Post introduction squabbling help

[Zofia]

I introduced Sadie (3-4mth female) to Babe & Eric (18mth old female and adult neutered male) on Saturday.

We started in the bath for a couple of hours and when the fighting had settled down moved them to their freshly cleaned cage.

We've got some aggression issues:
Sadie puts her nose underneath Babe's which is normally met by a chin butt from Babe,
Babe has been rumblestrutting round Sadie which is either met by a chin butt from both sides, or a bit of circling and then they both run off,
Some mounting from Babe (again met by a chin butt)
Chin butting from Babe sometimes when feeding, although most of the time she lets Sadie take food with no problems,
One sniffing the others bottom, again met by a chin butt from the "sniffed" pig,
Hair raising and foot stamping from Sadie which is normally ignored by Babe.

At other times the 3 pigs will sit happily in a row (with space between them) or eat together.

Eric has been intervening in some of the squabbles but has not become involved in aggressive behaviour himself.

Sadie seems quite keen to join in with Eric and Babe but Babe will only tolerate so much before chin butting her.

There has been no biting or injury.

I'm assuming this is just dominance behaviour and they are trying to establish pecking order so i have not intervened. They seem to be more tolerant of each other during floor time and the 2 girls have fallen asleep in the same tube when out playing.

Obviously, seeing them squabbling is quite distressing. Can anyone reassure me that this is normal? How long does it normally take them to work these things out?

 

[Wiebke]

The behaviour is normal dominance behaviour with Babe going for the top spot. It can go on for a while. But with the girls eating and sleeping together, you need not be worried much, if this carries on for some time. Your girls sound like they have signed the contract and are just working on the "small print" i.e. which shape their relationship is going to take. It looks to us like a lot of squabbling, as guinea pigs need to spell everything out, but it is very normal and acceptable behaviour to them.

I hope that this link can help you:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561

 

[Zofia]

I was surprised last night because Sadie took a piece of coriander from Babe's mouth - I wouldn't have thought she'd let her do this but she didn't seem bothered.

It's all very confusing!

I will watch them with interest for the next few evenings and hope it settles down soon.

I feel sorry for poor Eric as well - Babe never lets him mount her and I think he thought his luck was in when Sadie arrived but she won't entertain him either. I think he's just destined to be bottom of the pile for the rest of his life!

 

[Wiebke]

I was surprised last night because Sadie took a piece of coriander from Babe's mouth - I wouldn't have thought she'd let her do this but she didn't seem bothered.

It's all very confusing!

I will watch them with interest for the next few evenings and hope it settles down soon.

I feel sorry for poor Eric as well - Babe never lets him mount her and I think he thought his luck was in when Sadie arrived but she won't entertain him either. I think he's just destined to be bottom of the pile for the rest of his life!

Girls come into season every 15-17 days and will be ready to mate for a few short hours at the end of it. Eric will have to wait until then, but brace yourself for some fireworks! Quite often, the first season in a new group can be RATHER lively! Don't let yourself be distressed by the girl being VERY vocal and all the shenanigans - it's all part of the ritual!

 

[lovelygirl]

i suppose that is something i can look forward to when i get jive home i didn't think about the antics associated with having a boy and a girl

 

[Zofia]

They seemed a little more settled last night. I came home to find all 3 sleeping in a triangle, noses together in the middle. Babe and Sadie have been hiding under the hammock together too.

Babe is still trying to hump Sadie and challenging her by raising noses and chin butting, but Sadie is ignoring this now and just moving out of the way so I think Babe's winning! Sadie's also waiting for Babe's say so before she goes for the food bowl.

I am very pleased with progress. We had our first 3 pig train last night during floor time (although admittedly most of the time it was Babe chasing Sadie trying to mount her and Eric following behind!). Sadie has been popcorning after Babe has finished challenging her and she looks quite pleased with herself so I think she's enjoying the company.

Do they ever settle down completely or will I always have these little squabbles?

 

[Wiebke]

They will settle down pretty well, though you can get the occasional squabble (we call it "handbags at dawn" ) - more often than not when top lady is feeling grumpy or is ill and #2 is thinking of taking over...