Help! They wont stop fighting!

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hann65

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Hi everyone!
I have a massive problem i have had my 2 guineas for just over a week now. They are both boys and about 9weeks old. I have kept male pigs before so thought i was pretty good at it!
But
these two are from the same litter and for the first few days of having them they got on fine however now they have started fighting! I left them alone for a night when i returned there was blood on the cage n a nice big chunk of an ear missing. Fighting has not turned to this again more just warning signs and if it does start to get nasty i put them in a neutral territory or just plain seperate them. Ive tried cleaing the cage and all accessories and the piggies themselves to get rid of any scents! although it doesnt seem to have worked as one of them is still "rumbling" and doing his hips swing at the other, who then goes for him! When ever i try hold one they just cry =(

Can anybody offer me any advice on what to do for this? I really dont want to have to seperate them as i only live i a small flat and i want to me able to give them the best home possible!
Thanks guys x
 
HI and welcome!
From the sounds of it, you should really separate them. Once blood has been drawn it is unlikely you will get them to bond again.
Cage size can sometimes be an issue, for boars the bigger the better, two each of food bowls, water bottles, hidey houses etc

They are a little young to try bathing them together. Is it possible to divide the cage in half using a grid or something like that? that way they can still interact but each has their own territory.
 
Thanks!

Thank *!
I took your advice and bought 2 of everything. each has their own home now and there has been no fighting! Yey! :)p
However Austin (the guinea who had his ear torn) is still "rumbling" at his brother who seems totally unaware and has never exibited aggressive behaviour. Austin will just run away from Sidney if he looks at him because of this noise. What do * think do * reckon Austin is just mad and frightened Sid may go for him again? I am hoping things are getting better but people may prove me wrong with their responses to this!
 
I think just keep an eye on them. If the dominant boar injures the other one again, I would separate. Sometimes their rumbling and squeaking sounds terrible but it isnt so bad! as long as the shy one gets his fair share of food, that is important and they may be ok.
 
i had 2 boars together though they were older, they started fightong and eventually draw blood, so that was it i had to seperarte. I agree with Lavenderjade once blood has been drawn then you really have to seperate them.

Good luck with them
 
i have 2 boars, they were supposedly from the same litter but i am not so sure. Anyways they get along fine, sleep snuggled up and share food although Marley spends half his time rumbling and bum shaking at Ozzy, Ozzy however seems non-fussed by it and just looks at him like he's crazy and continues munching away. They have been like this for a while now, i have been keeping an eye on them to make sure there is no blood drawn but so far they have been fine. Think Marley is just a grumpy boy!
 
I would just echo Lavenderjade's posts - space is a key issue as much as you can, and 2 of everything! It's quite normal for boys to have a good old rumblestrut, my Dylan never does it, but Pepe does it all the time to poor Leo, his cagemate! Most of the time it's just them throwing their weight around and shaking their tail feathers so to speak, they're proud to be men and they're showing it off! Most of the time it's harmless, it's dominance re-enforcement. As Fiona said, I would definately separate if more blood is drawn as usually things are rarely restored at that stage, but it's not impossible with great care and patience to get them back together.

Good luck :)
 
Boars do tend to do alot of rumbling and bum wiggling ... oh, and mounting.

You will usually have a dominant one and the other one realises that. But when teeth start to chatter and one bites the other than it can get really worrying.

Hopefully things will settle down for your two - it is looking more promising.

Bathe the injured ear with boiled, then cooled slightly salted water or an antiseptic wound wash such as Savlon, but don't let them spend even one minute away from each other if things seem to have settled down. Take the other pig along for the ride, basically.

Watch out for bites to the neck and back so they can go unnoticed. If it all kicks off again, then do consider separating.

Keep us posted.
 
oh dear i have had this happen before with lemony and alcatraz.they were brothers and got on great untill alcatraz thought he was the boss and so i seperated them(luckily no blood but a lot of swearing and threats)
they often settle down but they are just reaching the real sexual onset and have to do what nature is telling them...be the alpha male lol
 
My boys squabble a bit as well, especially when it comes to food (even though I have two of everything). I just put them in their new 2x4 cage today (I adopted them and they came in a crummy "large" size pet store cage) and they love the new space. But it seems like the fighting has been more frequent in the new cage. I wonder if perhaps it's because the cage is new to them and they're trying to "claim" their space. There hasn't been any blood drawn, mostly just nips to the bottom. They are both about 2-3 years old, and as far as I know have been together since they were babies.

It's difficult to put in a divider because then the space will not be large enough for each piggy. And I don't have enough space in my room for a 2x6 cage. I did put in a divider temporarily as a trial basis just to see what would happen. They were miserable being apart! They kept biting at the divider and sticking their noses at each other. Perhaps they love to hate each other, lol.

When should I intervene in the fighting? Is some bottom nipping and chattering tolerable as long as there is no serious biting?
 
I know it sounds like a daft thing to say, but you will know when things are about to get serious - bottom sniffing, cheek rubbing, rumbling, swaying hips and "nose-offs" are all normal and common. When the rumbling turns into teeth chattering (a loud clatter, not a gentle munching type chatter), they face off and raise themselves onto their hind legs, lunges, big threatening yawns which show the teeth to the other guinea, snorts - all these are serious danger signs that they are about to have a fight. Have a look at this website, it has some great info about the noises guineas make, what to expect and how to spot trouble. http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm
 
Hi everyone,
just want to thank everyone who gave me advice it was so helpful. Sadly i had to seperate the boys =( fighting carried on. They can still see each other and cry for each other when one is missing but at the cage bars rublling still carry on! God knows what to do with the beggers! For now tho seperate houses. Thanks everyone!
 
It is a shame but for the best! Perhaps in time they could have supervised floor time or time in a run in the summer together-some members have boars who can do this but who cant live together.

Good luck!
 
Absolutely, Fiona is right; we have two that fell out terribly, but sit very happily together at laptime and will even tolerate being in a run together - I just won't ever leave them alone together!

I'm really sorry you have had to seperate them - perhaps they may calm down in a few hours or overnight? If they have just been getting on each others nerves, it's quite possible that they just need separating for a few hours - the fact that the cry when seperated may be a good indication that there is light at the end of the tunnel :)
 
Sorry to hear the fighting carried on.
Chestnut and my new one (still no name yet) didn't get on so they are in seperate cages now.
At least you know that neither can get hurt now and they are both safe
xx
 
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