Finding a new friend for my bereaved pig

[katienelmes]

Hi all,

Hoping I can get some advice as to how to help our pig, Albert.

He lived with his brother all his life (he is 4) until he sadly and suddenly passed away two weeks ago.

Albert does seem sad and a bit lethargic following the passing of his brother, so we are exploring the idea of getting him a new friend.

We have enlisted the help of a friend who runs a guinea pig boarding home/rescue centre who has tried dating him for us over the last week. She has gently and carefully tried him with two different pigs, one of which quickly ended sourly (Albert trying to attack the other) and the other sadly didn't work out either. Albert is very stubborn and doesn't want to let anybody else into his personal space.

We are at a bit of a loss as to how to help him now. Unfortunately he is not neutered so unable to be dated with a sow. We are torn between:
- trying to get him neutered and dating with a sow (a bit worried about this as he is not a spring chicken at 4)
- getting him a friend and segregating their cage so they can see eachother but not fight (it is a c and c cage) but unsure if this will make for multiple unhappy pigs?
- leaving him on his own with lots of love and attention from humans


Any help is appreciated!

Thank you, Katie

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Hi, I would see what other rescue centres are in your area or further afield that you are able to travel to and offer a bonding service. Some piggies take longer to find their perfect match than others.

 

[Bill & Ted]

So sorry you are having a rough time bonding Albert x
Did your friend use a neutral space for bonding and not put them in his cage. I would definitely go at rescues you can get to which offer boar bonding. I know how difficult it is when we tried to find a new friend for my old boar Ted in Covid. Good luck

 

[katienelmes]

So sorry you are having a rough time bonding Albert x
Did your friend use a neutral space for bonding and not put them in his cage. I would definitely go at rescues you can get to which offer boar bonding. I know how difficult it is when we tried to find a new friend for my old boar Ted in Covid. Good luck

Thank you, yes completely neutral both times. Fingers crossed we can find him a compatible friend.

 

[Merab]

When my boar Titus lost his brother we decided to get him neutered so we could match him with a sow.
It did mean a few more weeks of living alone but worked very well when he gained 2 wives.

 

[Two_Wheeks]

How old are the boys he is being tried with?

It took our Keith and his new friend Kingsley a few weeks to be totally happy with each other - though I assume the bondings have failed because of obvious aggression and not just dominance battles?

When we lost Higgins we paired our boy Gibson (then four) with a baby (literally weeks old) and it went really well, so if you are happy to commit to a cycle then perhaps see if you can access a baby boy anywhere? (Said baby is Keith, who now weighs almost 1.7kg! He is not as enamoured of Kingsley as he was Gibson, but it's company..!)