Sow and boar - interactions through bars

[Hiitshannah]

Hi! We had our boar, Butternut, neutered around 2 weeks ago after losing his companion. He is 5 months old. We picked up a sow over the weekend who is around the same age, and they are currently side by side separated by bars until he is safe to be introduced (we chose not to quarantine her as Butternut hadn’t been eating well and was spending a lot of time hiding away so we felt he needed interaction with another guinea pig sooner rather than later!). I’ve always had boars, so I had a couple of questions about their interactions so far.

1. He doesn’t seem at all excited by having a lady next door which surprised me. He is very tentative when going near her, almost sneaking slowly up to take a look. Is this normal?

2. They have sat and eaten hay next to each other, and when they came face to face they both nipped each other through the bars. It wasn’t vicious, no noises, just light nips. Is this a bad sign?

3. Her poos are SO much smaller than his. Are sows poos usually a lot smaller? She is only slightly smaller than him, but I would say her poos are the size his were when he was maybe 12 weeks old.

Thank you for any advice and sorry if these are silly questions! I’ve been read the bonding guides in preparation for them actually meeting, and have successfully bonded boar pairs 4 times previously, but I was so surprised he didn’t go wild immediately upon smelling a sow! They haven’t even made any noises at each other. I was expecting chatting or rumble strutting like boars, maybe I’m worrying prematurely as it’s only been 24 hours or so!

 

[Siikibam]

I haven’t done any bondings or even have experience of mixed pairings. I don’t know that he would necessarily go wild just because a sow is nearby though.

What happens at the bars isn’t entirely an indicator of what will happen when bonded. But I have everything crossed that all will go well for you! Only four weeks to go Butternut What’s the date of the wedding?

PS sow poos are smaller. As long as she is putting on weight she is fine.

 

[Spaghetti & Noodles]

I can't really give any advice, I have 2 sows and a neutered boar who lives next door, we get a lot of interaction through the grids, he likes to rumble up and down and wave his bum about, one of the girls likes to nose through the grids at him, the other not so much. Maybe it's early days, perhaps give them more time?
Our girls are around 2yrs and he is 3yrs so maybe that makes a difference?
Hopefully bonding goes well, as said before the interaction through the grids isn't a reliable indicator, ours was all positive through the grids and a disastrous bonding, hence him living next door.
Let us know how things progress.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! We had our boar, Butternut, neutered around 2 weeks ago after losing his companion. He is 5 months old. We picked up a sow over the weekend who is around the same age, and they are currently side by side separated by bars until he is safe to be introduced (we chose not to quarantine her as Butternut hadn’t been eating well and was spending a lot of time hiding away so we felt he needed interaction with another guinea pig sooner rather than later!). I’ve always had boars, so I had a couple of questions about their interactions so far.

1. He doesn’t seem at all excited by having a lady next door which surprised me. He is very tentative when going near her, almost sneaking slowly up to take a look. Is this normal?

2. They have sat and eaten hay next to each other, and when they came face to face they both nipped each other through the bars. It wasn’t vicious, no noises, just light nips. Is this a bad sign?

3. Her poos are SO much smaller than his. Are sows poos usually a lot smaller? She is only slightly smaller than him, but I would say her poos are the size his were when he was maybe 12 weeks old.

Thank you for any advice and sorry if these are silly questions! I’ve been read the bonding guides in preparation for them actually meeting, and have successfully bonded boar pairs 4 times previously, but I was so surprised he didn’t go wild immediately upon smelling a sow! They haven’t even made any noises at each other. I was expecting chatting or rumble strutting like boars, maybe I’m worrying prematurely as it’s only been 24 hours or so!

Hi

Sow poos (and neutered boar poos eventually once the anal sac has shrunk) are shorter than full adult boar poos. As long as the weight is stable, they make plenty and the poos are nice and plump looking, there is no worry.

Not every boy is a casanova; some boars can keep their knees locked even as teenagers - it is just that the other end is hogging the public limelight. It also depends on where in the oestrus cycle a sow is; yours is most likely just past having a season.
He is just wary but they will hopefully make friends over the coming 4 weeks as neighbours but without much in the kind of fireworks you may expect. Just give them time. They have obviously said hello and touched noses through the bars.

Feed along the bars and also have their hay next to other so they can bond over sharing their food.

 

[Hiitshannah]

Thank you all! I’m excited to see how it goes, counting down the days. Wedding date is going to be the 28th May so we have plenty of time to monitor them over the weekend! I must say I was shocked to see the difference in the poo sizes, I weighed her as soon as we got home (660g vs Butternut who is 940g, though she doesn’t appear bony at all) so I’ll keep an eye on her weight as usual to make sure she is eating plenty, she does appear to be eating well so far, if a little picky with her veg. We have draped a blanket over the bars with some beds underneath that they can go in ‘together’ if they choose to, and they have hay by the bars as well as in another corner