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Deleted member 144252

hello,
Can 2 male piggies and 1 neutered female piggy live in a 180x60cm run?
Thanks
 
Natalie Clancy said:
hello,
Can 2 male piggies and 1 neutered female piggy live in a 180x60cm run?
Thanks
Click to expand...

No. You cannot keep two males with a female. You can only keep one male with females. Fights will occur between the boys if you add a female in with a boar pair

180x60 is big enough for two boars only
however, 180x60 is big enough for one neutered boar and two sows; or three sows

Sows need to be kept well away from a boar pair. If you have a boar pair and then went to get a sow pair for example, the sows should be kept in a separate room to the boars, as even having a separate sow pair anywhere near boars can cause the boars to fight when they smell the sows.
 
Thank you very much for this info, as I almost never get proper advise on the internet. 😕
Unfortunately, I have a 180x60cm run with 3 male piggies in it. I'll have to sell one of them.
 
I’m sorry to hear that.
As I said on your other post, boar trios rarely work out due to the inability to get the character match right, even if they have lots more space.
Its best if you have a rescue centre that you can surrender one of them to rather than sell. If you are going to rehome a piggy yourself, then you need to be sure they are going somewhere where there is another (ideally older) boar and that the two of them are character compatible. As your piggies are very young, they must not be alone at all, so you can’t let him go somewhere to be kept by himself.
 
Thank you yet again. I'll be sure to give him to the best home there is.
 
2 intact males cannot live with one neutered sow (even if you could find one). Similarly 2 neutered boars cannot live with one sow.
One neutered boar can live with more than one sow, as long as the cage is big enough.
Your cage / run is big enough only for 2 boars. A trio of juvenile boars is very unlikely to work into adulthood in any event.
 
Your reply was very informative, thank you.👍🐹
Just so I can be certain, can 1 male and 2 neutered sows live in a 180x60 cm run?
 
Natalie Clancy said:
Your reply was very informative, thank you.👍🐹
Just so I can be certain, can 1 male and 2 neutered sows live in a 180x60 cm run?
Click to expand...

Yes that is the size we recommend for such a combination
However, finding spayed sows is very rare. Spaying sows is a major operation only done when they have a medical need to. You may need to neuter one of your boars, wait the six week post op period to become infertile and then bond with two compatible sows.
Are you now planning to rehome two of your boars? Or are you planning on keeping a boar pair and putting the single boar with sows? If you do this, the neutered boar/sow group needs to be in a separate room from a boar pair
 
Spayed sows are like finding hens teeth or unicorn poop. Extremely rare. Much better to neuter your one male, wait 6 weeks and then when he is “safe”: ie he can no longer impregnate a sow, at that point add the 2 sows.
But I thought you had 3 boars?
 
Yes, I'm considering the option of replacing 2 of my males with 2 neutered sows.
 
Natalie Clancy said:
Actually, I've found 2 people selling neutered sows!
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How old are they? Do you know why they were spayed?
As we said, It’s often done due to medical need, usually ovarian cysts which present in sows over around 2 years old, and by the time sows get older they tend to be less accepting of newcomers

if you are gong to try to bond three unknown piggies you also need to be prepared for the risk of failed bonding between all of them
 
Natalie Clancy said:
Actually, I've found 2 people selling neutered sows!
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Wow, that is incredible. I would need to be convinced they were spayed. Perhaps vet records?
But even if you can get these 2 spayed sows what are you going to do with your other boars?
Please do share photos, we just love photos.
 
:agr: Yes, You would definitely want to see vet evidence that they are indeed spayed.

I think if I was in your situation, I would find out which two of your three boars get on best. Rehome the one who will end up single and keep a boar pair. The cage is big enough for a boar pair, and if you choose to keep the two boars are seem closer then they are more likely to make it together for a long and happy bond.
Trying to bond one of your baby boars with two unknown sows is not going to be as straightforward as it seems - what would you do If the bonding fails? - you could still end up with needing two if not three separate cages.
 
1 of them is 1.5 years old and in good health as in stated in the ad and the other piggies age is unknown but is also stated to be healthy.
Would an adult guinea pig hurt or scare my 8 week old guinea pig?
 
Will 1 male guinea pig harass 1 female? I just want to know what options are best.
 
Actually my run size is 180x90 cm! So, 1 boar and 2 females will comfortably live in that size run?
 
A young pig won’t be hurt by an older pig. And a boar won’t harass a sow. The important thing is character compatibility - they have to like each other in order for the bond to work.
 
Thank you for answering so many of my questions.
What is the right way to introduce a new guinea pig to another?
 
It’s done via neutral territory introduction on an all or nothing basis. You put them into a bonding pen and leave them in there for a few hours to see if they like each other and can form a rough hierarchy. It they can’t, then there will be problems in the bonding pen and the bonding will fail.
If they do like each other, then you clean out the cage they are to live in so it is also neutral, then move all piggies to the new cage. They then go through a period of two weeks while they fully establish their bond and relationship. Things are usually ok by that point, But it can still suddenly fail within those two weeks also.
You must never just put unknown piggies into the cage of another piggy as it’ll be seen as a territory invasion.

You should also quarantine any new piggies if they do not come from a reputable rescue centre so the risk of passing on any illness is removed. As your piggy is only 8 weeks old, if the other two boars have gone to new homes by the time you bring any new (older piggies home), then you will not be able to quarantine the newcomers as your piggy is too young to be alone at all. You therefore do need to take the risk that they may in fact bring something in and Then you could need to treat them all.
If you still have all of your baby boars when you bring any newcomers home so the baby isn’t alone, then the older, new piggies, would ideally be quarantined in a separate room in separate cages from each other for two weeks. You can them See which one of your baby boars gets on with the sows and rehome the others.

Doing any bonding yourself (not via a service at a rescue centre) with piggies you do not know, is a risk. As he is young, the sows may accept him easily, but once he hits his teens, things may change. The sows may also not accept each other or they may not accept him from the beginning. You would need to plan three separate 120x60cm cages in case it doesn’t work out.

This are the bonding guides. Please read them all before you attempt to do a bonding yourself

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble
Importance Of Quarantine
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
 
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Ok, but how do you know if they like and/or accept each other?
 
Have a look at the first guide that she linked to. There are some videos in there. Expect some submissive squealing, chasing mounting and humping. Smelling bums, rumble strutting. The other guides are good as well.
 
Sorry, I didn't read them before I sent a question.
Sorry about that.
 
Not a problem, please do ask questions. The guides that Wiebke has expertly written cover so much brilliant information but there is too much and sometimes too complex to repeat in an individual post
 
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