Help! My Guinea Pigs Can't Get Along.

[Isabelv]

So back in August, one out of two pigs died. The one left behind (Reese's) was lonely so we got another piggy. Some how we ended up with four. They had been getting along. but then all the sudden Winston started to chatter at Reese's. I will hear Reese's squeaking his heart out and go in my room to see Winston bullying him. Reese's has scabs and his ear was split open, he also has a big gash on his side. The pigs get fed, have a lot of free time, and have many toys too play with. I don't think it's because Winston is unhappy? I mean now Reese's won't come out and is always hiding. I've noticed that the other two are now starting to be butts. I have no idea what to do. I love them all to death but Reese's is my baby. It hurts hearing him squeak and hide when any other piggy comes around. Advice?

 

[Julie M]

Is it 4 boars you have together? As that combination rarely works especially if they're all similar ages. You would maybe be better splitting them into pairs.

 

[Janice C]

Please remove poor Reese if the other boar has actually drawn blood! Does he get on with either of the other boars? You could try 2 separate pairs as suggested. Reese is obviously frightened and needs to be given a safe area away from Winston. Advice here on the Forum about bonding boars which you would benefit from reading.

 

[Wiebke]

View attachment 72874 So back in August, one out of two pigs died. The one left behind (Reese's) was lonely so we got another piggy. Some how we ended up with four. They had been getting along. but then all the sudden Winston started to chatter at Reese's. I will hear Reese's squeaking his heart out and go in my room to see Winston bullying him. Reese's has scabs and his ear was split open, he also has a big gash on his side. The pigs get fed, have a lot of free time, and have many toys too play with. I don't think it's because Winston is unhappy? I mean now Reese's won't come out and is always hiding. I've noticed that the other two are now starting to be butts. I have no idea what to do. I love them all to death but Reese's is my baby. It hurts hearing him squeak and hide when any other piggy comes around. Advice?

Hi and welcome!

Sadly four young boars have a near 100% fall out rate once they hit the teenage months; boars work best in pairs or in larger groups with oodles of space, but all small groups have a very high fail rate, the higher, the more sub-adults are involved. If you followed somebody's advice, then you have sadly been badly advised.

Please try to split your boys into two working pairs if you can because otherwise you are most likely to end up with one pair and two singles in our long term experience. We've had the odd case where none of the four boars would go with any of the others.

Please take the time to read this guide here. It is very detailed and talks through all aspects of the teenage months and the problems that come with them.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Isabelv]

Please remove poor Reese if the other boar has actually drawn blood! Does he get on with either of the other boars? You could try 2 separate pairs as suggested. Reese is obviously frightened and needs to be given a safe area away from Winston. Advice here on the Forum about bonding boars which you would benefit from reading.

We have made a separate cage for Reese’s. The other two don’t really pick on him. It’s just Winston, he only picks on Reese’s. We ordered a bigger cage (we build the cages ourselves) so we can separate them into pairs.

 

[Wiebke]

We have made a separate cage for Reese’s. The other two don’t really pick on him. It’s just Winston, he only picks on Reese’s. We ordered a bigger cage (we build the cages ourselves) so we can separate them into pairs.

Please try work out which of the remaining boars would go best with Reese and which with Winston. iif you can, please do not keep Reese alone, but with one of remaining two boys in order to not break the bond. You are going to see some inevitable dominance behaviour as your boys establish a working hierarchy for their pairs, but this should not be turning into fights.