Should My Sows Have Already Established Dominance?

[winifredandalp]

Hi, I just adopted two 5 week old sows today (born on 21st of November and 23rd of November) from someone who didn't have enough space to take care of them. They are not siblings but have been brought up together since birth and I was wondering if they should have established dominance already or if it affects them being the only two guinea pigs in a cage together after being with a herd. At first I thought they weren't getting along because they kept chasing each other and making loud 'get away from me!' noises, but I learnt from these forums that they are just part of the dominant phase! As this is my first day owning them, I'm aware their behaviour will change, but I'd really appreciate the help as their squeeking worries me that they are getting hurt.

 

[Pearl and Zip]

I don’t know. I introduced my pig to a new one in September, and they still haven’t figured out who’s dominant.

 

[winifredandalp]

Ah, I've read that may be because they are of similar ranking! They wil probably have a face off and then decide who's boss.

I don’t know. I introduced my pig to a new one in September, and they still haven’t figured out who’s dominant.

 

[Pearl and Zip]

Ah, I've read that may be because they are of similar ranking! They wil probably have a face off and then decide who's boss.

Yeah, they’re only 5 months apart. Zip’s the older one. She wants to be dominant. Pearl just ignores her, but occasionally snaps at her.

 

[winifredandalp]

Ah I find it so scary when guinea pigs fight or are aggressive, I wouldn't want my sweet piggies getting hurt! Thats the whole reason I made this thread- I'm terrified of them hurting themselves/each other!

Yeah, they’re only 5 months apart. Zip’s the older one. She wants to be dominant. Pearl just ignores her, but occasionally snaps at her.

 

[Betsy]

There are good guides on behaviour and dominance and bonding Inthe guides at the top of the page. Can't link them in at the mo as I not on the laptop.

 

[VickiA]

Hello and welcome.

Here is a link to our bonding and behaviour threads. Please have a good read of them. Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

Were your girls together as a pair or part of a larger group before you brought them home?

The likelihood is that your girls have already accepted each other, but their new surroundings have upset the balance between them and they need to re-establish their relationship to see who is in charge. This is not uncommon even in well established bonded pairs when they move to a new home. Please do not separate unless there is a full on fight. This will settle down again. Also, with sows you will see increase dominance when they come into season. For new owners this can be a bit if a shock, but this is normal dominance behaviour.

Once you’ve read the guides please ask if you have any further questions. And please can we see photos of your piggies? Love piggy photos.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, I just adopted two 5 week old sows today (born on 21st of November and 23rd of November) from someone who didn't have enough space to take care of them. They are not siblings but have been brought up together since birth and I was wondering if they should have established dominance already or if it affects them being the only two guinea pigs in a cage together after being with a herd. At first I thought they weren't getting along because they kept chasing each other and making loud 'get away from me!' noises, but I learnt from these forums that they are just part of the dominant phase! As this is my first day owning them, I'm aware their behaviour will change, but I'd really appreciate the help as their squeeking worries me that they are getting hurt.

Hi!

Your two need to establish a new functional group in new territory. While they know how they rank with each other, they still have to work it out. They are only youngsters that have just lost the special protection as nursing babies and that are still expecting guidance from their elders when they are suddenly finding themselves all on their own. Please make sure that you have only hideys and tunnels with two exits in the cage for the time being.
Also provide two bowls, one for each. Serve pellets and veg only in small portions that can be eaten at once 2-3 days daily and remove the bowls in between. This encourages them to eat as much hay as possible, which is much better than an unlimited supply that usually gets peed and pooed on. Unlimites hay should make over 80% of the daily food intake.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Sow Behaviour
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet

New Owners' Problem Solver And Information Collection

 

[winifredandalp]

I dont have any more questions, thank you! And yes they were part of a bigger herd (unexpected pregnancy I think) and I've recently moved them in with no other piggies.
This is Alp: (I think she's an abyssinian mix with swiss? Sometimes she can look quite fluffy)

And this ginger one is Winifred! she's showing signs of being the more dominant one, but I think Alp and her are quite similar in status. I think she's just a regular smooth! (alsp sorry, she is very skittish and hard to get pictures of and Alp is very chill)

Thank you for your help!

Hello and welcome.

Here is a link to our bonding and behaviour threads. Please have a good read of them. Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

Were your girls together as a pair or part of a larger group before you brought them home?

