Help With Gender Selecting

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Hilton_Piggies6

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Hi, I am a wannabe guinea pig owner, I really want to have guinea pigs as a family pet, we've all agreed to it! The only trouble is that we really don't know if we want a group of guinea pig sows or a group of guinea pig boars. Can someone please help us? We have heard of one boar and one/multiple sows but we will only go to this choice if there is no other option. Will a
group of two sows and two boars work? (If they are raised as pups together from the same litter, with males neutered could it work?) Please, may someone help us as we really don't know what to do and we've already bought the large hutches? Thx

From M Hilton xx
 
Hello. In answer to your question sows can live in harmony together as a group. However boars can really only live together in pairs or after neutering one neutered boar can live with a group of sows.
Two sows and 2 boars will not work as a group even if both boars are neutered. They will fight over the sows.
Hope this is helpful.
 
Hi, you cannot have more than one male in with a group of females as they will fight over the females unfortunately. With sows, depending on personalities, you can build bigger groups. With males generally speaking it will be a pair maximum, occasionally people have had a trio work but its not a stable grouping and often results in fall out.

I personally have a male and 3 females. I like an even number so no piggy gets left out lol
 
First off welcome! :)

More then one boar with sows is likely to end up with a fight occurring at some point between the boars because they will still want to mate. So if you do go down the sow and boar route only get one boar and a group of sows.

You can have a whole group of sows which are easier to bond then males( usually though males can be too and females can be just as difficult on occasions). Female piggies are less likely to fall out during the hormone months- as in need separating. Female piggies can be susceptible to ovarian cysts.

A pair of males is also a nice choice. Either a pair of already bonded boars from a rescue or an older boar and younger one could work. Males that are together won't need neutering as it does not effect their behaviour and they won't be near any girls. Like females, male piggies are known to get impaction as they are older and require their penis to be cleaned along with their anal sac etc. Males are a bit smellier then females also because they scent their cages and release a boar smell - not disgusting I mean I have my boars in my bedroom!

Both sows and boars make wonderful pets and it really is your decision. I don't find one better than the other - my sow was just as loving as my boar.
 
Hilton_Piggies6 said:
Hi, I am a wannabe guinea pig owner, I really want to have guinea pigs as a family pet, we've all agreed to it! The only trouble is that we really don't know if we want a group of guinea pig sows or a group of guinea pig boars. Can someone please help us? We have heard of one boar and one/multiple sows but we will only go to this choice if there is no other option. Will a
group of two sows and two boars work? (If they are raised as pups together from the same litter, with males neutered could it work?) Please, may someone help us as we really don't know what to do and we've already bought the large hutches? Thx

From M Hilton xx
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Hi and welcome!

It is great that you are doing your research first.

Sadly, two boars in one group with sows do NOT work. You can have either two boar pairs that live separately (quartets have a near 100% fall out rate) or a group of sows living with one neutered boar.
It is a persistent myth that litter mates don't fall out; in fact, they do as much as any other boar constellation of clashing personalities. Most of my adopted litter sisters have squabbled more than any of my unrelated sows living together, by the way, and they have certainly not fallen out less with each other!
Even in boar couples, an age difference is often of benefit as it keeps the hierarchy straight and means that only one boar at a time hits a teenage testosterone spike, and not two together. Whether a boar is neutered or not doesn't change anything. My neutered boars have still gone through the classic teenage stages and still exhibit typical boar behaviour. Neutering basically only takes away the ability to make babies.
You may find this guide here helpful; it discusses in detail the possible combinations: Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?

You may also find these guides here interesting when researching guinea pigs as family pets as they might illuminte aspects that you may not have yet considered.
Quick Information Bundle For Wannabe Owners

if you have access to one of our recommended good standard rescues that we can guarantee for, you can be assured that their piggies are all healthy/fully quarantined, properly sexed, guaranteed not pregnant and carefully bonded - which basically means that you can neatly avoid all the pitfalls that await the unwary. A rescue can also help you build up a group of sows or choose suitable boar pairs for a family situation.
You can find the links for rescue in several countries in our information bundle. If you please added your country, state/province or UK county, we may be able to give you more detailed recommendations. We have members and enquiries from all over the world. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This makes it visible on the left of every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice to what is available and relevent where you are. Thank you!
 
If you would like a group (i.e. more than 2 guinea pigs), you can have a group of sows or one neutered boar and a group of sows. Two boars, even when neutered, will not be able to be around sows without fighting. It's just not in their nature to live in that arrangement. Boars can live in pairs with another boar, but more than two boars together are likely to end up fighting and refusing to live together without injury. So your best bet would be to either look at sows, which can coexist happily in groups, or a neutered boar with some sows.
 
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