Kiwi Loves Eating Fur?

[Xilvey]

hey guys hope you're all well!

just curious, one of my eldest girlies seems to spend all her time chasing the other three and chews and rips out their fur? None have bold patches but I have no idea why she does it! Nyuu who is the alpha female gets really annoyed sometimes and would chatter her teeth at her but I just cant think why she does it! They dont fight, always have plenty of hay and other chews, what could it be?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! There is not a lot you can do to stop barbering, but in a few guinea pigs, it can become rather annoying and disruptive. it is one of these things that are not yet fully understood. Unlike some places making out, barbering is not simply a dominance thing; it can also be social interactive grooming going overboard. Both dominant and submissive guinea pigs can do it. I have currently both varieties going on with my own piggies.

The teeth chattering is simply conveying strong displeasure.

If this behaviour is new and pretty extreme, perhaps it may be worth having your perpetrator checked for ovarian cysts. They are pretty common with older sows and cause disruptive behaviour.

 

[Xilvey]

its been going on a lone time now I think kiwi is just trying to groom a bit too hard! Bur thank you that's very helpful

 

[Freela]

It's called barbering, and it's one of those things that some pigs do. One of my pigs, Sundae, barbers her longer-haired companion- but only outdoors for some weird reason. Indoors, she leaves her be. Outdoors, she spends more time chasing Hadley to eat her fur than she does eating the grass that she's standing on! She previously lived most of her life with a different long-haired pig, who she never tried this with (of course, the other pig was quite bossy and would never have let her get away with it either!) It's not necessarily a dominance thing, as Sundae is VERY submissive and has never made a play for dominance in her life!