The likelihood is that your girls have already accepted each other, but their new surroundings have upset the balance between them and they need to re-establish their relationship to see who is in charge. This is not uncommon even in well established bonded pairs when they move to a new home. Please do not separate unless there is a full on fight. This will settle down again. Also, with sows you will see increase dominance when they come into season. For new owners this can be a bit if a shock, but this is normal dominance behaviour.

Once you’ve read the guides please ask if you have any further questions. And please can we see photos of your piggies? Love piggy photos.

 

[Wiebke]

I dont have any more questions, thank you! And yes they were part of a bigger herd (unexpected pregnancy I think) and I've recently moved them in with no other piggies.
This is Alp: (I think she's an abyssinian mix with swiss? Sometimes she can look quite fluffy)

And this ginger one is Winifred! she's showing signs of being the more dominant one, but I think Alp and her are quite similar in status. I think she's just a regular smooth! (alsp sorry, she is very skittish and hard to get pictures of and Alp is very chill)

Thank you for your help!

The white one looks like she may have some sheltie/silkie in her. You have to wait until she grows old to see how much her hair is growing out.

How big is that cage? The minimum space recommendation is 2x4 ft (60 x 120 cm). Guinea pigs are ground roamers and need as much space as they can get. Unfortunately, pet shops are still getting away with selling small hamster cages for guinea pigs!
Cage Size Guide

 

[winifredandalp]

Thank you, this is very helpful! We had 2 bowls in there and give them equal amounts of veg every day so there is no fighting over it. There is a home in there which only has one exit which I'm worried about since it's become one of the piggie's hiding places, and since they're still very new if I try and remove it they'll just run into it and I've been told never to remove a piggie from a hiding place.

Hi!

Your two need to establish a new functional group in new territory. While they know how they rank with each other, they still have to work it out. They are only youngsters that have just lost the special protection as nursing babies and that are still expecting guidance from their elders when they are suddenly finding themselves all on their own. Please make sure that you have only hideys and tunnels with two exits in the cage for the time being.
Also provide two bowls, one for each. Serve pellets and veg only in small portions that can be eaten at once 2-3 days daily and remove the bowls in between. This encourages them to eat as much hay as possible, which is much better than an unlimited supply that usually gets peed and pooed on. Unlimites hay should make over 80% of the daily food intake.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Sow Behaviour
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet

New Owners' Problem Solver And Information Collection

 

[winifredandalp]

The white one looks like she may have some sheltie/silkie in her. You have to wait until she grows old to see how much her hair is growing out.

How big is that cage? The minimum space recommendation is 2x4 ft (60 x 120 cm). Guinea pigs are ground roamers and need as much space as they can get. Unfortunately, pet shops are still getting away with selling small hamster cages for guinea pigs!
Cage Size Guide

Ah, in the last pic it's a carry container! Don't worry I'd never put guinea pigs in anything that small, I'd say the cage is about 1metre by 0.5metres (I'm not sure what that is in ft sorry)

 

[Wiebke]

Ah, in the last pic it's a carry container! Don't worry I'd never put guinea pigs in anything that small, I'd say the cage is about 1metre by 0.5metres (I'm not sure what that is in ft sorry)

Thanks for clarifying that.

If you could upgrade your cage at some point, that would be great; it is less than the recommended welfare minimum when you have a look at the cage size guide and about the minimum for 1 guinea pig (which of course should not be kept alone).
I have added a picture with a direct comparison of all possible commercial cage sizes to the guide; you may find it an eye opener! You will get the benefit of some very happy and healthy guinea pigs!

You just have to sit it out with your babies. They are obviously fairly evenly matched in dominance and ambition. You may see flare ups in the coming months whenever one of the girls is coming into season (see the sow guide).

 

[winifredandalp]

Ah ok, thank you! Just looking at the cage we know we're going to have to upgrade soon anyway, since when all the furniture is in it's quite small!
And yes, just know they've been sharing the same hidey hole after chasing each other for hours last night, I think we're making progress
Thank you!

Thanks for clarifying that.

If you could upgrade your cage at some point, that would be great; it is less than the recommended welfare minimum when you have a look at the cage size guide and about the minimum for 1 guinea pig (which of course should not be kept alone).
I have added a picture with a direct comparison of all possible commercial cage sizes to the guide; you may find it an eye opener! You will get the benefit of some very happy and healthy guinea pigs!

