pig but hardly, she'd never rumble strut or move Sweetpea on from a resting place, so perhaps she's not dominant at all? Does anyone have experience with a pig who hardly ever 'speaks?'
Hopefully with the next pair they'll all get along a bit better. This is only my second experience of bonding and the previous time was when I initially got Sweetpea and Fern to keep my remaining single girl Prim happy, it was very peaceful. So I'm hoping next time will be more of a fit. I'll update this after the next bonding session with hopefully happy news, till then Fern will be spoiled and have me watching her like a hawk. Here's some pics of my girlie;
A few weeks ago I lost my beloved Sweetpea. As I talk about here
Due to her passing I now am left with a single female guinea called Fern. She's roughly 1 + 1/2 - 2 years old. She's a absolute sweetie, started off incredibly scared of people, wouldn't let me touch her, but somehow during Sweetpea's sickness, something clicked and she realised I wasn't a threat. She started letting me pet her in the cage and now routinely walks up to me for cuddles, and popcorns when I approach the cage / spot clean her and will happily have some lap time.
She is doing remarkably well without a friend, but obviously she still needs one. Before Christmas I returned to the wonderful rescue she came from and we tried a bond with a sweet young mum and her daughter. They were really gorgeous! But unfortunately things were very touch and go, and the dominance displays from the pair towards Fern weren't really decreasing as time went on, with alot of chasing and awkward moments. I did feel 50/50 on it as giving them back felt awful but at one point they cornered Fern and it got too tense to keep them together. There was no 'fight' but it was too tense for my liking. It was a shame as there were plenty of moments where they could co-exist fine and even sharing the food bowl all together (why do I bother putting 2 in?) but sadly it wasn't meant to be.
Both mum and baby + Fern looked much more relaxed once they were separated so they probably were quite happy with my decision anyway!
We're looking to do another attempt in the new year, not sure with who yet but I'm excited to find out.
I do wonder if Fern's personality might make things difficult, she's incredibly non vocal, I only really hear her when she wheeks for food, I noticed in the time they spent together she would rarely rumble strut / make submissive noises or any noises at all to either of them which might be a bit peculiar, as in no vocalising in either direction be it dominant or submissive, does that mean she's not communicating where she stands? I noticed with Sweetpea they had more of a partnership than a hierarchy , Fern was the senior pig but hardly, she'd never rumble strut or move Sweetpea on from a resting place, so perhaps she's not dominant at all? Does anyone have experience with a pig who hardly ever 'speaks?'
Hopefully with the next pair they'll all get along a bit better. This is only my second experience of bonding and the previous time was when I initially got Sweetpea and Fern to keep my remaining single girl Prim happy, it was very peaceful. So I'm hoping next time will be more of a fit. I'll update this after the next bonding session with hopefully happy news, till then Fern will be spoiled and have me watching her like a hawk. Here's some pics of my girlie;
brilliant news, I hope it continues with the new girls and Fern x
