Introducing baby sow

[Ethan3wilson]

my 7 month old sow bullies my newly added baby sow. I’ve had the 7 month old by itself up until a few days ago when I added a baby sow. The 7 month old was always very spunky and honestly quite defensive when it came to her food and personal space. I was hoping that the addition of a baby (so that the 7 month old saw no competition in the first place) would help to make her less moody and stand offish with me. I put them in together after housing them next to each other and the older pig seemed to accept the baby fairly quickly but over the last day or two the older one has begun to bully the baby out of food and water and is biting me more than she would before.

 

[denverguineas]

You should always have the same amount of water bottles, pellet bowls, and hay areas as you do pigs. Only use hides with multiple entrances and exits. The 7 month old is still very much a baby herself and will be flighty and defensive for a while yet. If she was already defensive towards you, the addition of another pig would make it worse, another pig is in her territory all the time now as opposed to just you sometimes in her territory. I would suggest making sure each of them has their own space in the cage with all necessary items.

Best of luck!

 

[Swissgreys]

Be patient and give them time.
How big is your cage?
And like @denverguineas said, do you have 2 of everything and no hides where one piggy can be trapped?
Were they introduced in neutral territory and left together until they had settled?

You also need to remember that often what looks 'mean' or like bullying to us, is actually normal guinea pig behavior while they are establishing their hierarchy.
It can be tough to watch.
I would also leave them alone together for at least a few days while they are sorting themselves out - if they are both already stressed then handling them may just add to this.

A good place ot start would be to work out if their behavior is normal or not.
Try reading these threads about bonding, which also have some very helpful videos.
Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides