Help please! Grouping.

[Autumn2Gus]

We took in two unwanted ‘females’, but one is now hugely pregnant. So, we neutered the male last week. However, we’d like to keep ALL the babies (we’re not breeders & they might not get great homes elsewhere). Can male-brothers live in a mixed-group with their parents (and any sisters) if we neuter them too - or will they still fight when the females come into heat around them? I can’t get a straight answer and am worrying. We have plenty of space, a 2Oft run etc, but would like them all to share the two-story-home. (We know about keeping them separate until 6 weeks post neutering). BUT can they THEN live as a mixed group without fighting? We would not have chosen this & it’s £80 per neuter but would do it if it’d make a happy family. I really need help, formerly we’ve just had female piggies which was simple! Thank you for any answers.

 

[DM030819]

@Autumn2Gus I don't have experience with mixed groups but I know you need to keep the boars down to a minimum, ideally one boar to multiple sows. You'll need to have a few groups in you have more than one boar.

 

[Helen82]

You wouldn't be able to keep a mixed sex group with more than one male together, even if they are related. If all the babies are girls you could try and (re)introduce Dad to the females once he is safe to go back with them (don't know if the babies need to be a certain age/size for them to be able to cope with an adult male, hopefully someone else can advise). If you have one boy, once he is old/big enough (not sure how many weeks), you could try and keep him in a pair with Dad (and any girls with Mum). If you have two boys you could keep them in a pair, and put Dad back with Mum (and any girls) when safe. More than two boys and it starts getting complicated!

 

[Siikibam]

One thing you have to bear in mind is if you end up with a pair of boars, you have to keep them out of smelling distance of the sows else they may have a barney. Good luck with the pregnancy and births. Hope all goes smoothly.

 

[Wiebke]

We took in two unwanted ‘females’, but one is now hugely pregnant. So, we neutered the male last week. However, we’d like to keep ALL the babies (we’re not breeders & they might not get great homes elsewhere). Can male-brothers live in a mixed-group with their parents (and any sisters) if we neuter them too - or will they still fight when the females come into heat around them? I can’t get a straight answer and am worrying. We have plenty of space, a 2Oft run etc, but would like them all to share the two-story-home. (We know about keeping them separate until 6 weeks post neutering). BUT can they THEN live as a mixed group without fighting? We would not have chosen this & it’s £80 per neuter but would do it if it’d make a happy family. I really need help, formerly we’ve just had female piggies which was simple! Thank you for any answers.

Hi!

Sadly the rule is one neutered boar per sow group. Guinea pigs do not live in human-style families but in core group of sows who associate with a boar of their choice. The other bachelor boars are hanging around the colony and are waiting for their chance to attract their own sows.

You will have to pair up any baby boys; if you have an odd number then the leftover boy can live with dad in a pair.
But at first you can place all baby boys with dad when they are old enough to leave their mother. This is a huge bonus as it means that your boys have a guide and guardian to socialise and teach them during the formative weeks between weaning and the hormonal teenage months. It also gives you the opportunity to work out who pairs up best with who so you hopefully end up with stable boar pairs that can make it together through the tricky teenage months. Having dad as nursery nurse and joker for any boys means that you will have a lot less headache and heartache than those members that end up with a single baby boy from an unplanned pregnancy and nopig to take him on.
Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

Please remove dad; mother will come into season within hours of giving birth and - neutered or not - he will chase her through the cage and even straight over the babies. He will also not be fully safe to be around sows until he is 6 weeks post-op, as the little baby in my avatar is still living proof of. She is the daughter of a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post-op boar and not the only case that I have heard of. Tegan is now a very old lady at 7 1/2 years.
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts

Please open an ongoing support thread in your specially monitored pregnancy section (which is only visible once you have joined and have signed our specific no intentional breeding rules. Take the time to read our comprehensive advice, which covers the whole period from pregnancy through birth and mother/baby care until sexing and when to separate. You should find it very helpful, especially the crucial diet advice with which you control the birthing risks that you can influence in your favour and protect your mother piggy's own bodily reserves.
Here is the direct link to the pregnancy section: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/pregnancy-baby-care-and-sexing-no-breeding.11/
When you click on this link here, you can access our advice: Pregnancy & Baby Care Guide's

You may also find our new owners guide collection very helpful as we cover all the areas we get the most questions and worries from new owners about and have added some information to minimise issues with preventable problems in the long term. We even have included piggy whispering tips!
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides