Free Ranger
Adult Guinea Pig
I think one of my sows might be gay and if this is right I'd appreciate advice from anyone who has tried keeping a boar next to a 'boar/sow' pair. This is not something I'd ever try because I can't imagine it working? Maybe I'm wrong? And have any of you crazy people ever tried two boars and a sow in a bonding pen? Surely not...
I know this sounds a bit comical and I might be nuts, but I'm trying to find a way through for these pigs' happiness - after all they'll only get a few more years. It's not just that mum thing where if she doesn't love my George she must bat for the other team. And if you feel that I'm overthinking this do let me know!
So, gentle George waited two months for me to locate a pair of girls and eventually we found Zara and Louise. Plan A: successful bonding and all in together, Plan B: not successful but they can live as thru-the-bars neighbours, George will feel secure in his territory and the girls will be company for each other. I didn't have a plan C. George is a reserved character and getting older - he's previously been fine to let a sow be top-pig so I wasn't prepared for what's happening. The only way I could explain it is if Zara were more of a Zane..?
Introduction: Neighbouring runs for 4 days. Initial signs were positive. George did a bit of rumblestrutting at the bars and the girls watched. Zara (dominant) would stand right next to the bars where he was but didn't say anything. Shy Louise peeped at him from the hidey house. After his morning rumblestrut George popcorned little circles of happiness. I was hopeful.
Bonding pen: George more nervous but the upshot after 3 or 4 hours was that he and Louise would love to be friends but Zara wouldn't have any truck with him at all. She spent a little while circling and sizing him up but then started to get more and more aggressive and the thing which triggered it every time was if he tried to go towards (or even look towards) Louise or Louise tried to approach him. She was more than protective, she was downright possessive. In the end she was full-on attacking, never mind 'showing' dominance; trying to mount him or chinning - it was sideways stalking, puff-up-to-your-biggest and get stuck in till George ran squealing in circles and she still wouldn't quit. He tried backing off, submission squealing, a couple of times they ended up rolling round in a ball (no injuries but she was nipping) and then I broke it up because there was no coming back from that.
New cages: So we were sad for George who had waited so long (and Louise who had taken a shine to him) but we put them in neighbouring cages so they could interact and have contact through the bars. The next 24 hours saw Zara mounting Louise all over the place (and Louise getting pretty cheesed off about it) but eventually it calmed down. Zara pees all along the bar-boundary between her and George. He hid for the next two days but started coming out a bit to eat. He didn't chew at the bars at all though.
We give them grass in the most open bit of the run so they can eat as a group (still separated by bars). Zara has started to literally crack her teeth while eating and staring at George (vet says teeth are fine)... sometimes she just turns her back. She doesn't crack her teeth eating hay, veg or pellets but she's not in the group area then.
If Louise goes to the group area during the day Zara rumbles at her... if Louise tries to pause near the boundary or see George Zara rumbles out and chases her back inside. If George goes out and sees Zara at the group area he rumbles while eating. Sometimes at a distance they both start rumbling but don't approach directly. If Louise and Zara are bopping about and Zara spots George peeping from his hidey she rumbles Louise back in straight away and then rumbles all over her territory.
As well as the group area there is also a 'window' in George's cage - I use the plastic tray cages but with holes cut in the side for doors and one of these faces the girl's bit so we gridded it off - but they can still see each other through this. I thought they would enjoy feeling connected while they lived apart. I can tell (from his poop pile) that George spends a lot of time hiding in his cave inside the cage facing the window on the opposite side. I filmed what was happening when I wasn't there. If I'm not in the kitchen it seems Zara stakes herself out up against the window and basically stares at George in his cave - just stares at him. The only time she moved was to bustle Louise back in after she came out for a walk round!
I took them to the vet today for a check over and also a chat about these behaviours. The girls are healthy with no signs of cysts which might affect hormones etc. It seems Zara just behaves in a more boar-like way and is very possessive of Louise. If Zara is the guinea-pig version of gay then Louise isn't, but she's bonded with Zara, they are close and she's not so meek that a backwards kick or spray of wee doesn't curb Zara's dominance. I also watched when Zara sat washing herself and Louise came up and pressed her cheek to Zara's then Zara also washed her face and cleaned her ear which was very touching. So the girls are staying together - definitely.
