trioguineapig3
Junior Guinea Pig
I’ve a small herd of 6 females I have an 84 square feet shed how many do you think would fit in it? Would a lot of females get along?
Sow herd
- Thread starter trioguineapig3
- Start date
Here is our cage size guide.
Not all sows will thrive in a group setting. if you want add, make sure that they are either submissive sows or sows that come from a larger group background, so they will fit in. Ideally, they cannot challenge your existing top lady.
You have to also take into consideration that group dynamics change develop and change over time, and not always to the best, especially if there is a hostile takeover or any newbies are not fitting in as well as they should have or if two sows are taking a dislike to each other and starting an ovarian cyst fuelled feud.
I have slowly built up a group of up to 14 piggies (with one dominant neutered boar), but mine fell apart when an ambitious younger sow dethroned my old top sow once she got older and could no longer fend off any comers about 4 years down the line.
It turned in a quite complicated mess, which took me a long time to sort out. Ultimately I ended up with two 5-7 big stable groups, an already existing separate elderlies group for those sows that could no longer keep up with the main group, a pair of antisocial girls who thankfully bonded as a pair and had to find a new home for a sow that was badly badly bullied after a failed challenge against the new leader.
If you want to go large, you need to factor in secondary facilities in case things don't go to plan and to have space for frail/older or outsider piggies.
You also have to keep in mind that vet cost is bound to go up massively and you'll have times when you can rent a tent in the vet's waiting room. You'll have times when you easily spend over £/$1000 in just one month with follow up care and treatment not all that much cheaper.
The same will happen with deaths - they also come in lumps. With so many piggies you have to seriously think about sustainable solutions for your passed piggies that do not cost a fortune for each!
It can be seriously tough to cope when you lose three or four piggies in less than a month and sometimes only days apart. I have had several years in which I have lost 6-7 piggies, and usually several in very quick succession. Just this summer I have lost 2 piggies with my partner having a major medical emergency thrown in as well only to find one of my seemingly health piggies dead from a massive heart attack or stroke in the cage on the following morning...
Mounting piggies waste can cause problems with the disposal depending on where you live. A compost heap or bin is very quickly filled and not all councils will accept guinea pig waste for recycling as they are not classed as a native species!
Having lots of piggies living together is making dealing with skin parasites, ringworm and infectious diseases quite a logistical challenge, as I know from my own experience; and they are more of a question of when and not if, even with the best of care and caution.
I still have 27 piggies at the moment (although mostly in pairs and small groups as my second generation big group old sows don't get on well with each other the way the first generation pensioners did).
The cleaning, medicating and support feeding for the ill and frail is taking up a good deal of my daily life.
Whether you want to add a neutered boar or not is up to you. Personally I love them!
In any case, best build up a group slowly, testing at each stage whether your own emotional, time and financial resources are adequate to cope with the job. It is very easy to go too big with younger piggies that then hit old age, health problems and death all together. You have to definitely plan for the long term - and also on what happens if you are ill, go on holiday etc. and you have medical piggies that still require willing and knowledgeable care. Not all your nearest and dearest are happy to step in when you have a large crowd!
trioguineapig3
Junior Guinea Pig
Thank you for the info I have 3 nearly 6 month olds, 1 nearly 5 month old and the babies are 2 months old. I can’t financially get more now and I plan on moving out in the future which I want them inside then. But I love herds as I find them more confident, active and tame. Maybe in the future if it works out I’ll have a bigger herd but not at the moment. As I want to be a veterinarian in the future so I’ll have to be paying for online college too. So far I’ve been lucky only one was sick but I know they’re young.Here is our cage size guide.
Not all sows will thrive in a group setting. if you want add, make sure that they are either submissive sows or sows that come from a larger group background, so they will fit in. Ideally, they cannot challenge your existing top lady.
You have to also take into consideration that group dynamics change develop and change over time, and not always to the best, especially if there is a hostile takeover or any newbies are not fitting in as well as they should have or if two sows are taking a dislike to each other and starting an ovarian cyst fuelled feud.
I have slowly built up a group of up to 14 piggies (with one dominant neutered boar), but mine fell apart when an ambitious younger sow dethroned my old top sow once she got older and could no longer fend off any comers about 4 years down the line.
It turned in a quite complicated mess, which took me a long time to sort out. Ultimately I ended up with two 5-7 big stable groups, an already existing separate elderlies group for those sows that could no longer keep up with the main group, a pair of antisocial girls who thankfully bonded as a pair and had to find a new home for a sow that was badly badly bullied after a failed challenge against the new leader.
If you want to go large, you need to factor in secondary facilities in case things don't go to plan and to have space for frail/older or outsider piggies.
You also have to keep in mind that vet cost is bound to go up massively and you'll have times when you can rent a tent in the vet's waiting room. You'll have times when you easily spend over £/$1000 in just one month with follow up care and treatment not all that much cheaper.
The same will happen with deaths - they also come in lumps. With so many piggies you have to seriously think about sustainable solutions for your passed piggies that do not cost a fortune for each!
It can be seriously tough to cope when you lose three or four piggies in less than a month and sometimes only days apart. I have had several years in which I have lost 6-7 piggies, and usually several in very quick succession. Just this summer I have lost 2 piggies with my partner having a major medical emergency thrown in as well only to find one of my seemingly health piggies dead from a massive heart attack or stroke in the cage on the following morning...
Mounting piggies waste can cause problems with the disposal depending on where you live. A compost heap or bin is very quickly filled and not all councils will accept guinea pig waste for recycling as they are not classed as a native species!
Having lots of piggies living together is making dealing with skin parasites, ringworm and infectious diseases quite a logistical challenge, as I know from my own experience; and they are more of a question of when and not if, even with the best of care and caution.
I still have 27 piggies at the moment (although mostly in pairs and small groups as my second generation big group old sows don't get on well with each other the way the first generation pensioners did).
The cleaning, medicating and support feeding for the ill and frail is taking up a good deal of my daily life.
Whether you want to add a neutered boar or not is up to you. Personally I love them!
In any case, best build up a group slowly, testing at each stage whether your own emotional, time and financial resources are adequate to cope with the job. It is very easy to go too big with younger piggies that then hit old age, health problems and death all together. You have to definitely plan for the long term - and also on what happens if you are ill, go on holiday etc. and you have medical piggies that still require willing and knowledgeable care. Not all your nearest and dearest are happy to step in when you have a large crowd!
It has taken me around 30 years since I could realise my childhood dream of having a larger group of guinea pigs. I do not rue the meantime - I have learned a lot about guinea pigs in the meantime and can give them a much better life now. I have also enjoyed and appreciated my Tribe journey a lot more than I would have as a young woman; it has given me huge insights into guinea pig interaction and behaviour.
Go for it when the conditions are right. Planning and not rushing into is key. My Tribe piggies have all been rescue adoptees of varying ages.
PS: I have written about my Tribe journey in Guinea Pig Magazine issues #37-39. You may find the story of the rise and fall of the Tribe very interesting. The issues are still available worldwide in print or as a cheaper download option via this link (your own currency will come up as you go through the process): Back Issues – Guinea Pig Mag