So Now I Have 5 Boars!

[Little_miss_mel]

well a quick brief history for those who havnt come across any of my posts!

I had 2 boars 1 sadly died so I got a baby companion for him to find out 10 weeks later the new boar Casper was actually a sow! We then had 4 guineas! The 2 babies were also male-Casper was pregnant again by the time I found the 1st lot of babies so 10 weeks later we then had 6!!
The latest 2 babies are now ready to leave Mum as they are also male!

So last night I tried to place the babies in with Dad.......there was some commotion & I wasn't sure if it was going to work 4 a while but this morning I found them all cuddled up together
This means I have 3 boars in 1 cage which I've never done in almost 30 years of owning guinea pigs........it's as the babies get abit older that's worrying me
Any advice?
I've also now got Casper on her own again-she was very depressed when the 1st lot of babies left her but doesn't seem quite as bad this time........I'm wondering if I should rehome a friend for her.......common story but I know of another little female called Belle who's companion has died-the little boy they were bought for has lost interest & the parents don't want anymore guineas so Belle is jus sat in a hutch all day all on her own-do you think I should try to pair her up with Casper? x

 

[Wiebke]

well a quick brief history for those who havnt come across any of my posts!

I had 2 boars 1 sadly died so I got a baby companion for him to find out 10 weeks later the new boar Casper was actually a sow! We then had 4 guineas! The 2 babies were also male-Casper was pregnant again by the time I found the 1st lot of babies so 10 weeks later we then had 6!
The latest 2 babies are now ready to leave Mum as they are also male!

So last night I tried to place the babies in with Dad.......there was some commotion & I wasn't sure if it was going to work 4 a while but this morning I found them all cuddled up together
This means I have 3 boars in 1 cage which I've never done in almost 30 years of owning guinea pigs........it's as the babies get abit older that's worrying me
Any advice?
I've also now got Casper on her own again-she was very depressed when the 1st lot of babies left her but doesn't seem quite as bad this time........I'm wondering if I should rehome a friend for her.......common story but I know of another little female called Belle who's companion has died-the little boy they were bought for has lost interest & the parents don't want anymore guineas so Belle is jus sat in a hutch all day all on her own-do you think I should try to pair her up with Casper? x

Poor you! That is quite a lot of logistics!

It is certainly worth to consider rehoming poor Belle. Could you arrange a meeting on neutral ground with Casper, so you could see whether they accept each other beforehand? You can find full behaviour and bonding advice in our guides at the top of this section and are welcome to ask any questions you may have at any stage.

As to the three boars: it is very likely that you will have to separate one boar at some stage during the teenage months between 4-14 months. I would recommend to wait until you run into trouble, so you will know which two boys get on best. The third one you could consider to have neutered, so he could live with mum and any companion of hers after a 6 weeks post op wait to make sure that he is 100%. I have the surprise daughter of a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post op boar living with me, just to prove that particular point!
The crucial bit about neutering is finding a good vet with plenty of practice in either guinea pig neutering or a speciality in small furries ops, which admittedly your part of the country is pretty short of. If you can drive that far, I would recommend to have your boy neutered by Simon Maddock in Northampton, as he has got as much experience and as close to a 100% success rate with neutering as you could wish. If it is too far for a day trip, you could consider boarding your boy at Debbies (@furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) for a few days or a week. Debbie is very experienced in looking after frail and post-op piggies, so your boy would be in the safest hands possible and you would not have to worry at all.

It will hopefully mean that in the long term you end up with two stable boar pairs and a mixed trio. As a boar is not an direct part of the sow hierarchy, a "husboar" and sow trio is usually the most stable trio that you can find, and as long as the sows are good friends, it is a very happy combination.