Room for one more?!

PeachyPie

PeachyPie

New Born Pup
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Hi all, I'm new here so bear with me while I try to get this right!
I have a lovely tribe of five pigs, a neutered boar and four sows. The boar and one sow are around 3-4years old and were a pair before I introduced the other three sows who are about 8months.
I am currently fostering a single female pig and, although it wasn't the plan, I've got rather attached to her and become tempted to integrate her in to my herd. She is around 3-4 months old. I've done intros in the past but not with a single pig to a large group. Do you think it has a good chance of success? If it doesn't work, is it likely to cause any long term disagreements amongst my current group? My herd are good together at the moment (the odd squable but nothing of concern) and the last thing I want to do is upset them unnecessarily.
I've included a pic of my set up because a)who doesn't like pictures?! and b) I want to check if it seems big enough for 6 pigs if it were successful?
Thanks in advance!
 

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:wel:

Any bonding comes down to character compatibility, so the only way to know would be to try and see whether she fits into the hierarchy. We really couldn’t say much more than that as it is up to the piggies whether they accept a newcomer.
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

Without knowing the measurements we couldn’t comment as to whether it would be big enough for six piggies.
Six piggies need a cage measuring 270cm x 60cm (or equivalent amount of floor space if the width measurement is different).
Cage Size Guide
 
Ok thank you. The cage is L shaped and my maths is poor but it's basically a 6ft x 4ft rectangle with an additional 2ft x 2ft square making up the 'L'. I think that makes it 28sqft? I might just have to be brave and try it 😬
 
Looking at your photo more closely that's the size it looks to me too, your cage panels look 2ft wide so 6x4 plus the 2×2 hay extension at the back? We have 6 piggies in a cage that size too, mine is a longer narrower L shape, but its plenty space! So character compatability and a good introduction experience is the only question, but if you have enough space and already have the foster piggy and want her to stay its well worth a try :)
 
I've set up a pen beside theirs so they could start saying hi through the bars for now. It looks ok I think, my boy got quite rumbly and excited and then went off and upset all the other girls!
The one I'm fostering seemed quite worried and got all puffed up and huffy before retreating. She is single because she was fighting with her sister though so whether that experience has made her a bit wary of pigs in general I don't know.
When I do proper intros is it best to intro the whole herd in one go, or one or two at a time? I don't want to overwhelm her but I know they'll need to organise their hierarchy.
 
The cage is big enough for six piggies, just make sure you have at least one hidey per guinea pig
 
20200427_134854.webp
This is my little tribe ☺️ Sadly foster piggy decided not to he part of the gang as she took a real exception to Peach (guess which one she is?!) She's currently trialling in a new home with a single piggy so hopefully she has now found her happy ever after.
 
Sometimes single sows can be very difficult and picky. Well done for trying, though.
 
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