Hi, last year one of my boars died, and left behind his brother Ginger who started showing signs of depression, so we got him a new friend, called Mr. Pickles, who was 8 weeks at that time. They got along 'okay' but Mr. Pickles kept harassing the older one with constant mounting, while Ginger squealed submissively and never seemed to 'contest' his role or 'do anything about it'.
A few months ago, Ginger died at the age of 6, so we decided to get another boar to keep Mr. Pickles company. We adopted a 2 year old boar, quarantined him for 10 days, then did an introduction on neutral grounds, with plenty of room and food in the middle for distraction. The new boar displayed expected behaviour, rumblestrutting etc. and wanted to get to know our boar. However, Mr. Pickles was VERY agitated, kept chattering his teeth loudly and ran away when the other pig got near him. It did not take too long before Mr Pickles lunged at the new pig and they became a flying ball of fur, so we separated them before any injury. We tried a buddy bath and they were eating next to each other for a few minutes before the same happened. Judge me if you want, but we have since found another home for this guinea pig as we didn't want them living next to each other when Mr Pickles chattered at him when he saw or heard him.
We went to a rescue for boar dating, but Mr Pickles displayed the same behaviour with every boar (7 total). Fearful, agitated, chattering, showing teeth and running away, and if the other pig got near, he tried to jump at them and fight them.
We were told to get a very young baby, as Mr Pickles should not feel intimidated by him and the baby should accept the submissive position. So we adopted a 9 week old baby and did it all proper again, quarantine, then an introduction. But after 15 minutes we had to end it because when the poor baby, who was curious and wanted to get to know Mr Pickles, went near him, Mr Pickles lunged at him.
It seems that Mr Pickles outright hates other guinea pigs, as it seems to be more than just a dominance problem - there wasn't even any mounting going on in any case, as he ran away before it happened, and if another pig managed to get near, they'd fight. The baby guinea pig did not display any signs of dominance, he was just minding his own business eating, and when when he simply walked towards Mr Pickles, not rumblestrutting, chattering or anything, he was rejected. At first I thought that Mr Pickles just refuses to be the submissive pig but he seems to hate everyone. It could not just be bad luck - he behaved the same with every boar and none of them were aggressive
Any advice, thoughts, tips? Thanks in advance
A few months ago, Ginger died at the age of 6, so we decided to get another boar to keep Mr. Pickles company. We adopted a 2 year old boar, quarantined him for 10 days, then did an introduction on neutral grounds, with plenty of room and food in the middle for distraction. The new boar displayed expected behaviour, rumblestrutting etc. and wanted to get to know our boar. However, Mr. Pickles was VERY agitated, kept chattering his teeth loudly and ran away when the other pig got near him. It did not take too long before Mr Pickles lunged at the new pig and they became a flying ball of fur, so we separated them before any injury. We tried a buddy bath and they were eating next to each other for a few minutes before the same happened. Judge me if you want, but we have since found another home for this guinea pig as we didn't want them living next to each other when Mr Pickles chattered at him when he saw or heard him.
We went to a rescue for boar dating, but Mr Pickles displayed the same behaviour with every boar (7 total). Fearful, agitated, chattering, showing teeth and running away, and if the other pig got near, he tried to jump at them and fight them.
We were told to get a very young baby, as Mr Pickles should not feel intimidated by him and the baby should accept the submissive position. So we adopted a 9 week old baby and did it all proper again, quarantine, then an introduction. But after 15 minutes we had to end it because when the poor baby, who was curious and wanted to get to know Mr Pickles, went near him, Mr Pickles lunged at him.
It seems that Mr Pickles outright hates other guinea pigs, as it seems to be more than just a dominance problem - there wasn't even any mounting going on in any case, as he ran away before it happened, and if another pig managed to get near, they'd fight. The baby guinea pig did not display any signs of dominance, he was just minding his own business eating, and when when he simply walked towards Mr Pickles, not rumblestrutting, chattering or anything, he was rejected. At first I thought that Mr Pickles just refuses to be the submissive pig but he seems to hate everyone. It could not just be bad luck - he behaved the same with every boar and none of them were aggressive
Any advice, thoughts, tips? Thanks in advance