Neutered male and non neutered male

[Courtney1027]

I adopted a 4 year old neutered male and I have 3 males who are not neutered. Right now I have their setups next to each other so they can get settled in. The new adopted male is not in the best of health due to being left unfed and having cancer and not being taken to vet. I would like to get his weight back up and get him doing better before an introduction but my question is can a neutered male get along with my males or should I try to put him with my females? Thanks

 

[Wiebke]

I adopted a 4 year old neutered male and I have 3 males who are not neutered. Right now I have their setups next to each other so they can get settled in. The new adopted male is not in the best of health due to being left unfed and having cancer and not being taken to vet. I would like to get his weight back up and get him doing better before an introduction but my question is can a neutered male get along with my males or should I try to put him with my females? Thanks

Hi!

Neutering only takes the ability for making babies away; it is doesn't change personality, social interaction or mating behaviour. Neutered boars can still produce a room filling stinking cloud of testosterone in their pee when meeting sows, as I can amply testify!
A neutered and a full boar can live together just the same; in fact, my boar pairs have both started out that way before I had the new arrival neutered for safety reasons (they are living in a room with over 20 sows and I'd rather not risk babies from any escapees or unplanned encounters!)

However, this also means that the usual rules apply - after trios, boar quartets are the most instable combination unless you look at older boars over 4-5 years whose testosterone output has mostly fizzled out or at boar quartets that include one or more disabled and carer companion boars with very different dynamics. The younger your boars are, the more likely the risk of fall-outs and failure when introducing new boars; at the worst you can end with four singles although the most likely outcome in our experience is one pair and two singles. Teenage boars between 4-14 months of age are the most at risk due to their hormone spikes.

If you can, please consider keeping your new boy as a live-alongside option or creating two pairs.
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts

 

[Courtney1027]

Thank you! I also adopted this weekend a three year old boar and took your advice and put my two old boys together and they did not even try for dominance. They have been together for about 12 hours and no fights. So I think I have a good pair. I could not get my 9 month old male to stop harassing them. Even though the old one didn’t want any part of it my young one would not stop so we tried the older ones and they are doing great! Thank you for your help!

Hi!

Neutering only takes the ability for making babies away; it is doesn't change personality, social interaction or mating behaviour. Neutered boars can still produce a room filling stinking cloud of testosterone in their pee when meeting sows, as I can amply testify!
A neutered and a full boar can live together just the same; in fact, my boar pairs have both started out that way before I had the new arrival neutered for safety reasons (they are living in a room with over 20 sows and I'd rather not risk babies from any escapees or unplanned encounters!)

However, this also means that the usual rules apply - after trios, boar quartets are the most instable combination unless you look at older boars over 4-5 years whose testosterone output has mostly fizzled out or at boar quartets that include one or more disabled and carer companion boars with very different dynamics. The younger your boars are, the more likely the risk of fall-outs and failure when introducing new boars; at the worst you can end with four singles although the most likely outcome in our experience is one pair and two singles. Teenage boars between 4-14 months of age are the most at risk due to their hormone spikes.

If you can, please consider keeping your new boy as a live-alongside option or creating two pairs.
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you! I also adopted this weekend a three year old boar and took your advice and put my two old boys together and they did not even try for dominance. They have been together for about 12 hours and no fights. So I think I have a good pair. I could not get my 9 month old male to stop harassing them. Even though the old one didn’t want any part of it my young one would not stop so we tried the older ones and they are doing great! Thank you for your help!

That is great news!