You just have to sit it out with your babies. They are obviously fairly evenly matched in dominance and ambition. You may see flare ups in the coming months whenever one of the girls is coming into season (see the sow guide).

 

[Wiebke]

Ah ok, thank you! Just looking at the cage we know we're going to have to upgrade soon anyway, since when all the furniture is in it's quite small!
And yes, just know they've been sharing the same hidey hole after chasing each other for hours last night, I think we're making progress
Thank you!

Take the time to do your research. We have got lots of members' cage galleries and information at the top of our housing section. Somebody usually knows where you are can get the current best bargain for what you are looking for. Most of us have opted for C&C grid cages, as they are more adaptable and can be easily extended in all directions, including upwards.

 

[winifredandalp]

Lovely, thank you! I had a look at that yesterday and considered some of the designs people have! The problem is mostly space at this point (and we need to save a bit more money) so a C & C cage would be ideal to build up and I saw one that went around a corner, which is a really good space saving idea! I'm not very good with building things if they needed a ramp (if I made it two stories) but I'm sure I could figure it out!

Take the time to do your research. We have got lots of members' cage galleries and information at the top of our housing section. Somebody usually knows where you are can get the current best bargain for what you are looking for. Most of us have opted for C&C grid cages, as they are more adaptable and can be easily extended in all directions, including upwards.

 

[Wiebke]

Lovely, thank you! I had a look at that yesterday and considered some of the designs people have! The problem is mostly space at this point (and we need to save a bit more money) so a C & C cage would be ideal to build up and I saw one that went around a corner, which is a really good space saving idea! I'm not very good with building things if they needed a ramp (if I made it two stories) but I'm sure I could figure it out!

Members can help you with this. There are also companies that will provide cage kits including ramps for any size and design. Take your time to save up and do a really good one when you are able to!

 

[winifredandalp]

Thank you so much for all your help!

Members can help you with this. There are also companies that will provide cage kits including ramps for any size and design. Take your time to save up and do a really good one when you are able to!

 

[winifredandalp]

The girls are feeding together and generally being more chill on the second day of owning them! Still the random chasing around though, but less often! Something that's worrying me is that Alp often corners Winifred and jumps on top of her. (I know about mounting, but it's the cornering that worries me) I woke up this morning and they were together in a hidey hole! Progress! I also managed to move a home that only had one entrance so it had 2, to prevent any future mishaps.

Also, we've been looking at C & C cages for them and, as I mentioned in a previous thread, they are a lot cheaper than expected! So these girlies will moving in the near future, hopefuly!

 

[Wiebke]

The girls are feeding together and generally being more chill on the second day of owning them! Still the random chasing around though, but less often! Something that's worrying me is that Alp often corners Winifred and jumps on top of her. (I know about mounting, but it's the cornering that worries me) I woke up this morning and they were together in a hidey hole! Progress! I also managed to move a home that only had one entrance so it had 2, to prevent any future mishaps.

Also, we've been looking at C & C cages for them and, as I mentioned in a previous thread, they are a lot cheaper than expected! So these girlies will moving in the near future, hopefuly!

The behaviour is very normal for the dominance phase and nothing to worry about. Dominancy is not nice, but a hierarchy is at the core of any functioning piggy society. Unless you, your girls have got the instinctive manual and see it differently. They HAVE bonded, but are currently working through the small print as to how exactly their relationship is going to look like. Things should calm down more with every passing day.

 

[sam blackwell]

Hi I have adopted two 2 month females a week ago and they have been settling in ok. Stop can' pick them up bit k ow that will come with time. Today they have been rumberling to each other and keep humping each other. Both have been shaking there bums. As I'm new to Gunnie pigs I just want advice as to why they are doing it and can they still live together

 

[winifredandalp]

Your guinea pigs are just working out who is boss! There is a lot of information on dominant behaviour and bonding on the forum, if you have time, check it out! Were your sows living together for a long time before you adopted them?

Hi I have adopted two 2 month females a week ago and they have been settling in ok. Stop can' pick them up bit k ow that will come with time. Today they have been rumberling to each other and keep humping each other. Both have been shaking there bums. As I'm new to Gunnie pigs I just want advice as to why they are doing it and can they still live together