Is living alongside two others pigs as a neighbour enough social stimulation for my piggy?

[lauryn1289]

in November my piggy Kips friend Rico passed away very suddenly, and i took in 2 bonded boys who needed a home as company for him not really knowing at the time that 3 boars usually doesn’t work out. when they’re out on the floor together they do argue but to be honest i get very nervous about them seriously hurting eachother so i’m probably breaking them up when i don’t need to be and they’re just doing normal things.

right now they’re in a C&C cage (that is slightly too small for all 3, i’m looking for correx atm to extend it!) but with a barrier in the middle. when it’s extended i would love to see them all live in together but i am prepared for having to keep the cage split in the middle.

i’m just wondering is being a neighbour to the two boys enough for Kip? i don’t want him to be lonely and he can see and smell and chat with the other two boys through the cubes but if that isn’t enough stimulation for him i obviously don’t want him to be missing out. i also don’t know if it’s okay to have all 3 boys have floor time together or to try and bond them again once the cage is extended or is that going to make things worse? i just want to do what’s best for all 3 and i hate the idea of Kip being lonely on his side of the cage even with the ability to interact with them if bonding all 3 doesn’t work out

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m afraid the chances of you being able to put three boys together is incredibly low. They do much better in pairs and most boar trios do fail.. If you were to try to bond all three of them, the chances are fights will occur and could even break the bond of the pair, potentially meaning three single piggies. Equally, the cage requirements for three boars are well beyond normal sizing - if you were to be brave enough to try this, the cage would need to be at least 300x100cm (so around a 9x3 c&c cage) to allow a square metre of territory each.

You should not allow them to have floor time together. The pair should have floor time as a pair, then be put back in their cage and then the single have his floor time. Allowing them to mix when they can never live together will cause stress to them as to piggies each meeting is a full on bonding session which, in this case, can never be seen to conclusion.

Living as a neighbour is an acceptable way of having interaction, but it can only ever be through the bars. It would be best if he can have his own live in friend but taking on a fourth piggy is of course a big commitment.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[lauryn1289]

I’m afraid the chances of you being able to put three boys together is incredibly low. They do much better in pairs and most boar trios do fail.. If you were to try to bond all three of them, the chances are fights will occur and could even break the bond of the pair, potentially meaning three single piggies. Equally, the cage requirements for three boars are well beyond normal sizing - if you were to be brave enough to try this, the cage would need to be at least 300x100cm (so around a 9x3 c&c cage) to allow a square metre of territory each.

You should not allow them to have floor time together. The pair should have floor time as a pair, then be put back in their cage and then the single have his floor time. Allowing them to mix when they can never live together will cause stress to them as to piggies each meeting is a full on bonding session which, in this case, can never be seen to conclusion.

Living as a neighbour is an acceptable way of having interaction, but it can only ever be through the bars. It would be best if he can have his own live in friend but taking on a fourth piggy is of course a big commitment.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

thank you for the response! honestly i probably haven’t given them a fair shot at bonding because as soon as i’ve seen any bickering i got nervous and separated them but if keeping them on opposite sides of the cage is what’s safest i’ll do that

i wouldn’t mind taking on another pig to be a friend for him at all but my main concern is i’m worried about getting another pig and then him not getting along with that pig either as long as he gets social enrichment from talking to the other pigs behind the bars i’m okay with leaving them separate but i just want to make the best choice for him

 

[Piggies&buns]

thank you for the response! honestly i probably haven’t given them a fair shot at bonding because as soon as i’ve seen any bickering i got nervous and separated them but if keeping them on opposite sides of the cage is what’s safest i’ll do that

i wouldn’t mind taking on another pig to be a friend for him at all but my main concern is i’m worried about getting another pig and then him not getting along with that pig either as long as he gets social enrichment from talking to the other pigs behind the bars i’m okay with leaving them separate but i just want to make the best choice for him

Honestly there is little point in trying - you can of course if you want to - but three boars find it very hard to form a functioning hierarchy. To function, they need one dominant but usually what happens in a trio is two want to be dominant. This will not work and will cause fights and this is why most trios fail.
How old are you piggies? If they are young, then it’s highly unlikely to ever work out. The few boar trios we do come across generally are older (4, 5 years old +) or disabled/carer groups or incredibly laid back boars with copious amounts of space (space enough that they can simply move far enough away from each other)

To ensure a compatible bond, dating him at a rescue centre to find a friend is safest. You would then only bring home a piggy with whom he can bond. I’m not sure how easy it is to find a rescue centre in Ireland though? If you buy a piggy from a pet shop, then there is going to be a risk of incompatibility and therefore failure.

 

[lauryn1289]

Honestly there is little point in trying - you can of course if you want to - but three boars find it very hard to form a functioning hierarchy. To function, they need one dominant but usually what happens in a trio is two want to be dominant. This will not work and will cause fights and this is why most trios fail.
How old are you piggies? If they are young, then it’s highly unlikely to ever work out. The few boar trios we do come across generally are older (4, 5 years old +) or disabled/carer groups or incredibly laid back boars with copious amounts of space (space enough that they can simply move far enough away from each other)

To ensure a compatible bond, dating him at a rescue centre to find a friend is safest. You would then only bring home a piggy with whom he can bond. I’m not sure how easy it is to find a rescue centre in Ireland though? If you buy a piggy from a pet shop, then there is going to be a risk of incompatibility and therefore failure.

Kip was 9 months old when i got him in 2017 so i assume hes around 5 and the woman i adopted the other two boys from said they’re around a year old!

i’m not sure there’s any rescues for guinea pigs in Ireland really, the main animal rescue here sometimes have guinea pigs for rehoming but i couldn’t imagine they’d have anything like boar dating unfortunately but i will enquire about it! i’d prefer not to buy from a pet shop anyway and would only take in a pig that was in a rescue or being given away. thank you for all the advice!

 

[Piggies&buns]

The two youngest could well still be teenagers then so would be much less likely to tolerate being part of a trio

As I said, living alongside will provide him companionship and interaction through the bars. For the sake is the young pair and preserving their bond, then definitely keep floor times separate.

 

[Spaghetti & Noodles]

I have a pair of sows and a single boar who lives alongside, we were hoping they would all get along but one of the girls didn't really fancy a boy living with them, so he moved in nextdoor and they all seem happy, I think he has a secret love affair with the other girl, they can often be seen sneaking kisses through the grids. So in my experience it works.

 

[lauryn1289]

how sweet!