How much rumble strutting is 'normal' for a female?

[Hayley_Bayley_Haybale]

Hi all! Of my female pair, one seems to rumble strut a lot more than the other and I'm wondering how much of this behaviour is normal and when I ought to be taking her to see the vet. I'd say she does it several times every single day. For context she is around 8-9 months old and seems to be the dominant one in the pairing. No health issues as far as I'm aware - no sign of any hair loss, eating and pooping lots, not aggressive towards me or her friend. Her rumble strutting doesn't seem to lead to any disputes between the pair - my less dominant female (around 1 year old) either seems to ignore it, walks behind her while it is happening, or sometimes seems to enjoy it and starts popcorning (?!). She will occasionally rumble strut too but I'd say this happens every couple of weeks and lasts for a day or two so I think it coincides with her coming in to season. Any thoughts?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes as you said it is happening every couple of weeks and lasts for a day or two, then absolutely yes, it is mosf likely when she is in season and this is perfectly normal.

 

[Claire W]

She could just be displaying a strong season. They come in to season roughly every 16 days. She’s a bit too young for ovarian cysts

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all! Of my female pair, one seems to rumble strut a lot more than the other and I'm wondering how much of this behaviour is normal and when I ought to be taking her to see the vet. I'd say she does it several times every single day. For context she is around 8-9 months old and seems to be the dominant one in the pairing. No health issues as far as I'm aware - no sign of any hair loss, eating and pooping lots, not aggressive towards me or her friend. Her rumble strutting doesn't seem to lead to any disputes between the pair - my less dominant female (around 1 year old) either seems to ignore it, walks behind her while it is happening, or sometimes seems to enjoy it and starts popcorning (?!). She will occasionally rumble strut too but I'd say this happens every couple of weeks and lasts for a day or two so I think it coincides with her coming in to season. Any thoughts?

Hi
You may find our sow behaviour guide helpful for learning what is normal and what not: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

 

[Hayley_Bayley_Haybale]

Yes as you said it is happening every couple of weeks and lasts for a day or two, then absolutely yes, it is mosf likely when she is in season and this is perfectly normal.

Hello! Thanks for your reply! I think my message wasn't very clear My second female is the one who rumble struts every couple of weeks or so, but the first one does it several times a day every single day (she's the one who is 8-9 months old). She's been doing this for a while now and I've noticed how different it is to my other female. What do you think?

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! Thanks for your reply! I think my message wasn't very clear My second female is the one who rumble struts every couple of weeks or so, but the first one does it several times a day every single day (she's the one who is 8-9 months old). She's been doing this for a while now and I've noticed how different it is to my other female. What do you think?

Hi

8-9 months is in the thick of teenage when sows also experience a hormone high, only that it usually doesn't result in fights or fall-outs. Daily rumble-strutting is mild dominance.

If you have concerns, please firstly double-check the gender.

If it continues for longer and causes disruptive problems in the relationshiop, then have her checked for ovarian cysts. It is rather early for them to start before adulthood although it can occasionally happen. Active hormonal ovarian cysts that need attention are more commonly associated with sows looking like they have a long term non-stop season with frequent mounting thrown in as well and some weight loss and this ongoing behaviour causing real stress to the pair/group. You are not describing that.

Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs

 

[Josie_lg]

My honey had a very strong season where she was rumble strutting at anything that moved for nearly 6 weeks. I was convinced ovarian cysts (she was about one year old at this time) after a long ultrasound no cysts were found and a few days after the ultrasound she stopped. I don’t believe she’s ever had a proper season since. However all my others still come in and out of seasons as normal bless them.

 

[Guineatte]

You could have her checked for ovarian cysts. I had one girl constantly rumbling around and even mounting the other girls and even the boy in a quite an aggressive manner and she actually had cysts. As they weren’t very large hormone injections helped with the issue. Over the years she got the hormone treatment 3 times and it calmed her down every time. She was much more relaxed, I guess the cysts made her quite uncomfortable.
Another of my girls, on the other hand, was her whole life rumble strutting, however without much aggression, and the others just let her get on with it and more or less ignored it. It was just Adzuki doing her thing, she wasn’t the boss but she also didn’t challenge the boss. She didn’t have any visibly enlarged ovarian cysts and she didn’t seem to be in pain or discomfort and the group dynamic wasn’t in a continuous upheaval.
As someone else has already said, teenage hormones could also play a big part and I would make sure that the two have enough space to avoid each other and hide in separate places. If one of them keeps trying to dominate, the other girl can become stressed and might even not be able to eat in peace.
Good luck and happy times with your 2 girls!

 

[Hayley_Bayley_Haybale]

Hi

8-9 months is in the thick of teenage when sows also experience a hormone high, only that it usually doesn't result in fights or fall-outs. Daily rumble-strutting is mild dominance.

If you have concerns, please firstly double-check the gender.

If it continues for longer and causes disruptive problems in the relationshiop, then have her checked for ovarian cysts. It is rather early for them to start before adulthood although it can occasionally happen. Active hormonal ovarian cysts that need attention are more commonly associated with sows looking like they have a long term non-stop season with frequent mounting thrown in as well and some weight loss and this ongoing behaviour causing real stress to the pair/group. You are not describing that.

Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs

Hi Wiebke, thank you for this additional information - much appreciated. I'll keep an eye on things and see how they progress over the next week or two. As you say, there's no mounting or aggression between my pair and no weight loss either, so hopefully it is just linked to her age and she'll get through her teenage months and things will settle.

 

[Hayley_Bayley_Haybale]

You could have her checked for ovarian cysts. I had one girl constantly rumbling around and even mounting the other girls and even the boy in a quite an aggressive manner and she actually had cysts. As they weren’t very large hormone injections helped with the issue. Over the years she got the hormone treatment 3 times and it calmed her down every time. She was much more relaxed, I guess the cysts made her quite uncomfortable.
Another of my girls, on the other hand, was her whole life rumble strutting, however without much aggression, and the others just let her get on with it and more or less ignored it. It was just Adzuki doing her thing, she wasn’t the boss but she also didn’t challenge the boss. She didn’t have any visibly enlarged ovarian cysts and she didn’t seem to be in pain or discomfort and the group dynamic wasn’t in a continuous upheaval.
As someone else has already said, teenage hormones could also play a big part and I would make sure that the two have enough space to avoid each other and hide in separate places. If one of them keeps trying to dominate, the other girl can become stressed and might even not be able to eat in peace.
Good luck and happy times with your 2 girls!

Hi Guineatte, thank you for sharing your experiences! Always so interesting to learn about these differences in piggy behaviour - they all have such individual characters don't they! There hasn't been any mounting, and so far I don't think the rumble strutting is causing any conflict or stress but I will keep a close eye on things. My pair seem to have a pretty stable bond - they certainly don't cuddle up together, but there has never been any fighting between them either. I keep two water bottles, two pellet bowls, distribute veggies throughout the cage, and they have plenty of hides and 2ft x 6ft space (plus a loft to avoid eachother if needed).