Ophelia

So eight loads of fleece-washing and nine long hours later, they are both settled in the run. Hamlet really will have to learn to speed-eat as Ophelia moved onto his bowl even before she had finished hers. There has been some chasing and squeaking, with Ophelia putting Hamlet in his place, but it seems to be ok. Hamlet is occupied with a forage trail at the moment whilst Ophelia rests in a carrot cottage.
 
For half-an-hour now (feels longer), there has been non-stop, loud vocalising (at times, I think from both of them simultaneously), fast chasing and mounting -- with Ophelia even mounting Hamlet. I think it is mainly Hamlet chasing Ophelia, though, and that she is the one doing the submissive squeaking when it is just one of them vocalising. It all comes across as argumentative and is certainly much more intense and frantic than anything I have seen before. Is this all to be expected (dominance behaviour)? Before that, they had each been curled up in separate carrot cottages.
 
This has been practically non-stop chasing and mounting from Hamlet whilst Ophelia continuously squeaks. She’s not able to rest or eat for very long at all. She has sometimes pushed him away with her head.
 
There is still chasing (Hamlet) and squeaking (Ophelia), so I hope it hasn't been going on all night. I had hoped we could have a more 'normal' set-up when they were put back together in the run yesterday, but I have just now removed the four-entranced carrot cottages and put a big pile of hay all across the other end of the run, and covered the grids there. I am loathe to take out the mini-hutch, as I wanted to keep the run more as Ophelia knows it. As a first step, I'll keep the sleeping-area door wide open too (I had already cut an entrance/exit into it), so that it is more like the covered area I have just made at the other end.

I hope this is just what you would expect. Of course, I am made rather anxious by chasing that will stop Ophelia from resting and eating.
 
Moderators, I am so sorry, having attempted to post this once, and getting in a muddle, it is now posted 3 times! Please would you remove two of the identical replies as well as this comment. Thank you!

Should I tag you, @Merab?
 
They are going to chase and establish for a couple of weeks and particularly with him being newly neutered and his first time with a lady. I am sure it is nerve wracking with what has happened before but continue to monitor Ophelia’s weight and give them some time to sort things out.
 
Oooo sounds like normal behaviour to me. My two sows had a real chase and squeak fest for around two weeks when they first came to me and they had been together in their previous home.

Hope they are doing alright now and that peace can prevail.
 
It has calmed down a lot now. Hamlet no longer chases but he will rumblestrut past her. If he gets too close, the poor lad either gets his head shoved away or is spurted with pee. Ophelia is very vocal, continuing to vocalise long after he has left. I hope Hamlet starts popcorning again, as he did when they lived separately. I want him to like it here! They do seem to sit fairly near each other when they are calm which was rare with Bianca and Ophelia, so I am hopeful that it will be a good relationship. Ophelia trilled to herself as she curled up in her cuddle-cup last night, which I take as a sign of contentment. So, things are much much better now. Ophelia seems to be eating a lot of hay and has maintained her (new, lower) weight without critical care. She still needs to put on a great deal of weight, though.
 
Cufflinks (boar) was sprayed with wee but he ended up very happily bonded to Mistletoe and Jingle (sows).
Sounds like things are going well. Sending contented guinea pigs vibes.
 
I saw Hamlet popcorn a few times last night, so I think he must be ok with the situation! I am giving them so many forage trails both to keep him entertained and Ophelia eating. I feel like I'm entertaining a guest, trying to make sure that they have a nice time!
 
KHBz said:
I saw Hamlet popcorn a few times last night, so I think he must be ok with the situation! I am giving them so many forage trails both to keep him entertained and Ophelia eating. I feel like I'm entertaining a guest, trying to make sure that they have a nice time!
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Hamlet is perfectly happy. Ophelia is obviously in charge and is enforcing her private sphere until she comes into season. That is normal for a dominant First Lady. It doesn't mean that they are not bonded but that she is still making sure who is in control. They are still very much establishing their new group in their territory - they have bonded but are still working out the small print. It doesn't say anything how about how good friends they will ultimately become. ;)

Ophelia will put her weight back on when her body is ready for it. That can take some weeks or even months. The fact that she is tucking in and is holding her weight is great. :tu:
 
Wiebke said:
Hamlet is perfectly happy. Ophelia is obviously in charge and is enforcing her private sphere until she comes into season. That is normal for a dominant First Lady. It doesn't mean that they are not bonded but that she is still making sure who is in control. They are still very much establishing their new group in their territory - they have bonded but are still working out the small print. It deasn't say anything how about how good friends they will ultimately become. ;)

Ophelia will put her weight back on when her body is ready for it. That can take some weeks or even months. The fact that she is tucking in and is holding her weight is great. :tu:
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Thank you very much for your informative and reassuring reply. Bonding is new to me, boars are new to me, and it has all been very worrying with Ophelia’s weight loss (linked with being bullied when ‘bonded’ with a four-year-old sow, before Hamlet).

