More bonding videos

Status
Not open for further replies.
Wiebke

Wiebke

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
92,651
Reaction score
86,343
Points
3,466
Location
Coventry UK
For those who are interested in what can happen during a bonding session. Please note that these videos are not representative at all; each bonding is different, and the best bonding is the one where a piggy just moves in without any fuss at all.

With girls, you always have an acceptance phase first, which then moves straight into a dominance phase which can last a few days to a few weeks. If acceptance does not happen, a bonding has failed.

This here is Tegyd and Ceri, take 1 after five minutes of scoffing peacefully together a week ago:


Take 2 is in my first video in "Tegyd meets the girls". Tegyd is chasing Ceri and there is another minor chin off.

Take 3 about half an hour later:


In both cases there was no blood, but I have separated as I didn't want any escalation in the first case (which was a tester to see how Tegyd would react meeting a single girl) and in the second case, as Tegyd was OK with the other 9 girls, I took Ceri out. However, today Ceri and Tegyd were perfectly OK with each other on their next meeting - no more face offs. Both have obviously tested each other and decided to call it a draw.

Tegyd actually made a few more flying tackles (or lunges) at other girls on intro, but they were not challenging her over it, so nothing came of it. It is a fine line between intervention or not, and it can be pretty nerve racking at times, especially when it comes to stand offs. It is easier to read the body language with experience, so you can judge better which piggy will follow through and which won't. A lot depends on the response of the other piggy, too.

With Tegyd, it was mainly a case of letting her getting used to the neighbours as much as possible and only staging the big intro once Tegyd actually started to invite socialisation with the other girls (like a piggy wash by the bars and sleeping next to each other across the bars). Tegyd's problem is mostly insecurity - she will start acting aggressively as soon as she feels out of her depth with a piggy that is not immediately submitting. At heart, she is quite a coward.

Here is another clip of Tegyd chasing Hafina; no worry as there is no sign that there will be a stand off.


It will be rather nerve racking when Tegyd meets Hywel again - he IS a fighter and he demands his rights!
 
Last edited:
It's fasinating watching the relationships develop. I don't blame her for trying to shove Ceri out of the food bowl! Ceri you have a gorgeous bum but bad table maners!
 
I am so glad you are posting these videos! I know these are Sows and boars will be different but I can at least watch and see what I should be looking for. The lunging is quite a sight and SCARY! I think I will have a heart attack before the divider is out my goodness. This is going to be a lot of work but I'm hoping for the best. Thanks again for posting these videos!
 
Gosh Wiebke you are SO brave! Bonding definitely requires someone with a lot of experience! I would have jumped in way before you did :red:))

You can see how so many piggies end up getting hurt when people that know nothing about their behaviour just buy another and plonk it straight into the cage expecting them to get along....rolleyes

Thanks for the extra videos, i love learning more about their behaviours, particularly in the herds! I still can't work out which one of my girls is the dominant pig! :{
 
Guinea pigs <3 said:
Gosh Wiebke you are SO brave! Bonding definitely requires someone with a lot of experience! I would have jumped in way before you did :red:))

You can see how so many piggies end up getting hurt when people that know nothing about their behaviour just buy another and plonk it straight into the cage expecting them to get along....rolleyes

Thanks for the extra videos, i love learning more about their behaviours, particularly in the herds! I still can't work out which one of my girls is the dominant pig! :{
Click to expand...

Not all girls are equally dominant, and if you happen to have two fairly laid back girls, not much shows once they have bonded. The top girl usually has first choice of food and sleeping place during the dominance phase, but can be perfectly happy to share or even have food picked from her mouth later on! mallethead

And yes - so many boys end up as "unbondable" just because one bonding doesn't work out and so many piggies are left stuck together that shouldn't! Bonding is time consuming and not always for the faint hearted, but it is worth doing right.
 
Oh love i heard your BIG SIGH in the third vid :(
HUGS XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Am really really hoping with lots of crossed paws, claws and fingers that the bonding works well xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Be ready with a towel and water spray when Hywell and Tegyd meet :...
I wonder if he'll let his newest lady dominate him ? :x
 
I'm sorry but I have to ask, do these videos, along with your words, not contradict what you said to me in my thread about my girls? Introducing them to each other, taking them away from each other to then 'try again the next day'? I don't understand how you can say one thing to me and then do the completely opposite yourself. Isn't intervening with your pigs just making things worse for them, or is it ok for you because you do happen to know 'what's going on', whereas I don't with mine?

I find this insulting to my intelligence and experience of these animals. I have plenty of both, especially in reading their language. Though it doesn't take much to understand their body signals or vocal calls, experience hasn't really got anything to do with it. I knew nothing about degus until my girlfriend got one and told me all about them. I hadn't even seen a degu before or knew what they really were, yet I knew everything I'd ever need to know to keep one thanks to being told by someone who knew how.

