I have been researching lately about herds and bonding etc...I have boars and what I mainly seem to be met with is this....
You can't keep more than 2 boars together
Trios of boars never work out
If you have more than 2 they will fight
No rescue will let me rehome any more boars because they say they can't be together
Now I understand this may be the case for some but I really don't think it's the rule...here's why...
Go take a look on YouTube for a channel called MY CRAZY GUINEA PIG FAMILY
and that's not just it there are quite a few channels on there with people who keep multiple boars together in a herd and they all get along fine
I say if you introduce them properly and they all get along then why not?I mean shows can fall out and fight just as much as boars right?
Just me putting my thoughts down in writing lol
What do you guys think?
Hi!
Boars work in larger bachelor groups (minimum 5-6 but preferably more), provided that they have plenty of space (and I mean half to a full large room) to be able to get away from each other and have their own patch to hang out and to get away from a challenger if needed. Oodles of space is a requisite so boars can divorce themselves and choose to have their own separate territory if they don't suit.
Most bloody boar fights happen because the loser cannot just move away as they are wired to do; in addition to the fact that pet shop and breeder babies are generally chosen for their looks and not for being friends and hanging out together... It is sadly a myth that litter brothers won't fight - we have certainly plenty of evidence of that on here!
However, you have to be aware that personality clashes and bullying can still happen as group relations are a dynamic and not a static process. Illness and normal ageing will impact on the hierarchy, so you'll also need a couple of spare pens/hospital cages. You need to build up a group around one dominant leader boar as hierarchy challenges and changes to the existing hierarchy can easily upturn the apple cart. A range of ages is also desirable. The more boys are going through the teenage months together at any time, the greater the potential of clashes due to strong testosterone spikes.
Please be aware that small groups, especially same age baby trios and quartets are the most instable of combinations in any but the oldies (whose testosterone output has fizzled out) or in disabled/carer set-ups with different dynamics. While there are examples to the contrary, the vast majority of these combinations in a traditional cage or hutch set-up fails sooner rather than later because small groups very much depend on the character balance and the dynamics between them. In larger groups a herd mentality takes over although you will find that subgroups of like-minded boars will form by their own choice.
This is also the reason why rescues refuse to rehome to places that want to keep boars in group - a large bulk of their boar intakes are from fallen-out/failed couples, trios or quartets - and the last thing they want to do is risk them ending up in the same situation again. If rescues come across a stable working trio, the good ones will usually keep it together; but these trios are far and few in between!
The same goes for more than one neutered boar with a group of sows - it can work in a herd setting with enough space to get away and form sub-groups but it generally doesn't work in a normal cage setting.
Exceptions to every rule happen - but they are a small minority and never something that you can bank on working for you without fail. If you want a certain set-up, finding the right personalities and having plenty of accommodation for those inevitable piggies that don't work out is key. People have generally not set out to create a large group, but they have ended up with one where personalities and circumstances have lent themselves to a certain combination.
I have at some point of time run a large group of up to 13 sows with one dominant neutered boar for nearly 5 years (gradually and carefully built up especially in the early stages) and through two generations (including two patriarchs and First Ladies) before I had to split it in two due to dynamics taking a turn for the worse. My experience is echoed by that of other members with larger groups - and that is for one of the more stable and easier to achieve scenarios! ("Easier" being very relative concept - it has still cost me a lot of sleepless nights and extra groups for piggies that never or no longer fit in with the large group.)
Keep in mind that the wild ancestor species (cavia aperea) of our domestic guinea pigs (cavia porcellus) lives in a number of small groups settling close to each other but forming a herd to go to their feeding grounds twice daily at dawn and at dusk to have protection in numbers. Boars living with generally 1-3 sows are fiercely territorial. Bachelor boars hang around on the outskirts, hoping to attract their own sow or sows to found their own sub-group. While the domestic farm species (which we know as our pet piggies, which has been bred out from wild guinea pigs ca. 3000-6000 years ago) has undergone some changes in terms of territorial needs, enough of these instincts remain; but the dichotomy between overgroup cohesion and sub-group behaviour means that things are not as striaght forward and as easy as they may seem and it is the reason why some combinations are much more likely to fail than others.
You also have to keep in mind that neutering boars or spaying sows doesn't change any of their social instincts or behaviours; the same rules still apply. A spayed sow may no longer come into season, but she is still functioning and behaving socially as a sow and is still emitting sow pheromones the same as neutered boars are still pumping out testosterone in their pee (and can stink up a room very nicely when they get overexcited) and are still emitting boar pheromones.
I hope that helps you understand the issue and the challenges involved better?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (see chapter four)
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview
