Keeping 2 Boars?

SabreRose

SabreRose

Junior Guinea Pig
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I'll hopefully be a new piggy carer soon and after all my research, I decided on getting two females but now that I'm ready to get them, I cannot find females anywhere.
Males everywhere. Lovely little guys needing a home just as much as the girls but from what I've read I'm quite worried to get two.

Have many of you had good experience with keeping two males without fighting? And if so, were they litter mates or different ages?
Would you recommend boars for a first time having guinea pigs?

I'm still waiting to hear from some places but I'm wondering now if I'll have to go for boars.

Thanks for the help.
 
Years ago, my first two piggies were Lenny and Gizmo, both boars and well bonded when I got them. I never had any problem with them and now I have 2 boars who are litter mates (Dennis and Christian) with their sister Meg, Mum Velvet and Aunty Betsy. The boys have been neutered and luckily they all live as one happy family herd for a year in November.

As long as boars are well bonded there shouldn't be a problem.
 
My first guinea pig was a sow but I never set out to get a particular gender- I just fell for her.

Now I have two boys- my first bonded pair infact and it went well. I've never bonded guinea pigs before - let alone two boys- so you can imagine how worried I was. But you don't have to be overly worried about bonding two boars. You can just as easily get two sows who won't want to bond.

The best bet with two boars is to get a slightly older one and a younger one. This lessens the chance of a fallout because they will go through the hormone stage at different times.For example my eldest boar (Mo) was over 1 when I bonded him with Steve (5/6 weeks). Their bonding went soooooo well and I literally just sat back and let them get on with it.

Feel free to read my thread:

1 To 2

Which tells you basically what I went through when I put my two boars together.

Mo & Steve have been together awhile now and haven't shown any signs of aggression towards each other at all. You'd think they'd always been together. :)
 
Positive experiences here too!

We eventually decided to get 2 boars when we got our first piggies 6 years ago. They came as 12 week old babies, possibly brothers, from a certain well known pet shop (luckily the assistant got the genders right!). When the teenage hormones hit, the disruption was minimal thankfully (I didn't know anything and when the mounting started, I thought I had a gay guinea! :yikes:). Since then, I have had to go boar-dating 3 times and each time have been able to bond my solo boar with another at the rescue, without any subsequent fall-outs or fighting. Badger aged nearly 2 was bonded with Yoshi aged 1, then aged 4.5 with Zebedee who was 4; when Badger died 3 months later Zebedee was then paired up with Squeaks who was only 6 weeks. Squeaks now seems to be the dominant one, he does all the rumbling and mounting, but there have never been any fights.

Perhaps I was just lucky that Badger was as laid-back as anything, and Zebedee is an elderly gent in piggy terms and only interested in food, but I like to think that there are plenty of similarly gentle boars out there.
 
I have two boars who were not housed together at the rescue they came from, and they only have an age difference of about two months. I'm not sure if I got super lucky or what, but bonding them has been a breeze so far! I'll attach a picture of their cage so you can see how much room they have, because I think that's helped tremendously. They were 3 and 5 months old when I got them, and are 9 and 11 months old now meaning I'm not out of the "hormone danger zone" yet (fingers crossed!), but these boys cry out to each other when they are separated for even a minute, spend their floor time every day exploring side-by-side, and I find them snuggled in the same hidey house all the time even though they each have one they've "claimed". Corduroy rumble struts at Sylvester, Sylvester does some gentle teeth clicking back, and they both hump each other, but they've never fought and seem to get on really well. Their little dominance things are actually really cute and have never been concerning. To my understanding, there's always a risk of falling out, but if you give a pair of baby boars plenty of space and 2 of everything, they're much more likely than not to stay well-bonded forever.

My boys aren't neutered and they live in a 2x6 grid c&c cage with floor time every day.

20170901_180532.webp
 
If you get two boars that are already bonded from a good rescue you should be alright, even if you get a problem you will get help and advice from the rescue. As a first time piggy slave it would probably be better for you to have boars past the worst of the teenage hormone spikes (14 months ish). Litter mates are just as likely to fall out as non litter mates if their characters are not compatible. I have 2 pairs of boars and love them, both pairs are non litter mates and bonded as babies, the hormone spikes have been interesting and sometimes noisy but not too bad. Boars can fall out at any time, but then so can sows. The most important thing with boars is space, I would say a minimum of 5 x 2 C&C cage or 160 x 80 commercial cage so they can have their own space away from each other.
 
:agr: with @piggieminder space and compatibility are important.ive got 3 boar pairs that are stable,but ive had pairs that have had lock on fights,so i have then had each boar neutered ,waited 6 weeks then paired with females.i would suggest going to a reputable rescue that can ensure you have stabley bonded pairs and the supportive care after taking your suitors home.ive had a neutered boar and a sow have a lock on fight and cause injuries so sows can fight as well if not compatible..eg,a submissive to a dominant personality...you are entering a exciting time.:)
 
Thanks for all the comments.
Unfortunately there are no rescues where I live (ireland) that have any guinea pigs so the chances of me getting a bonded pair are slim.
I'm not going to buy from a pet shop so I'm at the mercy of accidental litters or people giving theirs up for adoption.
I've taken on board what everyone has said, espically about bonding an older and younger boat but as I'm so new to guinea pigs, I don't feel confident enough to try bonding.

I think I'll have to hold out for two sows. I know there is still chance they will fight and need to be separated,
Thanks for all the input. It's great to know so many people have had success with boars, even if I'm not ready to try yet.
 
I've 3 young boars, all from the same herd. I got them from the SSPCA. Two are brothers, and I assume the third (slightly younger) is a half brother. They are currently rumblestrutting and chinning off around the living room (floor time). I love watching them, and they're so affectionate. Boars are lovely :love:. I might have to split them as they are going through their hormonal months, but if I do, I plan to get the 'odd one' neutered and pair him up with a wifey or two. :tu:
 
I have two boats, Tulio and Miguel, who we got when they were about 12 weeks. Not litter mates but bonded as babies.

The best tip I can give you if you do consider boars is to be brave. We just had about a two hour hormone spike where our undominant pig got super horny and kept trying to bang the alpha boar. He finally 'sorted' himself with the help of the hump you in the cage. Then the alpha boar had to reestablish dominance, when the lesser dominant just needed to sleep.

My partner always wants to separate at the first sign of trouble, but with boars you really have to stick it out and only if blood is drawn do you seperate. Means a lot of anxious nights watching them!

And definitely space is key. We have a 2*4 c and act with a 1*2 loft. Previously it was 5*2 and I'm seriously tempted to make it bigger again. They are mostly freerange too when we are home so it's very important you are able to give them the time and space to burn off all that testosterone!

Don't get me wrong, I love my boys who are both about to turn one; but if the above worries you I'd probably wait for ladies. Had I done more research prior to getting them, I'd probably have gone for girls x
 
I got 2 boars as my first pigs, and they have been great. They were not bonded before, or in the same cage. But they did not fight. They showed some aggressive behavior and were territorial (and still are) but from what I know and have seen they have not hurt each other.

If you know a lot about guinea pig behaviors, and bonding, I think it will be just fine for you to have 2 boars. Make sure the cage is large enough for them, preferably a 2x4 C&C cage is best, or bigger. Good Luck!
 
I have three boys. Two brothers, and another little dalmation. The brothers are a year and a half old and the dalmation is about 6 months. They all get along well. The dalmation is a big boy, but the others are kinda runty. They are out for floor time together and love the grass. It kinda depends on there personality.
 
Hi,
When I was looking for new piggies, I too wanted two sows, however when I got to the pet shop I fell in love with two boars of different litters brought together and they got on absolutely perfectly. Unfortunately, my Guinea Pig, Gleb, died of a stroke a year ago yesterday and I was advised to get a new Piggie as Guinea Pigs are very sociable! A year ago today I got Igor and he moved in with Augustus (my other boar). Igor is one and Gus is two, and I was very worried that they wouldn't get on. How to my surprise the piggies remain the best of friends today having had a year together. They do everything together and are like brothers!

So I would advise that you don't listen to all the rumours about having two boars fighting because in my experience the older will look after the younger one❤️
 
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