Most suitable companions for my piggies!

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Hello All! Am new here and loving it! Also a new piggy owner and becoming more obsessed by the day hehe they are def taking over my life :)) I have recently taken on a 3 year old boar and a 4 year old Sow. She was pregnant when I got her and gave birth to 4 gorgeous babies shortly after. I have a lovely home for 3 babies. I would really really like to keep the one remaining female baby however. Is it going to be ok to keep her with her mum? I have also fallen for 1 other sow who is 4 months old. Will they live ok as a group of 3? And will the older girl be ok to go in with the baby straight away, she's 4 weeks old currently. I have seperated the Boar as I don't want to breed but he needs atleast one companion altho I would be happy with more if possible. Are numerous boars ok kept together? Space is not a problem. Any other info on social groups etc etc very much appreciated! Thanks
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I am sure that someone will come along soon with an answer to your question. I don't know as I only have two piggies myself.
 
hi sows generally work well in a group, you could get daddy neutered and he could live with them as well or get him a male friend.you need to be aware of cage sizes needed for a large group though
 
Hi and welcome, Daughter will be fine to stay with mum and they should (hopefully) accept another little girl. I introduced a youngster to my 9 month old pair just before Christmas and they accepted her readily.

Boars can be a little more difficult to pair up (although I personally have no experiance) and it can be even harder to keep more than two happy together.

Sarah's suggestion is a good one if you can get Dad neutered, he should be able to live happily with the girls ;)
 
Hi :) You can keep mum with her daughter and even with more girls. But they would need a big enough cage, for two it's recommended the cage is about 4'X2' (zooplus.co.uk have a cage that size for under £40), for three it's 5'X2' and for 4 it's about 6'X2'. Some people on here have built cages that size of of these connectable storage grid things that are meant to work out quite cheap and easy to build, it's worth looking into. They're called C&C cages and if you do a quick google search you'll find loads of pics of them.

The dad could either be neutered and kept with the girls (after 6 weeks after the neutering to make sure all the sperm is dead). Or he could be kept with another boy, but they should preferably be kept away from the girls, so they don't fight over them. It's possible to keep more than 2 boys together, but they're more likely to fight if you do, so 2 is usually recommended. There's no guarantee 2 will get along but they usually do.
 
sokel said:
As already said mum and baby can just stay together and you can introduce another sow to them
Dad on the other hand at 3 years old I wouldnt advise neutering him but you could bond him to a baby Boar
was dad seperated from mum before she gave birth ?
Click to expand...

Oops - didn't see his age. :red Ignore my bit then! :))
 
Thanks for all your replies! The house I will keep the sows in is 7ft by 3ft run with various nest boxes and for the boars its about 6ft by 3ft. They are all home built.

At 3 is daddy to old to neuter? It worries me putting him through surgery! I took him away from the sow before the litter were born although the person I got them from told me she used to just leave them together the entire time she had the pups and he was never a problem but I didn't know enough about breeding to risk this.

Would age baby boar would be best to introduce him too? Thanks again:)
 
Just a thought would my boar be more likely to bond with one of his sons, as he'll smell of the sow. Sorry if that sounds really silly was just a thought!
 
You can try to bond daddy with one or two of his sons indeed. However, he will not recognise them as such. You have space enough. Two boars are generally more stable than three boars, but it very much depends on the character combination.

I am not sure how daddy will take to being with a boar companion after all this time living a with sow. It depends on his temperament, I guess.

Please do not put the boar back with the sow. Guinea pigs do not have a menopause, but too many births wear them out and the risks and potential for problems get bigger the older boar and sow are.

Here is a link for tips for introductions and boar and sow behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561
 
Thank you!
I will put one of my baby boys in with daddy then and see how things go, is there a certain age the baby should be before I do this?

There is no way they'll go back together. Poor mummy is in a very sorry state from being bred from over and over again all her life :( She only has 3 legs, I hate to think why but we are currently batteling with terrible pressure sores on the leg opposite that one missing. I think because she spent most of the pregnancy on an unsuitable floor and she was sooooo huge she could bairly walk just before having them:(
 
This sore on her leg may well be a urine scald - if she had trouble getting around she may well have sat in her own wee for long periods. Bepanthen(sp) cream would be suitable, perhaps followed by a little vaseline to stop further contact.

The little boy would be ok to put in with his dad at 3-3 1/2 weeks old - he would need to leave his mum at this age anyway.

Suzy
 
If you're planning on putting a 3 weeker in with an adult boar, please don't think that the little one is being bullied and take him out. Bonding boars looks rough to us and the little one has to undergo various assaults by the bigger one, but it's just generally a bit of mounting and rumblestrutting, and the bigger lad soon gets tired of it.

If the little one starts high pitched squeeking when he's being assaulted he's just telling the older one that he'll submit. Provide plenty of hidey places for the little one, I find a big pile of hay in the middle works well, it can distract the bigger boy.

In the first couple of hours it looks rough, but it's just the piggy way. It does settle down eventually.rolleyes
 
Here is more on boar behaviour and introductions:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562

Introductions can look rough to the uninitiated. Never spearate unless you have a) the big boar preventing the little one from eating, drinking and sleeping all the time, b) bloody fights and bites, c) incessant humping that goes on for more than a day, d) the little boar being depressed in one corner and losing weight. Otherwise you have to stay off and let the boars sort out their relationship - which is often not easy, especially if you hear a baby wheeking its submission. Make sure that any hides have two exits and that you have a couple of small hides which are too small for daddy to get in.
 
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