While I was out at the vets hubs came down for lunch and George came out and was unexpectedly vocal which makes me concerned that he's feeling a bit oppressed when the girls are there. When I returned I could see him laying in the snuggle tunnel with his foot out - extremely rare for George. Then he hid for 10 minutes while the girls were put 'away' but then I heard him 'talking' in a very excited way. Zara (who'd been awake for hours) had gone for a sleep and Louise (who'd slept all the way home) was finally wombling free. George had his nose right up in the air sniff, sniff, sniffing and he sounded so pleased she was back.
The vet is of the opinion that there is clearly tension between George and Zara... she sees him as a rival for Louise - he probably doesn't know what the heck is going on. Zara won the dominance battle and may just be using these behaviours temporarily to make sure he knows it - or they may persist if she feels George's presence as a constant threat. I'm going to monitor closely over the holidays and make a few tweaks - like blocking the window - raising the barrier bars a bit to try and emphasise the two territories. I'm also going to keep Blue Cross (Burford) up-to-date, because....
My dilemma is - obviously - do I keep these girls? George is approaching 4 and I wouldn't like to imagine his vulnerable final years hiding from Miss Whiplash. Similarly, Zara has 'her' girl and would she be happier in a home that didn't have a boar-next-door. Louise is, frankly, very easy going. Blue Cross would monitor the rehoming and although I'd worry about them I know they'd be in good hands - they're very cute - they'd have their pick. I've really not got space for 4 pigs but I did ask the vet about whether another sow 'for' George would ease the situation but she said if Zara is boar-like this would only increase their problems as George would fret about his wife and Zara would get wound-up about not being able to get at the new arrival. I mean, bl**dy hell, after 15 pigs you'd think you'd seen it all!
So I'm giving all this a while to marinade and see where we end up in terms of pig happiness and my sanity. It's not a crisis, nobody's ripping ears off, and there's no rush but do you know I never saw this coming.
Thanks for letting me vent, guinea-people. All opinions gratefully recieved, especially if you've any experience of a similar situation.
I know this sounds a bit comical and I might be nuts, but I'm trying to find a way through for these pigs' happiness - after all they'll only get a few more years. It's not just that mum thing where if she doesn't love my George she must bat for the other team. And if you feel that I'm overthinking this do let me know!
So, gentle George waited two months for me to locate a pair of girls and eventually we found Zara and Louise. Plan A: successful bonding and all in together, Plan B: not successful but they can live as thru-the-bars neighbours, George will feel secure in his territory and the girls will be company for each other. I didn't have a plan C. George is a reserved character and getting older - he's previously been fine to let a sow be top-pig so I wasn't prepared for what's happening. The only way I could explain it is if Zara were more of a Zane..?
Introduction: Neighbouring runs for 4 days. Initial signs were positive. George did a bit of rumblestrutting at the bars and the girls watched. Zara (dominant) would stand right next to the bars where he was but didn't say anything. Shy Louise peeped at him from the hidey house. After his morning rumblestrut George popcorned little circles of happiness. I was hopeful.
Bonding pen: George more nervous but the upshot after 3 or 4 hours was that he and Louise would love to be friends but Zara wouldn't have any truck with him at all. She spent a little while circling and sizing him up but then started to get more and more aggressive and the thing which triggered it every time was if he tried to go towards (or even look towards) Louise or Louise tried to approach him. She was more than protective, she was downright possessive. In the end she was full-on attacking, never mind 'showing' dominance; trying to mount him or chinning - it was sideways stalking, puff-up-to-your-biggest and get stuck in till George ran squealing in circles and she still wouldn't quit. He tried backing off, submission squealing, a couple of times they ended up rolling round in a ball (no injuries but she was nipping) and then I broke it up because there was no coming back from that.
