Quarantine?

[Deleted member 146903]

I am getting a young boar tomorrow. The plan is to have him neutered, then hopefully he can join our three sows, once the wait period is over. (Plan B is to have two pairs, if he fails to please our dominant sow)

He will be traveling several hours to get here, so I plan to give him a few days to relax a bit, before taking him to the vet. We’ll put him in a cage next to the sows until they can be put together safely.

My question is, assuming that he shows no obvious signs of illness or skin infections, would it be ok to place him close enough to the sows to allow contact through the cage bars? Or do we need space between them (and in that case, how much space and for how long?) I’d hate to have to put him in another room, but I don’t want to put the sows at risk either.

Other than a few pictures, all I know is that he is around 9 months old and weighs 1200g. From the pictures I’ve seen he looks healthy and friendly. His older cage mate died recently, and the family didn’t want more guinea pigs.

Any thoughts on the need for quarantine would be appreciated!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Any piggy over four months of age who has not come from a reputable rescue centre should ideally be quarantined in a separate room away from other piggies for two weeks.

It is of course your choice to not quarantine him but do accept that there may be a risk of transmissible illness which could result in all piggies needing to be treated.

You must ensure his cage is very secure. A boar will be be very excited by the presence of sows (particularly if he is otherwise not used to sow pheromones) and they can be determined to escape their cages to get in with girls

 

[weepweeps]

Hope he settles in well. Can’t wait to see some pigtures when you are able.

 

[Deleted member 146903]

@Piggies&buns Thanks, good advice. I’ll make sure the cage top is securely fastened to the bottom and put cable ties on the side hatch.

@weepweeps I will, once he has settled down a few days.

 

[Wiebke]

Here is our information on the most common pitfalls with new guinea pigs: New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

So you know what to look out for. Hopefully your boy is OK.

 

[Deleted member 146903]

This is Emil. He has only been with us for a little over 24 hours, so still a bit shy. He forgot about being scared when we took him out to meet the girls, though

It turns out he has been kept alone, away from other pigs for the past three weeks. He had no signs of illness when we got him, and he has clearly been looked well after - used to being handled, nails nicely trimmed, etc. So we decided to risk it and put him next to the girls right away.

He’s off to the vet tomorrow to be neutered. This is the first time we need a vet, and of course the one that everyone recommends is 1.5 hours of driving away. But I guess minimizing the risk of complications is worth the extra time.

By the way, my sincere apologies for breaking Facebook on Monday afternoon. Emil reached us via two intermediaries, none of whom were willing to give much personal information to a stranger on the Internet, and our only means of contact was FB messenger. I wasn’t all that surprised when I arrived at the agreed meeting place, the street door of a multi-tenant building, and I couldn’t reach anyone. I suppose that Murphy couldn’t resist that one.

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

Welcome Emil! You are very cute!

He probably thinks all his Christmases have come at once, in a lovely big cage next to some pretty sows A word to the wise though - boars can be surprisingly determined and agile in their quest to get to sows. He might be able to jump or climb the bars, especially if the carrot cottage found its way next to the bars.. It might be a good idea to make the barrier higher just in case.

 

[Deleted member 146903]

Welcome Emil! You are very cute!

He probably thinks all his Christmases have come at once, in a lovely big cage next to some pretty sows A word to the wise though - boars can be surprisingly determined and agile in their quest to get to sows. He might be able to jump or climb the bars, especially if the carrot cottage found its way next to the bars.. It might be a good idea to make the barrier higher just in case.

Thanks, he is definitely determined, and our oldest sow is quite willing to help lift or topple the fence. So until he is safe, he is living in a closed cage next to the sows.

We let him out so he can get as close as possible under supervision only. Fortunately we work from home, so he will get out several times a day.

 

[Merab]

What a handsome boy Emil is.
When Micah had been neutered he spent most of his recovery trying to chew his way through the extra high grids to get to the girls.
Boars can be very determined!
He did bond very happily with the 3 girls when he was safe.
Hope Emil gets his happy ending too.

 

[Deleted member 146903]

Emil has had a rough week with lots of traveling, getting used to new surroundings, and going to the vet for neutering. He ate very little on his own after the trip to the vet, and he had lost some weight after we got him, so we began giving Critical Care yesterday. But in the evening he apparently decided that he’d made his point and began stuffing his face with hay.

He is now spending most of his time at the cage divider, strutting and rumbling whenever one of the girls approach. Which they do every couple of minutes, so he is being kept busy

 

[weepweeps]

I’m pleased he’s on the mend.

 

[Merab]

Good to hear he’s on the mend.
He’s had a rough few days but is clearly feeling happier.

 

[Deleted member 146903]

It’s been non-stop zooming and popcorning this evening, so I think it’s fair to say that he is no longer stressed out or in pain

He is still rumbling when the two youngsters come up to the divider, but he has begun making submissive noises when the senior sow approaches. I think I can guess who will be in charge when the divider comes down.