Help - Third boar added to older boar pair

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I adopted two older male Guinea pigs, they have a great set up and I fell in love hard and fast. After having them for awhile I decided I wanted just ONE more and I quickly found the perfect one, a 5 mos old black & white long hair. I brought him home and introduced him to my other two, the only problem is — one of my older mails won’t leave him alone. If you know what I mean, and it’s CONSTANT. I don’t want my newbie to be stressed out, will this stop or will he torture the poor guy forever ? :(
 
They are likely just putting the new boy in his place. If it’s constant in that he is not allowed to eat at all, then it could be tipping into bullying.

I would strongly suggest that you separate them and find your young boar a friend of his own. Boar trios more often than not will not work out. Especially when there is a teen, which your young boar is. You also need a lot more space than you may be providing them with. There is a risk that the established pair will fall out and be unable to live with each other. So you could end up with three single boars who can’t form a pair of any combination.

Put the new boar in a cage beside the older pair and find him a friend to live with. Best way to do that would be to contact a rescue and see if they do boar dating. I see you’re in Canada so rescues are even more few and far between there.

You have to be aware that the young boar is just at the beginning of his teens - they are from 4-14 months of age. This can sometimes make it harder to bond them with another boar.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

Guinea Lynx :: Canadian Rescue Organizations
 
Hi,

Unfortunately boar trios don’t tend to work out. And it would be an awful shame for a third boar to ruin the already established bond that your two older boars have.

Do you have capacity to split them? Could you try boar-bonding at a reputable rescue to find your new boar a companion? They would require a separate space from your existing boar pair. Your new boar could still interact with the other pair through the bars in the meantime.

I’ve had several boar pairs over the years and bonding isn’t plain sailing; which is why we recommend boar dating.

Unfortunately, I’ve never had boar trios nor do I know of any successful trios.

Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides
 
:wel:
I can only agree with the others. Unfortunately boars very rarely work as a trio and most will fail ending with fights. At worst, all three piggies can fall out, so you can risk ending up with three single piggies.

I would also suggest separating them leaving the original pair together and putting the new piggy in his own cage and find him his own new friend.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have two boars called Percy and Pepper. Boars are great fun. Post some pictures if you’d like to share.
 
Ooooh 3 boys together 🤔 I'm not sure this will settle down, and you don't want things to turn aggressive. Even 3 boys that have lived together from birth have a solid chance of falling out at some point - that's how I got my lovely George (on the left here). If people have had to split boars a good way is to have two neighbouring enclosures split by grids so the boys can see and smell each other through the bars. However it's always better to have a happy pair and as much as your youngest boy is disrupting right now he can't help it... it would be a shame if he was alone in a permanent 'time out'.

The suggestion to go for 2 pairs is a great one. A recent poster (also Canadian!) who had mistakenly bought just one guinea pig girl was quick enough to return to the pet shop and found another girl she had lived with before... if dating with a rescue boar isn't an option for you perhaps that is...?

I've had both boys and girls and boys are bursting with character. Even shy George is shy in a big way! 😂 Good luck with your boar adventure! 💕
 
I had the same problem a few days ago. I washed all all there hides, bars, and fleece to wash off their scent off of it. I also made sure they had tons of hay to eat. This seemed to solve the problem for the past three days. Do watch them closely and make sure you're home for the day to observe.

I hope this helps, Drew
 
I had the same problem a few days ago. I washed all all there hides, bars, and fleece to wash off their scent off of it. I also made sure they had tons of hay to eat. This seemed to solve the problem for the past three days. Do watch them closely and make sure you're home for the day to observe.

I hope this helps, Drew

When you do this and completely remove all scent, you are effectively making it neutral territory again. This may help for a short time, but they will reestablish their relationship in new territory.

If you think they are having problems in their relationship, then do make a post and we can offer advice specific advice to your situation.
 
Approximately how long should I give them to see if they will bond? They did simmer down last night, no more frisky business. And they seem to be socializing more and more. I took out their house because it only fit two pigs so one would always be left out and put in a blanket that way they could all sleep together and they did. Is this a good sign?
I have an extra large cage and it does have the option to divide it into two, I just don’t know if I’m ready to take on another Guinea so soon
I feel like I really messed up :(
 
Approximately how long should I give them to see if they will bond? They did simmer down last night, no more frisky business. And they seem to be socializing more and more. I took out their house because it only fit two pigs so one would always be left out and put in a blanket that way they could all sleep together and they did. Is this a good sign?
I have an extra large cage and it does have the option to divide it into two, I just don’t know if I’m ready to take on another Guinea so soon
I feel like I really messed up :(

How old are they all?
How big is their cage?
Did you introduce them on neutral territory?
How long have they been together?

The chances of them sorting out a functioning hierarchy and staying that way for the long term are very low sadly. 90% of boar trios have to split up at some point. Its a rather unstable grouping and unfortunately it can go wrong at any moment. You can certainly choose to leave them together and see how things go but you need to keep a very close eye on the situation. If there is any sign of bullying, tension etc, then you do risk fights occurring.
You also need to be prepared for the risk that may also come to your original pair. If you separate now, you will hopefully be able to keep the original pairs relationship in tact. If full fights do occur, then there is a risk they may also fall out so all three will need to be kept single.
The new five month old piggy is just at the start of his teens so you are going to see a lot of hormonal behaviour from him for many months.

Any cage which needs to be divided into two - each side needs to meet size requirements for the number of piggies it is going to hold.
Two boars together need a cage of 180x60cm.
One single boar needs a minimum of 120x60cm.
The cage for the three of them to live in together needs to be three square metres/32 square feet - so a 300x100cm cage. This is to ensure enough territory and space each. It won’t make them get on, but lack of space will cause problems.

Regarding taking the house out. if you’ve taken the hide out and they have nowhere else to go, then it’s not necessarily a good sign that they all went on the blanket. They simply had nowhere else to go, not that they are going to be compatible.
You need to make sure you have three hides in the cage and that each hide has two doors (any single exit hides can cause problems if one piggy traps another inside it). You need as many items in the cage as you have piggies - so three hay piles, three bottles, three houses.
 
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Hello and welcome. I’m sorry to also be bearing the bad news that long term your trio is unlikely to succeed. In all honesty, knowing what I know as an experienced keeper and part of a rescue who regularly have boars surrendered from failed trios, I would separate them now, keep your original bonded pair as a pair and find your young boar a companion of his own.
 
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