New cages: So we were sad for George who had waited so long (and Louise who had taken a shine to him) but we put them in neighbouring cages so they could interact and have contact through the bars. The next 24 hours saw Zara mounting Louise all over the place (and Louise getting pretty cheesed off about it) but eventually it calmed down. Zara pees all along the bar-boundary between her and George. He hid for the next two days but started coming out a bit to eat. He didn't chew at the bars at all though.
We give them grass in the most open bit of the run so they can eat as a group (still separated by bars). Zara has started to literally crack her teeth while eating and staring at George (vet says teeth are fine)... sometimes she just turns her back. She doesn't crack her teeth eating hay, veg or pellets but she's not in the group area then.
If Louise goes to the group area during the day Zara rumbles at her... if Louise tries to pause near the boundary or see George Zara rumbles out and chases her back inside. If George goes out and sees Zara at the group area he rumbles while eating. Sometimes at a distance they both start rumbling but don't approach directly. If Louise and Zara are bopping about and Zara spots George peeping from his hidey she rumbles Louise back in straight away and then rumbles all over her territory.
As well as the group area there is also a 'window' in George's cage - I use the plastic tray cages but with holes cut in the side for doors and one of these faces the girl's bit so we gridded it off - but they can still see each other through this. I thought they would enjoy feeling connected while they lived apart. I can tell (from his poop pile) that George spends a lot of time hiding in his cave inside the cage facing the window on the opposite side. I filmed what was happening when I wasn't there. If I'm not in the kitchen it seems Zara stakes herself out up against the window and basically stares at George in his cave - just stares at him. The only time she moved was to bustle Louise back in after she came out for a walk round!
I took them to the vet today for a check over and also a chat about these behaviours. The girls are healthy with no signs of cysts which might affect hormones etc. It seems Zara just behaves in a more boar-like way and is very possessive of Louise. If Zara is the guinea-pig version of gay then Louise isn't, but she's bonded with Zara, they are close and she's not so meek that a backwards kick or spray of wee doesn't curb Zara's dominance. I also watched when Zara sat washing herself and Louise came up and pressed her cheek to Zara's then Zara also washed her face and cleaned her ear which was very touching. So the girls are staying together - definitely.
While I was out at the vets hubs came down for lunch and George came out and was unexpectedly vocal which makes me concerned that he's feeling a bit oppressed when the girls are there. When I returned I could see him laying in the snuggle tunnel with his foot out - extremely rare for George. Then he hid for 10 minutes while the girls were put 'away' but then I heard him 'talking' in a very excited way. Zara (who'd been awake for hours) had gone for a sleep and Louise (who'd slept all the way home) was finally wombling free. George had his nose right up in the air sniff, sniff, sniffing and he sounded so pleased she was back.
The vet is of the opinion that there is clearly tension between George and Zara... she sees him as a rival for Louise - he probably doesn't know what the heck is going on. Zara won the dominance battle and may just be using these behaviours temporarily to make sure he knows it - or they may persist if she feels George's presence as a constant threat. I'm going to monitor closely over the holidays and make a few tweaks - like blocking the window - raising the barrier bars a bit to try and emphasise the two territories. I'm also going to keep Blue Cross (Burford) up-to-date, because....
My dilemma is - obviously - do I keep these girls? George is approaching 4 and I wouldn't like to imagine his vulnerable final years hiding from Miss Whiplash. Similarly, Zara has 'her' girl and would she be happier in a home that didn't have a boar-next-door. Louise is, frankly, very easy going. Blue Cross would monitor the rehoming and although I'd worry about them I know they'd be in good hands - they're very cute - they'd have their pick. I've really not got space for 4 pigs but I did ask the vet about whether another sow 'for' George would ease the situation but she said if Zara is boar-like this would only increase their problems as George would fret about his wife and Zara would get wound-up about not being able to get at the new arrival. I mean, bl**dy hell, after 15 pigs you'd think you'd seen it all!
So I'm giving all this a while to marinade and see where we end up in terms of pig happiness and my sanity. It's not a crisis, nobody's ripping ears off, and there's no rush but do you know I never saw this coming.
Thanks for letting me vent, guinea-people. All opinions gratefully recieved, especially if you've any experience of a similar situation.
