Housing a pair of boars next to a boar & sow?

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Jayne.

I have three 4 month old boars who at the moment get along just fine! :)
I'm hopeful that it will stay that way,, especially as they have a giant cage with mountains of space,, but I'm just thinking about if it doesn't work out.
I'd have to split the C&C cage in half & have 2 in one of half with 1 & a new addition in the other half. Could I get a sow rather than a boar as a companion for the boar that has to be moved? Or would it set the other 2 off as they'd be able to see & smell the sow?
Hopefully nothing like this will happen & my 3 boars will live in harmony forever! :)
Fingers crossed!
 
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You could only put a boar with a sow if he is neutered - nothing is guaranteed to work though so you have to keep your options open.
Trio's rarely work as others will tell you, a duo usually work well but again, nothing is rock solid.
I have two sets of brothers, 14 months old and coming up to 12 months, never had a problem apart from the younger pair when one would not leave the other one alone. They were neutered as part of our adoption contract and have not had any mounting issues since :))
Ours live beneath a herd of six girls - again, oblivious to them being there due to extra vigilance i.e. wash hands after touching the girls, see to the boys first etc.etc. Any areas where girls poo could land in the boys pens have been sorted by my clever OH and his DIY skills. We have a married huspig and his wife next to the girls who get along famously though the grids, chatter and pinch each others bits of hay and grass :))
You could consider boar dating if the trio had to be split, let the lone boar choose his partner (male) but again, be cautious with your trio as you may end up with three single and lonely piggies if things go awry.
Research your questions and ask for any advice you need - we all have varying experiences good and not so good rolleyes
 
Hi not sure about this but when my piggy accidently had babies (2 a boy and girl) I had the male living with dad and girl with mum until they were old enough to be rehomed. Well I put them into a split run once so they could see each other but not get to each other, and mum must have been in season as both the males seemed to follow her up and down the partition and then the dad became aggressive towards his son! Lets just say I kept them well away from the females from then on. The reason I say this is if the 2 males can smell the female, and see her surely when she is in season the males will then begin to squabble with each other? Correct me if I'm wrong anyone?
 
Please make sure that no sow is in line of sight of a bonded boar pair. Ideally, you keep them as far apart as you can; if not, above or below the boys, or, if that is not an option, make sure that they can't see each other through the division, or you will get fights.

However, a much better option is boar dating your lonely boar - Layla in North Shields offers this service and has the experience. It is much cheaper than an operation with potential complications. With boar dating (letting the boars choose their own partners), you will run a much smaller risk of fall outs and you have always got the backing of the rescue if things go haywire. Only if boar dating doesn't work out would I consider neutering. http://www.northeastguineapigrescue.co.uk/
 
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monica1607 said:
Hi not sure about this but when my piggy accidently had babies (2 a boy and girl) I had the male living with dad and girl with mum until they were old enough to be rehomed. Well I put them into a split run once so they could see each other but not get to each other, and mum must have been in season as both the males seemed to follow her up and down the partition and then the dad became aggressive towards his son! Lets just say I kept them well away from the females from then on. The reason I say this is if the 2 males can smell the female, and see her surely when she is in season the males will then begin to squabble with each other? Correct me if I'm wrong anyone?
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I thought that's probably what would happen! I just thought I'd check as I liked the idea of a married guinea couple haha. If it does happen, I'll just stick with all boars - 2 pairs.
Timmy can be quite antisocial towards the others if he's not in the mood so if it does happen,, I have a strong feeling he'll be involved! & maybe he would actually be suited to being a lone guinea with neigbours anyway, rather than having a cage mate. He seems to like his own company & will only play if he wants to play & at the moment,, Freddy & Toby don't mind this.
So at 4 months,, all's fine with the trio so far! :p
 
Wiebke said:
Please make sure that no sow is in line of sight of a bonded boar pair. Ideally, you keep them as far apart as you can; if not, above or below the boys, or, if that is not an option, make sure that they can't see each other through the division, or you will get fights.

However, a much better option is boar dating your lonely boar - Layla in North Shields offers this service and has the experience. It is much cheaper than an operation with potential complications. With boar dating (letting the boars choose their own partners), you will run a much smaller risk of fall outs and you have always got the backing of the rescue if things go haywire. Only if boar dating doesn't work out would I consider neutering. http://www.northeastguineapigrescue.co.uk/
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Thanks for the link! I'm definitley going to go for adoption in the future, having had such terrible experiences with pet shops, but didn't know of anywhere in my area. ThankYou! :)
 
Jayne. said:
I thought that's probably what would happen! I just thought I'd check as I liked the idea of a married guinea couple haha. If it does happen, I'll just stick with all boars - 2 pairs.
Timmy can be quite antisocial towards the others if he's not in the mood so if it does happen,, I have a strong feeling he'll be involved! & maybe he would actually be suited to being a lone guinea with neigbours anyway, rather than having a cage mate. He seems to like his own company & will only play if he wants to play & at the moment,, Freddy & Toby don't mind this.
So at 4 months,, all's fine with the trio so far! :p
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Till the hormones kick in - my boars were fine until they hit 6 months :x
 
Guinea pig slave said:
Till the hormones kick in - my boars were fine until they hit 6 months :x
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Did you have a trio aswell? I've always had pairs of boars,, never a trio. These were supposed to be in pairs until my older guinea pig Bruce died, & we decided to just put all of the babies together.
 
Jayne. said:
Did you have a trio aswell? I've always had pairs of boars,, never a trio. These were supposed to be in pairs until my older guinea pig Bruce died, & we decided to just put all of the babies together.
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You may even find that you are in luck and are having one of the trios whether the character combination is just right... you'll never know beforehand! A trio that works is a great thing - it's just too much of a gamble.

You are doing your very best under the circumstances and I am sure that you will find a solution to make all your boys happy at any stage of their lives!
 
Jayne. said:
Did you have a trio aswell? I've always had pairs of boars,, never a trio. These were supposed to be in pairs until my older guinea pig Bruce died, & we decided to just put all of the babies together.
Click to expand...

No only have pairs - would never risk it unless they were from the same litter which may be more successful. I hope it all works for you and your boys - keep us updated :))
 
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