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Our 3rd Piggie no longer has a friend.

Piggiedad0825

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone, I need some advice. My wife and I have had 2 boys for 9 months. We adopted a 3rd boy 3 weeks ago. after doing more research we adopted a 4th 1 week later so he could have a friend. We went through the bonding process which went perfect. For a week they were great together. Well, today I heard teeth chattering and caught them fighting. Knowing the bond had broken we had to take back the 4th one. It was beyond heartbreaking. I'm wondering if the 3rd(Rocket) can still be happy? The cage separation is see through and he often hangs with his big brothers(at the separation). Our piggies are family not pets. I want all of them to be happy. Thank you for your help.
 

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You could have him neutered and get him a sow as a companion. Or take him to a rescue that does boar dating to make sure he gets a companion he gets on with.
 
How bad was the fight? Teeth chattering and a bit of squabbling doesn’t necessarily mean the bond is broken, it could be the pigs reiterating who is in charge to one another.
 
You could have him neutered and get him a sow as a companion. Or take him to a rescue that does boar dating to make sure he gets a companion he gets on with.
How bad was the fight? Teeth chattering and a bit of squabbling doesn’t necessarily mean the bond is broken, it could be the pigs reiterating who is in charge to one another.

It let to biting. I let it go until the biting started.
 
It let to biting. I let it go until the biting started.
Ah okay. If it was nipping I’d say the bond hasn’t been broken, however if it was proper biting with the potential to draw blood then I’d agree that the bond was perhaps broken. The bonding process, if done correctly and by an experienced bonder such as at a rescue, should last pretty well, however teeth chattering, rubble strutting and nipping are normal for a little while. The boys are just trying to establish rules amongst themselves in their new environment together. The bonding process generally takes 8 hours or so and there are a number of stages which the pigs will have to pass in order for it to be successful. Did you bond them yourself?
 
You could have him neutered and get him a sow as a companion. Or take him to a rescue that does boar dating to make sure he gets a companion he gets on with.

I thought about the nurturing but that is extremity risky. Wouldn't be worth killing him. We are going to try finding him a buddy after some time to heal. He seems in great spirits. I'm happy the big boys give him a lot of attention at the separation. Rocket is still eating good and running around. His big brothers taught him the art of weeking when the fridge opens.
 
Ah okay. If it was nipping I’d say the bond hasn’t been broken, however if it was proper biting with the potential to draw blood then I’d agree that the bond was perhaps broken. The bonding process, if done correctly and by an experienced bonder such as at a rescue, should last pretty well, however teeth chattering, rubble strutting and nipping are normal for a little while. The boys are just trying to establish rules amongst themselves in their new environment together. The bonding process generally takes 8 hours or so and there are a number of stages which the pigs will have to pass in order for it to be successful. Did you bond them yourself?

We bonding them ourselves with help from a expert. They did great in their bonding cage for hours upon hours. They were together for a week before all hell broke loose. If I wasn't ready with a towel it would have been much worse. Baby Rocket was bleeding from the nose. Fortunately he is healing very nicely. My wife and I prepped for day. The expert said bonds break all the time and we did the right thing. We only had Quill a week and I still miss him. I had to put my feelings aside and focus on theirs. That was hard.
 
We bonding them ourselves with help from a expert. They did great in their bonding cage for hours upon hours. They were together for a week before all hell broke loose. If I wasn't ready with a towel it would have been much worse. Baby Rocket was bleeding from the nose. Fortunately he is healing very nicely. My wife and I prepped for day. The expert said bonds break all the time and we did the right thing. We only had Quill a week and I still miss him. I had to put my feelings aside and focus on theirs. That was hard.
Sounds like it was a nasty fight :( it must have been hard to take back Quill but it was for the best as neither pig would have been happy to continue living together. The next steps ideally would be to look into boar dating at rescues around you and arrange to take your pig there for them to be bonded. My pig, Little, went to be bonded with some piggies on Monday as his cage mate passed away on Saturday. Rescues generally have a few pigs they can try and pair yours up with to get the best match possible. Little arrived back yesterday with his brand new friend. Some pigs however will refuse company, no matter how many dates they go on and then just having a neighbour is the best route. Don’t give up just yet though, one failed bonding experience doesn’t mean Rocket has to be alone in his cage forever! Ideally he should have his own cage mate unless countless dates have resulted in failure
 
Sounds like it was a nasty fight :( it must have been hard to take back Quill but it was for the best as neither pig would have been happy to continue living together. The next steps ideally would be to look into boar dating at rescues around you and arrange to take your pig there for them to be bonded. My pig, Little, went to be bonded with some piggies on Monday as his cage mate passed away on Saturday. Rescues generally have a few pigs they can try and pair yours up with to get the best match possible. Little arrived back yesterday with his brand new friend. Some pigs however will refuse company, no matter how many dates they go on and then just having a neighbour is the best route. Don’t give up just yet though, one failed bonding experience doesn’t mean Rocket has to be alone in his cage forever! Ideally he should have his own cage mate unless countless dates have resulted in failure

I completely agree! We for sure will not give up. I'm very sorry for your's and Little's loss. Losing a fur baby is very hard. Our boys are our fur sons. Their happiness will always be a #1 priority. Thank you so much for your help. I greatly appreciate it.
 

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I completely agree! We for sure will not give up. I'm very sorry for your's and Little's loss. Losing a fur baby is very hard. Our boys are our fur sons. Their happiness will always be a #1 priority. Thank you so much for your help. I greatly appreciate it.
Thank you. It’s definitely been difficult, he would have been five in October. He had liver disease as well as a history of respiratory problems, poor thing only weighed 800g. We thought he had a few months left but overnight he must have had a stroke or something, he couldn’t walk right or lift his head to eat and had to be put to sleep. He was my absolute baby, I cried for three days straight but then taking Little to be bonded with another helped me a lot. It’s such a shame they can’t live as long as humans do! Good luck with the hunt for a new piggy :)
 
Having him neutered and paired with a sow may cause issues for your other boar pair due to the cage set up. They will smell the sow next to them and could destroy their bond..

Completely agree with you. Only option is finding him a new buddy. Plus, neutering is very risky and should only be a extreme last resort.
 
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