Guinea pig is a bully

J

JennaG

New Born Pup
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Hello, I posted last week about a female bonding that wasn’t going well (total fail). I’m now wondering if my piggy just needs to be alone. She is about 3.5 years old and lost her friend (whom she’d been with since they were babies) a few weeks ago (she didn’t seem that bothered). We got a gorgeous rescue female of around the same age to be her friend and that didn’t work out due to my piggy being utterly vile to her. We’ve now got a rescue baby who’s only 7 weeks old and needs some love. She’s no threat at all and just wants company but my piggy is being mean to her as well ☹️ She hasn’t attacked her but she chases her sometimes and turfs her out of hideys and won’t let the baby snuggle with her. I guess the snuggling’s a personal space thing, but she’s just generally unkind, albeit she’s tolerating having the little one with her. My concern is that the baby is being bullied and may not be getting what she needs and I’m wondering if our original piggy might prefer to be alone. We’ve all fallen in love with the baby and are desperate to keep her, but we need to consider what’s right for her. Any thoughts on this?
 
It sounds like normal dominance behaviour to me but I'm no expert with sows. A lot of guinea pigs don't snuggle together although it's lovely to see when they do.

Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

There is lots of information on behaviour in the above guides which should help you decide if the baby is being bullied.
 
:agr:

It also sounds like normal dominance to me also, not bullying. As the dominant piggy will have the pick of the best hides, being chased out of then is part and parcel of being the submissive.
The fact they don’t snuggle isn’t concerning - most piggies will not snuggle up with each other.

Make sure all your hides have two exits and that there is multiple of every item. Make sure there are two, if not, three hay piles at opposite ends of the cage.
Make sure to weigh them both weekly as part of routine care. A bullied pig will often lose weight through jot
 
Most pigs aren't snugglers and getting to kick a subservient pig out of the good hideys is kind of the best part of being a boss pig! Honestly, this sounds like pretty normal dominance behavior. I've had several pairs of pigs who are clearly bonded and get along fine and only really see them snuggle and share hideys if something is scaring them (my current pair will only share the best hidey if someone is vacuuming! They are not fond of the noise!) I would give them some more time here.
 
It sounds like normal dominance to me too. I recommend reading the bonds in trouble guide in the links you were sent to double check. Some of their behaviours look awful to us but it's normal for them.
 
Thanks so much everyone for your replies. It’s reassuring that this is considered normal dominant behaviour! It does seem awful to me as the baby is so little and vulnerable and my older one is such a chunk and she’s being so mean, just because she can! Hopefully they’ll settle down together and become good friends 🤞
 
They clearly don't find it as distressing as we do because on several occasions I have witnessed Mischievous Master Boris giving his very loud, (he's such a drama pig 🙄) submissive squeal while dolloped in utterly relaxed repose. Sometimes he doesn't even open his eyes to do it!
 
My 2 young sisters are going through this very phase at the moment. One is very dominant and the moment she’s awake she’s on the prowl looking to throw her weight about. The other sees/senses her coming and squeals even though she’s nowhere near. Then it intensifies when the little bossy boots gets close to her and the submissive then makes a hugely over dramatic flee for her life squealing all the way despite there being no real threat. It’s not pleasant to witness and I’m expecting it to settle over the coming months as the teenage hormones subside. But there’s no malice. It’s just piggy social hierarchy behaviour.
 
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