Longer-term group planing

Viennese Furbabies

Viennese Furbabies

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I would just like to get a few opinions on my current situation because I've got two very special pigs in my group at the moment. :eek:

My piggies are a group of three. Vicky is not quite 5.5 years and is worrying me a bit though I can't put my finger on it. Vet thinks she is just fine.
She is on pain medication for arthritis and currently we are treating a cornea injury that might have been caused by Kylie.

Kylie is 3.5 years, very dominant, very clingy to Vicky. Most of the times they get along fine, sometimes Kylie is a nuissance.
Both Vicky and Kylie grew up in a larger group but I've downsized from a group of 5 or 6 to a group of three.
The main reason for downsizing is that it's nearly impossible to find a good place for a larger group when I'm on holiday or away on business.
I've got 3 or 4 friends who can take care of two or three piggies but not more.

So the original plan was to keep Kylie as a pair with a boar in the end. Loosing Vicky will be very hard on her. They both struggled after Bonny died. But with Jamie I was confident that it could work.

But then we lost Jamie and along came Pino.
Pino is a sweetheart but I have never had a boar in all my years with guinea pigs who was less interested in females.
He is an ex-breeding boar so he knows what to do. He just doesn't do it. The only time I saw him rumble strut was very shortly during bonding.

At the moment, they get along fine.
Vicky doesn't like Pino much and Pino is a bit afraid of her (probably her black fur) but they are okay together.
Pino and Kylie... sometimes they hang out together, sometimes Pino stays away from her. Since Vicky is Kylie's main buddy, it's an okay situation for all of them. And Pino is fine in himself as long as he gets enough free roaming time and treats.

But what's worrying me is what will happen if we loose one of the girls. It's more likely to be Vicky because she is older but you never know.
Vicky and Pino wouldn't be a good match but adding a little girl to them would probably work because Vicky is a very social piggy.

Kylie and Pino on their own...? I have no idea.
Would Kylie pester Pino non-stop? Would they get along on their own?
Bonding Kylie with another girl? It would probably have to be a baby girl.

So there are three options I can think of.
A: Keep them together as a group of three, keep Pino with the remaining girl when we loose the other one and try to bond them with a baby girl to form a group of three again.
Which could be a problem with Kylie.

B: Keep them as a pair and find a new partner for the remaining piggy, probably Pino when the tlme comes.
This would be the easiest solution but it would also put time pressure on finding a new partner because the remaining piggy won't be able to go on alone for long.
And I would have to see if Kylie and Pino get along on their own.

C: Add a baby girl to the group while Vicky is still around, at a time when I won't be going away again soon.
So that they remain a group of three after the next loss.

What do you think?
 
I think it’s wise to think and plan long term.
All your options sound like good possibilities.
The challenge is always the unpredictable nature of life. As you say it’s likely that Vicky will be the first one to go because of her age, however that may not be the case.
It may be that the loss of one of the group will change the relationship of the 2 survivors.
A baby girl joining the group does sound like best option.

Make a decision and live with it for a while to see how comfortable you feel and then, depending on what you decide go with that.

Sorry, this isn’t an answer but I do know that you will make the right decision for your group as and when you need to.

Adding support and hugs 🤗
 
All your plans sound good, you know your piggies well.
It's hard when we can't make firm plans for the future when we don't know the order in which events will happen. It's really good that you are thinking of your options, it makes life easier when the worst happens. I do this, thinking if this happens I can try that and if that happens I'll try this, trying at the same time not to tie myself up in knots!
 
Viennese Furbabies said:
I would just like to get a few opinions on my current situation because I've got two very special pigs in my group at the moment. :eek:

My piggies are a group of three. Vicky is not quite 5.5 years and is worrying me a bit though I can't put my finger on it. Vet thinks she is just fine.
She is on pain medication for arthritis and currently we are treating a cornea injury that might have been caused by Kylie.

Kylie is 3.5 years, very dominant, very clingy to Vicky. Most of the times they get along fine, sometimes Kylie is a nuissance.
Both Vicky and Kylie grew up in a larger group but I've downsized from a group of 5 or 6 to a group of three.
The main reason for downsizing is that it's nearly impossible to find a good place for a larger group when I'm on holiday or away on business.
I've got 3 or 4 friends who can take care of two or three piggies but not more.

So the original plan was to keep Kylie as a pair with a boar in the end. Loosing Vicky will be very hard on her. They both struggled after Bonny died. But with Jamie I was confident that it could work.

But then we lost Jamie and along came Pino.
Pino is a sweetheart but I have never had a boar in all my years with guinea pigs who was less interested in females.
He is an ex-breeding boar so he knows what to do. He just doesn't do it. The only time I saw him rumble strut was very shortly during bonding.

At the moment, they get along fine.
Vicky doesn't like Pino much and Pino is a bit afraid of her (probably her black fur) but they are okay together.
Pino and Kylie... sometimes they hang out together, sometimes Pino stays away from her. Since Vicky is Kylie's main buddy, it's an okay situation for all of them. And Pino is fine in himself as long as he gets enough free roaming time and treats.

But what's worrying me is what will happen if we loose one of the girls. It's more likely to be Vicky because she is older but you never know.
Vicky and Pino wouldn't be a good match but adding a little girl to them would probably work because Vicky is a very social piggy.

Kylie and Pino on their own...? I have no idea.
Would Kylie pester Pino non-stop? Would they get along on their own?
Bonding Kylie with another girl? It would probably have to be a baby girl.

So there are three options I can think of.
A: Keep them together as a group of three, keep Pino with the remaining girl when we loose the other one and try to bond them with a baby girl to form a group of three again.
Which could be a problem with Kylie.

B: Keep them as a pair and find a new partner for the remaining piggy, probably Pino when the tlme comes.
This would be the easiest solution but it would also put time pressure on finding a new partner because the remaining piggy won't be able to go on alone for long.
And I would have to see if Kylie and Pino get along on their own.

C: Add a baby girl to the group while Vicky is still around, at a time when I won't be going away again soon.
So that they remain a group of three after the next loss.

What do you think?
Click to expand...

I am very familiar with these kinds of headache. You have in essence the option of wait and see what dynamics happen after one of the girls dies or you can try and introduce a baby girl (my personal preference would be two but you have your constraints) beforehand.

What nobody can tell you is what dynamics you get. The best option will only reveal itself in hindsight. You just have to run with whatever you get - and it is not necessarily predictable.
My gut instinct would say to rather introduce before any piggy passes away so the newbie is already accepted.

PS: Ny Nosgan 'Nightsong' (because I could only hear but not see him) was another boar with zero interest in sows. That was why I could keep him and then his little sidekick Nye first next to spayed Nesta (who I had hoped would gel with Nosgan) and then with non-spayed mother and daughter pair Hyfryd and Hirael. Young Nye could do all his boarly behaviour through the bars without causing any problems with Nosgan, apart from a couple of times during teenage where a couple of days with a divider during one of the mega-seasons with the Tribe sows took care of the problem. Nosgan had come here after failing with both his previous owner's sow groups after his older male companion had passed away.
PS: After Nosgan's death, Nye (my smallest boar) went smack up to Hyfryd (my then largest sow) in the bonding pen and gave her big kiss on her eye and the rest was paperwork and one of the greatest Tribe love stories... Nye was the only boy Hyfryd ever accepted.
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