Understanding animals is something that comes naturally to me and always has done ever since I was a child. Everyone has a passion, an interest that they know a lot about and could be quite the expert in, be it gardening or cooking or teaching. Mine is pet animals. Always has been, always will be.

Well that's all I wanted to say.
 
Thank you so much for posting these video's. It is fascinating to watch and you are showing the importance of when not to intervene. I really do not know how you do it. I would have had a heart attack way before now!

With your experience, I just know that you will get there in the end. All the girls have come on so well since Tegyd arrived.

Good luck with the Hywel and Tegyd meet :)
 
lilmisscavy said:
I'm sorry but I have to ask, do these videos, along with your words, not contradict what you said to me in my thread about my girls? Introducing them to each other, taking them away from each other to then 'try again the next day'? I don't understand how you can say one thing to me and then do the completely opposite yourself. Isn't intervening with your pigs just making things worse for them, or is it ok for you because you do happen to know 'what's going on', whereas I don't with mine?

I find this insulting to my intelligence and experience of these animals. I have plenty of both, especially in reading their language. Though it doesn't take much to understand their body signals or vocal calls, experience hasn't really got anything to do with it. I knew nothing about degus until my girlfriend got one and told me all about them. I hadn't even seen a degu before or knew what they really were, yet I knew everything I'd ever need to know to keep one thanks to being told by someone who knew how.

Understanding animals is something that comes naturally to me and always has done ever since I was a child. Everyone has a passion, an interest that they know a lot about and could be quite the expert in, be it gardening or cooking or teaching. Mine is pet animals. Always has been, always will be.

Well that's all I wanted to say.
Click to expand...

I am sorry if you feel insulted by what I have said. I have not done so intentionally. If you are blessed with such a fine instinct, then that is great. Unfortunately, I can't know that over the internet, never having seen you around animals.

Introductions are never cast in iron (I remember saying that quite regularly when asked for detailed advice!) and it is often not easy to draw the line at when to separate or not, especially if you have no experience and (unlike you) don't have or trust your instinct yet. As you will hopefully agree, it is anything BUT easy to give fail safe guidelines over the internet when you are not there and don't know the people, the piggies and the situation.

Most people new to intros have a tendency to separate too quickly at the first sign of a possible confrontation, not knowing what is real aggression and what is blustering, so I prefer to ask them to stick with a situation a bit longer than they would otherwise have done.

As to the videos themselves. No, I have not contradicted myself. The first was a short pre-intro situation helping me to assess a piggy I knew whould be challenging to integrate.
The second video happened well into the bonding after acceptance had happened. I decided to nip an iffy situation in the bud in order to keep the calm in the group as a whole, especially as Tegyd had by then started to relax somewhat. I doubt that anything more serious would have come from that particular incident, but the tension would have been palpable throughout the whole group whenever the two would have come near each other and it would have resulted in quite a few nips and low level chattering being passed around.
 
Last edited:
Wiebke said:
Not all girls are equally dominant, and if you happen to have two fairly laid back girls, not much shows once they have bonded. The top girl usually has first choice of food and sleeping place during the dominance phase, but can be perfectly happy to share or even have food picked from her mouth later on! mallethead

And yes - so many boys end up as "unbondable" just because one bonding doesn't work out and so many piggies are left stuck together that shouldn't! Bonding is time consuming and not always for the faint hearted, but it is worth doing right.
Click to expand...

Thanks Wiebke, here's what happens:
- Mabel goes through stages of rumbling at Dottie (this seems to get worse and then settles down ?due to piggies being in season, I have never seen Dottie rumble at Mabel)
- Dottie is the only one that I have heard making protest squeeks
- Mabel kicks Dottie out from under their hiding place/beds

and yet:
- Dottie is always the first to eat food
- When out for floor time Mabel follows Dottie around (always behind her)
- Generally if they have a nose off Dottie's head is higher...

I swing between mainly thinking Mabel is the dominant pig, but then perhaps she is actually challenging Dottie? Dottie seems too laid back to care, but then why is she the one to make protest squeels and jump out from wherever she is if Mabel decides she wants it?! Sorry i've just realised i've hijacked your thread...i understand it's hard to give advice without seeing my piggies but i'd love to know what's going on and who is the boss! :))

ps, they have been together for eight months now. Oh and over the last few weeks I have seen Dottie grooming Mabel behind her ears, but this is never reciprocated by Mabel. Sorry to ramble! I just find their behaviour's fascinating! I'd love to see more videos of your herd :))
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top