Getting more Guineas - pros & cons

[Jasmined]

Hi,

First time posting so sorry if I’ve put the post in the wrong place etc!

I’ve got 2 girls, very happy & healthy. I’ve had guineas since a child and very used to their care, this time around owning GPs as an adult without a parent basically overlooking the whole situation & I can’t believe how different advice is now for caring for them & feel so bad for little things I missed as an owner back in the day. However girls now are living their best life (IMO!)

Anyway, I’ve been debating for about a year now as to whether to get 2 more girls. I’d love a whole heard if I had the space! I have the means etc to look after 4 very well but what’s holding me back is any impact it might have on my 2 girls I currently haves well-being.

Does anyone have any advice/thoughts on pros & cons of having more guineas? Will it upset my girls in the long run?
I’ve looked into what I should do whilst introducing them so all clear on that I just basically want too know from other people’s experiences if they regretted getting more?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,

First time posting so sorry if I’ve put the post in the wrong place etc!

I’ve got 2 girls, very happy & healthy. I’ve had guineas since a child and very used to their care, this time around owning GPs as an adult without a parent basically overlooking the whole situation & I can’t believe how different advice is now for caring for them & feel so bad for little things I missed as an owner back in the day. However girls now are living their best life (IMO!)

Anyway, I’ve been debating for about a year now as to whether to get 2 more girls. I’d love a whole heard if I had the space! I have the means etc to look after 4 very well but what’s holding me back is any impact it might have on my 2 girls I currently haves well-being.

Does anyone have any advice/thoughts on pros & cons of having more guineas? Will it upset my girls in the long run?
I’ve looked into what I should do whilst introducing them so all clear on that I just basically want too know from other people’s experiences if they regretted getting more?

Hi and welcome

It is great that you are doing your research and are putting your girls' interests and welfare before your own desires!

Since you are not under any time pressure, it would be good if you researched rescue dating a good welfare standard and practice guinea pig rescue that offers a bonding service.

You can think about either a neutered boar of any age (we call neutered boars living with sows 'husboars'), two sub-adult sows or mixed sow/husboar pair under expert supervision so you come home with a trio or quartet only if success has happened and you have the rescue to fall back on if the bond is getting into trouble at any time.
Personally I am a great fan of 'husboars' as - once they pass the initial acceptance hurdle - fall-outs are extremely rare and while they are part of the group hierarchy, they do not interfere with the relationship between your two girls. It is an option you haven't yet considered but that you may want to research since there are always more boars in rescue than sows; often single ones. A growing number of rescues is now adopting a neutering policy for these boars.

Far more important than age or gender is mutual liking and personality compatibility for any piggy bond - and that is something you cannot achieve when you get companions on spec. I have so often seen a bond that has been perfect on paper fall flat within a few minutes of the piggies coming face to face.
Ideally you are looking for piggies that cannot challenge your existing girls on dominance and threaten their ranking in the hierarchy

If you cannot access one of our carefully vetted recommended rescues and have to do the bonding yourself, always make sure that you have got a plan B in case the piggies decide that they are not getting. there is no magic wand measure that can make piggies like each other, as little as their is one for humans in an arranged marriage or in a small shared office - and I can guarantee you that they are every bit as complex as humans, and so is their social life!

Unfortunately rescue dating is currently not available in most places during strict lockdown conditions (non-essential travel restrictions and safety/social distancing concerns) but it may worth contacting all rescues that you get can get to.

Here is more information:
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

 

[Jasmined]

Thank you for the advice! I’ll have a read through those links too