New Babies On The Way!

[Crkers&Cheese]

Hello! I am new to the forum and to Guinea Pigs. I have a couple questions so i can have my place ready for my little boars which I am picking up on sunday!

I already have a cage, and i will be getting some oxbow pellets and timothy hay. As well as food bowls, water bottles, carefresh (until i can pick up some fleece) and some chew toys.
I will be getting 2 of everything to make sure my boys won't fight. They have been together about a week and have been fine so I'm hoping thats good. One is 6 weeks (crackers) and the other is about 10 months (cheese).

I am planning on tying some fleece to make a shelter of sorts on each end of the cage so they both have somewhere to go if they need some alone time and so that there is more than one way out to try to keep bullying out of the pictures.

I have heard so many horror stories about boar pairings but I'm guessing not every situation ends up that dire. I am hoping my boys continue to get along.

Is there any other general advice you can give me? I have read all of the sitckys about what to do when they get home and how to settle them when they get here.

Thanks!

 

[PiggyJustice]

If Cheese (the older one) has been kept in his own cage he might take a while to settle in with his new partner since he's not used to having other people around. If I may ask, is there a particular reason the person you're getting the pigs from paired a 6 week old pup with a 10 month old adult guinea pig? Was it the last pup of the litter and they paired it with an adult who didn't have a partner or did you choose those two specifically?

 

[Crkers&Cheese]

Cheese was a rescue. He was with another pig but they kept them in separate cages beside each other. When the rescue lady took him in the two of them fought until almost drawing blood so she had to separate them. Now she is trying to find him another friend and she says that these two get along well. Cheese is being dominant and humping crackers, which I know is normal but there has been no fighting other than that. Also the lady who has them has females, so she thinks that could be riling them up aswell.

I'm not sure the reason behind the two being together.

 

[PiggyJustice]

I think as long as the mounting doesn't irritate Crackers to the point where he lashes out they should be fine - it might even stop once Cheese gets his point across. It's true that boars are harder to pair than sows but hopefully these two will do well together.

 

[Crkers&Cheese]

I'm hoping so. Cheese really wanted a friend so I'm hoping Crackers is his guy.

There are so many horror stories about boars falling out - I'm sure this can't always be the case or no one would want any boars haha.

 

[PiggyJustice]

I'm hoping so. Cheese really wanted a friend so I'm hoping Crackers is his guy.

There are so many horror stories about boars falling out - I'm sure this can't always be the case or no one would want any boars haha.

Not at all! I think it's all down to their personalities, there's a general rule of thumb that you shouldn't group more than 2 boars together, but I have 3 boars in one cage who get along splendidly and hate being separated from each other.

 

[madguinealady]

You didn't mention meadow hay.Timothy hay has to be kept in hay racks as it is quite spiky and can cause hay pokes if guinea pigs jump around in it.If you are planning on giving them hay to play or sleep in it needs to be the softer meadow hay.Everything else sounds fine.What type of cage are they going to be in?

 

[Flutterby]

Exciting times! Good luck with the new pics

 

[rosie and bramble]

Welcome to the forum.

It is exciting for you getting your new piggies. It could be tricky in a few few weeks and there is a chance even long term bonded piggies can fall out. Yours though run a slightly higher risk of falling out due to their ages, one is still in the critical dominant stage and the youngest about to enter it. Boars tend to got through the dominance stage between the ages 3months - 18 months.

Here is a link you can read : https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! I am new to the forum and to Guinea Pigs. I have a couple questions so i can have my place ready for my little boars which I am picking up on sunday!

I already have a cage, and i will be getting some oxbow pellets and timothy hay. As well as food bowls, water bottles, carefresh (until i can pick up some fleece) and some chew toys.
I will be getting 2 of everything to make sure my boys won't fight. They have been together about a week and have been fine so I'm hoping thats good. One is 6 weeks (crackers) and the other is about 10 months (cheese).

I am planning on tying some fleece to make a shelter of sorts on each end of the cage so they both have somewhere to go if they need some alone time and so that there is more than one way out to try to keep bullying out of the pictures.

I have heard so many horror stories about boar pairings but I'm guessing not every situation ends up that dire. I am hoping my boys continue to get along.

Is there any other general advice you can give me? I have read all of the sitckys about what to do when they get home and how to settle them when they get here.

Thanks!

More boar bonds than not make it through the teenage months, especially if there is an age gap. By the time Crackers is hitting the testosterone, Cheese should be over it himself and be a hormonally much more settled adult.

What you have to brace yourself for is a renewal of the dominance in the first days, mosty some rumbling, humping, a bit of nipping and chucking out of prime territory and off food bowls - what I call throwing round pig's weight. However, as Crackers is still just a baby, this should be minimal; as there is no contest about who is top. Boars are usually careful and pretty good with babies and some make wonderful daddy-pigs (like my Bedo with his three 8 week old triplet wifelets bounding after him last year or currently my large Carwyn with his 6 week old baby wife).
If you wish to, have a little tunnel or hut with two small exits that Cheese can't get into as an escape for the baby if the chasing/humping is becoming a bit too persistent. The little ones are so nimble that they can get away easily anyway!