Hi all, hope you can help. I have introduced three new guinea pigs to my six free range guinea pigs, all female. Two have integrated very well but one has isolated herself away from the others and spends all her time in a separate hutch on her own. I have tried putting her back with the others but she just runs back. Should I just let her be or lock the hutch she runs too so she has to mingle. I don't like the idea of her being lonely on her own but she's just not interested in the other pigs.
My piggies a loner
- Thread starter Kimbo DSB
- Start date
Welcome to the forum
Could you give us a bit more information please.
How old are the piggies?
How long have they been together? This is important as we need to know how far into the bonding process they are.
Was it a proper neutral territory introduction?
Could you give us a bit more information please.
How old are the piggies?
How long have they been together? This is important as we need to know how far into the bonding process they are.
Was it a proper neutral territory introduction?
The six older ones are between 12 and 18 months old the new ones are 4 months old. They have been together for a month and we're introduced for a month in a separate enclosed run. The three new ones are sisters and all get/got on well but Fudge just won't mix with the others and cries whenever they go near her, they don't bully her she just seems to prefer her own company and I just want to know if she will be OK on her own..though she still has full access to them if she wants
Bonding is a one day thing - several hours in neutral territory, so if by introducing them for a month a separate run you mean you were putting them together and then separating them again and then introducing again the next day, then they would have had their bonding repeatedly interrupted and it wouldn’t actually have started until the day they were completely left together.
However, if they have been physically sharing territory for a month, then given the full establishing of a relationship and hierarchy takes two weeks, they will be right through that now.
I know they are free range but I’m assuming the space they have free range is big enough for 9.
Her crying may well just be submission. She may be very bottom of the hierarchy.
Provided she can still get to them and can still interact, then she should be ok. You would need to make sure she is properly happy though, eating, maintaining weight and not showing any signs of loneliness.
I know @teddymouse has large sow herds so may be able to offer more insight from a large herd point of view.
Hi, yes they were in the same area for the whole month but in there own run just separated until they got acquainted They all now have the whole of my huge garden to go in and sleep in 3 cages at night. To be honest she gets a bit spoilt as I keep bringing her grass and veg to her cage and she has her separate bowl of pellets, water and Hay, maybe that's why she's not bothered with moving 
should I stop so she has to get her own food with the others
should I stop so she has to get her own food with the others
Hi, yes they were in the same area for the whole month but in there own run just separated until they got acquainted They all now have the whole of my huge garden to go in and sleep in 3 cages at night. To be honest she gets a bit spoilt as I keep bringing her grass and veg to her cage and she has her separate bowl of pellets, water and Hay, maybe that's why she's not bothered with moving
So they are separated and shut into separate cages each night. I guess it is tricky with so many but separating them each night may be problematic for her - she may be unsettled and unsure of her position particularly if they are being shut away separately. It’s an unusual set up and I don’t know of anyone else who does it like this - normally, bonded piggies are never separated and would share one large territory 24/7.
What do you do in winter?
I assume she goes to bed with the piggies she does get on with?
@Wiebke may be able to offer a bit more insight here into what is going on in terms of group dynamic
Hi @teddymouse, do you have any thoughts on my dilemma please cheers
Sorry not good at this. They are all in these hutches and then I let them out as I said and same in winter. But not till later in winter as we have foxes. I get them back in with spinach and they seem fine, no fighting. Yes I do put fudge in with the others but as soon as let them out she is off to the other cage on her own and only comes out if I pick her up and put her in the garden but she just hides on her own there instead
How many piggies are shut into each hutch? My concern is that those hutches are what 5 foot? So only big enough for two sows per hutch. The hutch in the second picture actually wouldnt be considered appropriate outdoor housing (particularly for winter) given the only enclosed part (the upper part) is far too small for piggies to be shut into, and the bottom part is exposed to the ground so not suitable to be used as living accommodation.
As I say, it’s a very unusual set up. Bonded herds usually remain together permanently and never get separated. An appropriate outdoor set up for that many piggies would be an insulated shed where they can all remain together at all times, properly insulated for winter and only let out for run time during summer.
I'm just wondering if she is not properly bonded with them and that is why this is occurring. The constant separation generally does not work as it interrupts their relationship and forming a hierarchy.
