Help and advice needed.....

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Katie1504

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Hello all, I am after some advice. I have 5 pigs 2 male and 3 female living outside seperated. They have a massive hutch the boys live on the top and the girls on the bottom. I went to my local pet shop today with my sister to get some fish and there was a really cute piggy on its own in a cage and I felt really sorry for it. i asked the owner what he was like and he said he was really friendly and just wanted to play. I would like to go and get him tomorrow to give him a new home with some friends to play with. I would like to put him with my other two boys but because I have never introduced pigs before (all mine I have bought from the same batch before) I am not sure how to go about it. My 2 at the moment are about 10 months old and the onel I am wanting to get is about 6/7 months old and vey cute. Any advice would be brill!! Thanks Katie x
 
My advice to you would be don't get the new male guinea pig. Trios of male guinea pigs very rarely work, more often than not you end up with them all fighting and falling out and then they must be separated. Worst case scenario is you have 3 guinea pigs that all need to be on their own for a while until new partners can be found. Plus given the age of the new guinea pig he is likely to still be quite hormonal as he grows up and that makes it more difficult. Him being friendly to people and friendly to other guinea pigs are two very different things. One of my boys is very friendly to me but will pick a fight with any other male within minutes of being introduced.

If your two male guinea pigs are happy living with each other at the moment it is best not to upset them. As nice as your intentions are I feel it would be unwise to try and introduce them to another guinea pig as it is likely to cause issues between them.

Larger herds of females are usually okay and you can have one neutered male to a larger group of females but in my opinion boys are best kept in pairs and pairs only. I know of a few people who have had trios work out but 99% of the time it's a recipe for disaster.
 
Hi there :)
Unfortunately I would not reccomend you making your current pair of boys into a trio, boar trios rarely work. In pairs you often have a more dominant one and the other will accept the other as 'boss' but this seems to get challenged 3 ways in a trio and often ends up with an outsider. Occaisonally it can work but very rare. I haven't seen a successful trio in a really long time. Plus there is the risk that the new one could upset the bond between your current 2 and you'll end up with 3 lone pigs when they all fall out.

By all means get him and then get him a friend if you have the space or can afford to buy another hutch.
Otherwise I would stick with what you have :)
 
Thanks for the advice. I may end up with another hutch then. He looked so lonley and I don't think I can leave him there. I really should avoid pet shops. :)
 
I'd agree not to try to bond three boars. But if you get another cage, you could take him boar dating with one of the rescues and rescue another boar as well. That would be a fab outcome for all concerned - if you have space!
 
Hi just to say I have had trios before and unless they are girlies it doesn't work!

All of my boy trios I have had to separate having one spayed and getting him a girlfriend.

I would say that in the not too distant future you are going to have to have one spayed and get a girl. So I would tackle that hurdle first.

Good luck whatever you do.
 
I think this will be what I end up doing. However I need to talk my other half round as I also have a rabbit and 2 hamsters so I dont think he will be very impressed! :)I think my day off tomorrow will be lots of fun! :)
 
Hey join the club I have 14 piggies
4 buns
2 cats and a dog :(|)

It's the curse of loving animals x)
 
Update

So I have slept on in and talked the other half into it and I am going this morning to buy another hutch so that I can put the bunny outside and give everything more room. I am also going getting the cute piggy later... I was thinking of just putting his straigh on his own and looking for another piggy for him. Do you think it would be worth trying to introduce them at all or is it best to leave it all together. I will still have the room to put him on his own if needed.
 
I wouldn't introduce them, if it upsets your current pigs then their is a bond you may not be able to mend once broken, best to play it safe and settle him in then take him boar dating :)
 
Unfortunately, pet shops rely on the cute 'awwww' factor to sell their animals.
By buying one you are just freeing up a space for a dodgy breeder to fill again.
It really is hard to turn your back on a lonely guinea, but you would be better going to a rescue to adopt if you want anonther pet of any kind. :(
 
He is adopted. My pet shop has an adoption section and they re home small pets taken to them. My first ones were from pets at home and they were really poorly so I wouldn't buy them from their anyway. As far as I know he was a Christmas pressi that has since been forgotten about so I feel like I am doing some good. =D he has settled in to his new home and likes to run around and play loads.
 
Hi Katie well done :))

This is just my experience but a few years back I had 2 lovely piggies and was given another 1 I spent 6 wks introducing them until they were in the same hutch with mesh between to separate them and gradually in the same hutch with out the divide. All seemed great until one night when I went to bed and heard a squeak I didn't think anything of it until them morning when my favourite (yes I know I should have a favourite one) piggy was dead in the hutch. :0 I never forgave myself and still don't. That is why if there is any sign at all of my trios not working I don't bother with trying boys together I take the most stroppy one away and neuter him and let him choose a girlfriend from a rescue. I now have:-
3 girls with a neutered boy
2 x boy/girl
3 x boy/boy

It's extra cage/hutch to furnish out and clean but they are happy and safe so it's worth it to me.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. xx
 
2nd update

Unwanted to update everyone after all the fantastic advice. I was so pleased and it was my first post.

I fetched piggy home yesterday and got him settled in i didn't introduce him to the other two. Instead i got another piggy. =D. They are both of a similar age and i introduced them this morning. They got on really well and were licking each other through the bars and talking to each other. So under extreamly close supervision i decided to try them together. They are together cuddled up next to each other and playing with each other. I decided to then put them together in their new home together as neither of them have been in it yet. I left the for half an hour and i have gone back to them and they are fast asleep together. I am so pleased that they get on as all i wanted to do was give the first one a friend! Of course i will continue to supervise for a while but i am really pleased.

I am just not sure what breed they are. One (the white on) has really short but rough fur and the other one has short fur growing in all directions!

Thanks again to everyone!
 
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