Old pigs and new pig not getting along.

[Michael716]

Hello everyone. So I’ve had my 2 boy guinea pigs for 2, almost 3 years now. Recently adopted a female guinea pig who is 2 years old and she has pretty much been alone all her life. Her only company was kids in school. I’ve had her for about two months. She lives in a separate cage from the boy pigs. I try and put them together so they can play but they don’t get along with her. She rumble struts and tries to mount them. They even got into a tussle a few times. The boys see her and they start chattering their teeth and squeaking with anger. They don’t like her at all. She doesn’t seem to be scared or get aggressive when she’s mounting them. She sniffs them. She always wants to be with them but they just don’t like her. What can I do? I’m not trying to have them mate. Just simply have fun and get along. They are always supervised. I want her to have some friends to play with being that she was grew up all alone.

 

[Siikibam]

One thing you can’t do is have more than one boar in with a female (or females).

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

Please be aware that guinea pigs don't do play time; for them every meeting is a full-on dead serious aborted bonding session - something that is very upsetting and frustrating for them. Your sow is very dominant/fear-aggressive, and that is not going down well.

Are your boars neutered? I hope that you are aware that there is no menopause and that sows close to their season can come into it spontaneously. Your girl is now past ideal child bearing age, which means that the already high risk of a pregnancy/birth ending with the death of babies and/or mother is going up noticeably.

And thirdly, two boars do not work with any amount of sows. In the vast majority of cases this is leading to fights and fall-outs and is a surefire recipe for disaster. It doesn't matter whether the boars are neutered or not; neutering doesn't impact on boar behaviour and personality. The rule is one boar per group with any number of sows. If you have a well bonded pair, then please please leave them alone or you may end up with three singles if the stress is coming down between the two bonded boys.

Please take the time to read these guides here so you understand better what is happening and what kind of risks you are running:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/
If you can, please consider dating your sow a rescue that offers this service under expert supervision. It is rather obvious that she is rather insecure/over the top with other piggies. By the way, have you double-checked her gender?
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Sexing Guide

 

[Siikibam]

Piggies, particularly boys, don’t do play dates. Each time you put them together they have to sort out the hierarchy from scratch.

So, please stop putting them together at all. You may not want them mating but what you are doing is contradictory. It only takes one second, and you could cause severe damage to the boy if you try and separate them while they’re mating.

If boys have never been around girls then you can’t have a female(s) within smelling distance of them. You’re going to have to be prepared that the bond between your boys may be damaged somewhat.

So, you’ll have to house the girl either underneath or on the other side of the room from the boys. And the best way to get her some friends to play with is to adopt (if possible) another girl, or neutered by to live with her.

I’m sorry if my message comes across as heavy handed but I want you to enjoy your piggies without the stress of broken bonds etc Welcome and we’d love to see pigtures of your three!

 

[Siikibam]

@Wiebke offers excellent advise.

Sorry for the double info, I was finishing as she posted!