Sow Acting Out Of Character

[Lottie159]

Hi all,
I've recently put my two sows back together (they both had some babies).
We thoroughly washed out their cage and gave them both washes and they both seemed fine with each other. I've just been to check on them and one is acting really out of character and isn't moving much. Could it be that they've been fighting whilst I've left them? Normally they both run when i go near the cage but she just sat there and let me pick her up straight away.
Any advice?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all,
I've recently put my two sows back together (they both had some babies).
We thoroughly washed out their cage and gave them both washes and they both seemed fine with each other. I've just been to check on them and one is acting really out of character and isn't moving much. Could it be that they've been fighting whilst I've left them? Normally they both run when i go near the cage but she just sat there and let me pick her up straight away.
Any advice?

It could have well been that they have had a run it during the dominance sort out. Do you stage introductions on neutral territory?
Please always keep an eye on your guinea pigs when bonding. Make sure that there is nowhere a guinea pig can be cornered, including using only hideys with two exits. make sure that they have anough space to get away from each other. I hope that you are aware that one of the trickiest times to bond sows is after the end of the nursing period. They have enjoyed a special protected status in the group during that time, and by having babies and adding a new rung to the group hierarchy have gained in stature. Going back to the status quo is not easy, especially not for an undersow that has become the matriarch of her own minigroup while having her pups.

If in doubt, separate and give it a try again at a time you can sit by and watch what is going on. Please take the time to read the link so you can judge and understand better what is going on between them. Guinea pigs have a very differentiated social life; it is not like you can put them together, and they will get on.
How come they both have had babies?

Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

 

[Lottie159]

Thanks for the reply, made sure it was neutral territory (they have a new cage) and was only gone 10/15 minutes
I've separated them out now, when we brought them we were told they were all females but it turned out one wasn't!
Took them to the vets and they told us to separate them as one was further along than the other

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the reply, made sure it was neutral territory (they have a new cage) and was only gone 10/15 minutes
I've separated them out now, when we brought them we were told they were all females but it turned out one wasn't!
Took them to the vets and they told us to separate them as one was further along than the other

Poor you! Thank you for the information. Under the circumstances it was a wise decision to separate, as a pregnant sow can go into premature labour when she eats enough of an afterbirth from another sow giving birth. New mums need to eat it because it triggers the contraction of the womb and the milk flow, but in a pregnant sow the contraction of the womb will have devastating consequences if that sow is not close to term and the pups are not developed enough to survive. It is not a risk you want to take likely. But any separation usually makes for a difficult re-intro/bonding afterwards.

If you can keep the girls next to each other with interaction through the bars and then if necessary try and see whether a slow intro over several days will do the trick. It is not something you can do when bonding boars, but it can work with sows and group/cross gender pairs.

My Tesni - although at heart a "groupie" took four days to integrate into the Tribe; her unplanned baby daughter Tegan 10 seconds... and that, even though she'd lived alongside the Tribe the whole time!
In this video, you can see newly adopted Tesni with her baby daughter sharing the cage with her usually more dominant sister Fflwbri, who went on to eventually become First Lady of the Tribe (notice at the end how the hierarchy is clearly upturned?) with the Tribe having the adjoining pen. I had to replace or block the normal grids as baby Tegan walked straight through them and would have been in danger of getting stuck at some point.
Wiebke's Tribe - Vidéos | Facebook