As I say, it’s a very unusual set up. Bonded herds usually remain together permanently and never get separated. An appropriate outdoor set up for that many piggies would be an insulated shed where they can all remain together at all times, properly insulated for winter and only let out for run time during summer.
I'm just wondering if she is not properly bonded with them and that is why this is occurring. The constant separation generally does not work as it interrupts their relationship and forming a hierarchy.
Thank you I appreciate your feedback I have thought the hutch situation was maybe wrong and have been thinking of using the shed that backs up to thier lean-to. I thought about taking a brick or two out the bottom and putting a door on for night time. I was going to put the hutches in there but being disabled I have problems in bending and would find it hard to clean them out in there. Plenty of straw on the floor and thier igloos should be ok if I put some insulation on the walls? The shed is 6ft 3" deep x 5ft 6" wide. Do you think thus appropriate
Thank you for being open to suggestions. It’s always hard bringing up that somebody may find a different set up more appropriate and you never know how somebody will take it!
So 9 piggies need a minimum of 24 square feet (minimum of 10 square feet for two piggies, and then a minimum of two additional sq ft per additional piggy). Your shed measurement converts to around 33 square feet so is a nice amount of space for them, provided they are all bonded and want to be together as a herd (otherwise piggies who can’t bond need their own separate enclosure but next to the others for interaction through the bars, but they also need separate exercise times and this is where free roaming a garden may mean she struggles if she is trying to isolate herself).
Converting the shed as you suggest would be a great thing to do. It would need to be insulated (floor, walls and ceiling). Best to use hay instead of straw (straw isn’t edible and can be too sharp for them).
If it helps, this is my shed set up but mine can’t live as a herd given I have boys.
I have four boys. The two to the left of the picture are a bonded pair in one cage. The white piggy and the black one next to him at the back used to be a bonded pair but fell out so are separated from each other but still interact through the bars.
This is our gallery of sheds - Member Gallery: Sheds
Most people have hutches in sheds but not all, some do free roam. Mine are usually in hutches in the shed but the hutches have been removed for summer (its an experiment this year given the shed gets hot early in the summer and I need somewhere else to put the piggies as an interim - they come into the house in mid summer as it’s too hard to keep them safe outside In summer heat).
I have four boys. The two to the left of the picture are a bonded pair in one cage. The white piggy and the black one next to him at the back used to be a bonded pair but fell out so are separated from each other but still interact through the bars.
This is our gallery of sheds - Member Gallery: Sheds
Most people have hutches in sheds but not all, some do free roam. Mine are usually in hutches in the shed but the hutches have been removed for summer (its an experiment this year given the shed gets hot early in the summer and I need somewhere else to put the piggies as an interim - they come into the house in mid summer as it’s too hard to keep them safe outside In summer heat).
Attachments
Thanks I appreciate the input and will get my odd job man to sort that for me, and yes they all do get on as they choose which hutch they want to sleep in on a night I just put the spinach in and sorry I did mean Hay not straw as I don't use straw, I buy a bale of Hay from a local farmer. Thanks for your help
and sorry I did mean Hay not straw as I don't use straw, I buy a bale of Hay from a local farmer. Thanks for your help
teddymouse
Forum Donator 2024/25
Hi, my herd 22 sows plus 1 neutered boar, run free in a 1/3 of an acre of gardens 24/7, and have free access to their specialised build "The Hutch" a 14 x 12 summer house, ( see "its here ")which they all return to at night to be shut in and fed their treats, fruit vegs and pellets. They all have their little ways, some like to wander all day on their own, others go off in groups, some stay inside l call them their lazy days ,but they all return to The Hutch to be all together, they are very social animals.
teddymouse
Forum Donator 2024/25
Sorry !, don't know why it's repeated post ,help administrator!
I’ve removed the duplicate!
Cheekypigs
Teenage Guinea Pig
The shed setup sounds like it would be ideal. The loner pig is very young so she may just be unsure of her place and feeling unsafe. Hopefully if they are all living together at night as well as in the day, she will start to come out of her shell.
Thank you for everyone's input in this problem and I have now transferred them all to the shed and it has worked, fudge was a bit squeaky for the first day and night but has now settled in and has started following the others out into the garden and I'm pleased to say all is good. Thanks again
Cheekypigs
Teenage Guinea Pig
Great! Lovely to see a happy ending