On another note, I often wish that someone with the huge experience of guinea-pigs that you have (indeed, you!), also knew Ophelia and so could help me read her changing behaviour — both during Bianca’s long illness (in which Bianca’s lively and happy behaviour didn’t seem to change at all) and then after Bianca died. She has been so different, in ways that seem positive, since Bianca’s death, yet theirs had seemed an amicable, fairly equal, co-existence. I conjecture, but it all seems to be quite complex and so leaves me wondering as I watch her.
 
First she settled in the cuddle cup, but that was no good.
Then she pushed her way behind the cuddle cup, but that was not right either.
And so then she wriggled under the cuddle cup, and that was very fine indeed.

Perhaps it is time to re-introduce the cavy-cosies into their home!
 
KHBz said:
First she settled in the cuddle cup, but that was no good.
Then she pushed her way behind the cuddle cup, but that was not right either.
And so then she wriggled under the cuddle cup, and that was very fine indeed.

Perhaps it is time to re-introduce the cavy-cosies into their home!
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Yes, you can reintroduce the cosies into her home.

Ophelia's behaviour towards Hamlet is typical for a sow on the fear-aggressive side who needs to feel secure in her new leadership position before the ice in her mouth melts. However, Hamlet is quite obviously not on the dominant or badly oversexed side so they are going to work out just fine.

If it was really bullying her weight should be going up now that she is eating normally again. If the bullying or weight loss is due to an underlying health issue, then the weight can struggle to go up or can continue to slowly go down further. It can be extremely difficult to tell what exactly is going on without any clear indicators, as I know from my own experiences.
 
KHBz said:
First she settled in the cuddle cup, but that was no good.
Then she pushed her way behind the cuddle cup, but that was not right either.
And so then she wriggled under the cuddle cup, and that was very fine indeed.

Perhaps it is time to re-introduce the cavy-cosies into their home!
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She needs a weighted blanket 😂
 
Wiebke said:
Yes, you can reintroduce the cosies into her home.

Ophelia's behaviour towards Hamlet is typical for a sow on the fear-aggressive side who needs to feel secure in her new leadership position before the ice in her mouth melts. However, Hamlet is quite obviously not on the dominant or badly oversexed side so they are going to work out just fine.

If it was really bullying her weight should be going up now that she is eating normally again. If the bullying or weight loss is due to an underlying health issue, then the weight can struggle to go up or can continue to slowly go down further. It can be extremely difficult to tell what exactly is going on without any clear indicators, as I know from my own experiences.
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Thank you very much for your reply, Wiebke, and I am sorry about the delayed response.

We got in a tangle trying to work out if Betsie's behaviour was extreme dominance, albeit within the realm of 'normal', or whether it was indeed bullying. Whatever it was, there were too many occasions that I can list in which Betsie stopped Ophelia from eating. I could also see that Ophelia had not lost her appetite and could still eat hay, the latter suggesting (I think) that there was not a problem with her teeth. Ophelia also exhibited various stress behaviours around Betsie, which again I can pinpoint, to the extent that she even ran away from her when the grid was put back inbetween them. After the separation, it took Ophelia a long time (days going into weeks) to be able to settle in one place for more than a few seconds at a time. Had we not been going on holiday at the point we did, we would have separated them a week earlier and avoided the continued weight loss over that week. Now, however, she is relaxed, eating hay and making contented sounds. We will continue to monitor her weight and if it starts to go down again, we will, of course, take her back to the vets again... and again... and again. For now it is both lovely and a relief to see her happy again.
 
Ophelia came running out excitedly and received some nuggets, even letting me stroke her. Hamlet was not so happy to be hand fed but took one after I held it under his nose.
When I tried to put them away, Ophelia gave two firm nose rubs: absolutely not, hooman!
 
Ophelia finished her bowl of veggies and, mouth still full, went in search for some more ....

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That was her second successful foray.
By the end, Hamlet was sitting in front of an empty bowl, searching for that pepper that he was sure was there.
Nopiggy seems to speed-eat as Bianca and Ophelia always did.
 
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