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[ALJ]

Hello all,
I hope you can help.
We have 4 male piggies. They have all been ok until the last few days they have started fighting. Two seemed to be friends and now it looks like they’ve had a fall out. I think the younger one has decided it now wants to be boss. The dominant one has a nipped ear. I don’t know what to do, not sure if I should separate them or leave them to see if they can work it out. I’ve read mixed things online.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m afraid four boars together will never work out, plus the space required to attempt it is huge (a cage at least four square metres). Boars need to be kept in pairs to be able to have a functioning hierarchy, so leaving them together, particularly now they have had a fight is sadly not an option. They will never be able to work things out.

You need to separate any piggies who have been fighting. If the two others do still like each other then they can remain together in an appropriately sized cage (180x60cm for a boar pair), but these two you mention in this post will need to be separated. You could end up needing three or four (if none of them will stay together) separate side by side cages.

Ensure the piggies who are separated are kept in side by side cages so they can have communication through the bars to prevent loneliness.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[weepweeps]

This happened to me quite a few years ago. I had two boars and then saw two more at the pet shop which needed rehoming. The pet shop said they loved living in herds so I took them home, popped them all in together MAYHEM! They all fell out and ended up living alone. I hope you can salvage two pairs

 

[ALJ]

Thank you for your reply. We ended up getting four as they were only four left and didn’t want to split them up . I wish we were told this earlier. Three seem to get on ok , the dominant one is a little older . He seems to be picking the fights. Can a trio work sometimes?
I worry about housing alone incase they get lonely.
My husband mentioned getting the dominant one adopted but this worries me as well wondering where he will end up

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you for your reply. We ended up getting four as they were only four left and didn’t want to split them up . I wish we were told this earlier. Three seem to get on ok , the dominant one is a little older . He seems to be picking the fights. Can a trio work sometimes?
I worry about housing alone incase they get lonely.
My husband mentioned getting the dominant one adopted but this worries me as well wondering where he will end up

I'm so sorry - we get a lot of posts from people not given the correct information about boars and ending up in this situation.

Very rarely does a trio work. Some people get lucky but I'm afraid most won't. The only time a boar trio really works is when they are elderly and testosterone has fizzled out.

How old are they?
How big is their cage?

Still, to attempt a trio, you still need a cage covering at least three square metres and even then it is still not likely to work, particularly if they are still young. You would risk all bonds breaking and then ending up with all four single

 

[Piggies&buns]

I worry about housing alone incase they get lonely.
My husband mentioned getting the dominant one adopted but this worries me as well wondering where he will end up

Having separated piggies living as neighbours is commonplace and the recommended course of action when you've got piggies who dont get on - Living with through the bar interaction ensures they do not become lonely. However, it of course depends on how many piggies end up single and how much space you have as to whether keeping neighbours is a viable option.

A boar pair need a cage measuring 180x60cm (6ft x 2ft). Then, any single piggies need a cage measuring a minimum of 120x60cm (4ft x 2ft) side by side.

If you were to give any piggies up, then the best thing is to surrender to a reputable rescue centre. This way you can rest assured that they will be properly bonded (neutered and bonded with a sow most usually in the case of teenage boars, given bonding teen boars can be rather tricky) with another and then suitably rehomed.

 

[ALJ]

Aww this makes me really sad. We thought we were doing a good thing getting them all being told they were good in herds.
We were told the older one was about 1 year old and other 3 siblings 8-12weeks.
The hutch is two floors with a run attached .
:H115.5 x W133.5 x D114cm.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Gosh, I'm so sorry. Its never nice for us to have to give the bad news to somebody who only ever wants the best for their piggies. Its a shame that shops (assuming that is where they were from) aren't better informed. Its an issue we come up against quite often. Herds are fine for sows (with or without one (only) neutered boar, but boar herds are entirely different. A herd of boars can sometimes be achieved by having a very large number of boars, older piggies, and an exceptionally large space (allowing everybody to get away from each other and enough piggies to diffuse tensions) covering at least one square metre per boar - so when you consider you'd be looking at around 10 boars to stand a chance, then the space needed is incredibly large.

We can make suggestions for you going forward but ultimately separating them is going to be the best thing - particularly given the ages of them and particularly the youngest three. A fight resulting in injuries warrants immediate separation. Things will only escalate if they remain together after a fight.

A double level hutch doesn't count towards the cage size - Guinea Pigs are ground roaming creatures and its only the bottom level which counts and needs to meet the size requirements. Upper levels are considered bonus spaces only.
If the measurements you give is for the run or if its one where the run is at the bottom and then a ramp up to the hutch, then the hutch is likely much smaller and sadly at those measurements will mean the hutch isnt big enough for two boars. Any area they get locked into needs to be big enough.
The measurement you give equates to 16 sq ft which is a nice size run space for two boars only provided the hutch is no smaller than that. Not that trios or quartets work, but those measurements aren't anywhere near big enough to attempt it. (A boar trio needing a minimum of 32 square feet (plus an option to split) a quartet needing a minimum of 43 square feet).

Do post a picture of the hutch so we can advise better if you would like

The three younger aren't teenagers yet, hormones aren't yet rising, so I am afraid we would advise to separate them into a functioning pair and have one single by the time they reach 16 weeks of age. They are unlikely to stay together much beyond 6 months of age if you were to attempt it, even with a considerably larger cage space. Most trios (and almost no quartets) would not make it to adulthood together - 14 months of age

 

[Siikibam]

I’m so sorry you were misinformed and ended up having your bubble summarily burst They can do well in herds - of all sows or sows with a neutered boar. Unfortunately getting boars to live together in more than a pair takes more balancing work that we can manage. They’re not like sows who can accept being third or fourth on the ladder.

Are you able to see who would work together separate them into two pairs? That way you won’t have one on their own. If they’re housed outside it would be tough having a singleton, simply because you’d find it hard to put him next to the others for interaction through the grids.

I hope you can find a solution that works for everyone. As above, please do post a photo of your hutch.