Pigs fighting

[Nitinbaweja]

Hello. Thanks for the add. Last week we brought home 2 guinea pigs aged 2.5 years and 18 months. They are father and son. Post few days they have started fighting amongst each other, father especially going for the son and showing dominance. They are in a 120cms cage so earlier we were wondering its the size and its small for both. We have given them separate sheds as well but daddy still keeps going at him. They are eating and drinking so all looks well there as well. What can I do to stop their fighting? We are concerned they might hurt them. Thank you.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You must not confuse fighting with dominance. Do tell us exactly what you are seeing them do so we can help further

If it is just dominance, then that is fine. When you change a piggy’s environment ie bringing them to a new home they go through a period of reestablishing their relationship. You will, however, always see dominance behaviours with boars.
Their cage is too small though. Two boars need a cage of 180cm x 60cm. Boars just need more room and keeping them in a 120 cage could cause them problems. With boars, they need a lot of room, and two of every item - at least one hidey house each (and ensure all houses have two exits - dont use anything with only one exit as it can mean a piggy can get cornered by the other), two water bottles, two hay piles. I would recommend you scatter feed their veg and pellets and don’t use food bowls - it means the dominant can’t food hog but foraging for their food is enrichment for them

If they are properly fighting and blood is drawn, then their bond is broken and they won’t be able to live together. You will need to separate them permanently. if that happens, then they will need to live in a 120cm cage each but with the cages next to each other so the piggies can still interact through the bars for company.

I’ll add in some guides below to help with further information on the specifics of keeping boars

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Nitinbaweja]

Thank you so much for your reply and the information. Based on your guidelines they seem to be in 2nd and 3rd tier as suggested by you. Wouldn't say they have drawn blood but did find strands of hair from younger one I belive. Clearly we have been advised wrongly by this adoption agency. They said 120cms is enough. They haven't even bothered to reply to us and pick our calls. We unfortunately cannot take more than 120cms cage in the house. Maybe can stretch 140cms max. They havnt been neutered..could that be the reason? Or you would recommend getting 2 females and that size might work for them?

Thanks so much for your help

 

[Nitinbaweja]

The fighting also dosent happen consistently, maybe once a day. Thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you so much for your reply and the information. Based on your guidelines they seem to be in 2nd and 3rd tier as suggested by you. Wouldn't say they have drawn blood but did find strands of hair from younger one I belive. Clearly we have been advised wrongly by this adoption agency. They said 120cms is enough. They haven't even bothered to reply to us and pick our calls. We unfortunately cannot take more than 120cms cage in the house. Maybe can stretch 140cms max. They havnt been neutered..could that be the reason? Or you would recommend getting 2 females and that size might work for them?

Thanks so much for your help

Then it sounds as if their relationship could be in or heading for trouble if they don’t calm down.
Boars need so much more space so it is a shame you’ve been told your cage is big enough. A 140 cage would likely still be too small - a 150 is the absolute minimum for two boars but I can say that my own two boars were initially in a 150 and it wasn’t big enough. While space is a factor, character compatibility is the most important factor so if their relationship is in trouble then giving them more space probably won’t help them heal their rifts.
Being neutered won’t make any difference - all it does is prevent pregnancy in piggies, it doesn’t change their behaviour like it is does for other animals.

the minimum cage size requirement for two sows is 120cm x 60cm so your cage could work for two sows

 

[Piggies&buns]

The fighting also dosent happen consistently, maybe once a day. Thanks.

it doesn’t matter how much its happening really - if it is happening at all then there could be problems between them. It just depends if they can work things out between them - if they can’t it’ll escalate to a full on fight warranting immediate separation.

this guide can also help you to decipher if what you are seeing is just them establishing themselves in a new environment or if it is leading to a bigger issue
Bonds In Trouble