Should I get Sven neutered?

HeatherRose

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My newest piggie Sven is a little over a year old and not neutered. He lives with my neutered boar Kristoff and next to my other neutered boar Olaf and 3 females. I’m guessing Elsa is in season because every time she gets near the bars, Sven runs over and rumble-struts his butt off and then starts chewing the bars of the cage. He is almost constantly gnawing on the bars now. My neutered boars do not seem to care who is in season really. Will neutering him help with this? I just feel like he is stressed out all the time trying to get to her right now and I have two other females so someone might be in season at all times! I also like to have them all together for outside time. If I got him neutered it would also give more options if he and Kristoff didn’t get along later on. Basically, I don’t want to put him through an operation if it is not going to improve his life. I’m pretty sure he is in love with Elsa, they kiss and rub noses through the bars all the time. 01267934-5B49-4F3E-9368-333A983D5C9C.webp
 
I have 2 neutered boars and one of them (Eddi) is the most laid back guinea pig that ever lived.
Other than a very brief interest in the ladies when he was around a year old, he has never shown the slightest interest in them (in that way).
Eddi is as likely to rumble strut at the food dish as he is at his cage mate.

Harry on the other hand (also neutered) is completely different, and despite living with a female, when Oreo (in the cage next door) is in season he goes crazy.
Basically I have to put a cardboard divider up for 24 hours.

So in my limited experience neutering Sven won't change his behavior.
You should only consider it if you want more flexibility in making up groups at some point down the track.
Plus if it were me I would alsways be slightly nervous having an entire male living near females in case he somehow came into contact with them.
 
It won't change his behaviour, but if you want to mix them at all then it certainly does open up your options :)
 
If it were me, then if was going to put them all out on the grass/floor together I'd be getting him neutered - I wouldn't want to take the risk of a pregnancy.

How does Elsa feel about him? If he were neutered then you'd have the option of them living together - she might be receptive or she might tell him where to go, but either way he might find closer contact a better solution than having her tantalisingly out of reach!
 
My newest piggie Sven is a little over a year old and not neutered. He lives with my neutered boar Kristoff and next to my other neutered boar Olaf and 3 females. I’m guessing Elsa is in season because every time she gets near the bars, Sven runs over and rumble-struts his butt off and then starts chewing the bars of the cage. He is almost constantly gnawing on the bars now. My neutered boars do not seem to care who is in season really. Will neutering him help with this? I just feel like he is stressed out all the time trying to get to her right now and I have two other females so someone might be in season at all times! I also like to have them all together for outside time. If I got him neutered it would also give more options if he and Kristoff didn’t get along later on. Basically, I don’t want to put him through an operation if it is not going to improve his life. I’m pretty sure he is in love with Elsa, they kiss and rub noses through the bars all the time. View attachment 88725

Neutering doesn't change behaviour - he will still react to Elsa, as my own rather laid-back Nye is showing who I had neutered since I cannot risk any accidental meetings in a room full of often elderly sows.

His mate Nosgan is not into sows (which is why he has come here) and has a potentially life shortening issue, so I wanted to make sure that Nye can go with sows if Nosgan has to be put to sleep as an emergency.
Nosgan has got a hernia as a late neutering op complication, which took place before I adopted him. The hernia has been thankfully stable for the last year although Nosgan does have mild impaction and suffers with a very quick smegma build up around his penis as a result.

Things will settle down a bit more once he is a hormonally much more settled adult but any strong season is bound to excite the boys even as adults if my own live-alongside boars are anything to go by.

As long as living next to sows is not destabilising the boar bond, you can continue but we generally strongly recommend to not keep boars in sight and reach of sows and sow pheromones for exactly that reason and place an opaque divider that is higher and wider than the cage between sows and bonded boar pairs.

You can find a very extensive discussion of all aspects around neutering and neutering ops in this guide here: Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts
 
If it were me, then if was going to put them all out on the grass/floor together I'd be getting him neutered - I wouldn't want to take the risk of a pregnancy.

How does Elsa feel about him? If he were neutered then you'd have the option of them living together - she might be receptive or she might tell him where to go, but either way he might find closer contact a better solution than having her tantalisingly out of reach!
Elsa is constantly coming up to the bars to see him/tease him so she might like him.
 
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