Sows And Boars Living Together

Cocochanel4

Cocochanel4

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi,
I'm new to the forum and currently own 2 spoilt girls called Coco and Chanel who live indoors in a large (135cm) cage. They are four years old.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of baby boars. The problem is, due to space restraints, they would need to live in a cage above the girls. Two main questions really -

Would I need to neuter the boars? I used to keep 2 boys in stacked hutches above 4 girls and they were fine, but I'm not sure this is always the case. If I did neuter the boars, would they be better living separately or together with the girls in a bigger cage?

What sort of cage would people recommend? I've looked online and can hardly find any two tier plastic cages, but I have found a seller on Etsy who does custom made wooden ones (haven't yet contacted to see if they could do a two tier one).

Thank you!
 
Hello, Welcome to the forum!

Be lovely to see some photos of Coco and Chanel

Lots of reports on various guinea pig sources saying it wouldn't work and some saying it does so i think inconclusive. Having boars so close to girls can result in the boars fighting because of the smell of the girls. I certainly wouldn't risk this as you don't have the boars yet.
I think it depends on proximity to each other I think on top would be too close for comfort - found a thread for you regarding them in same room Quick Question... Boars And Sows In The Same Room? tagging @Wiebke in and @LisaAli for opinions and hopefully you'll get some more also off others.

I wouldn't personally ever have un-neutered boars near sows, boars are randy so and so's and will be trying to get to the females and that would not be good. Guinea Pigs are deceptively good climbers and jumpers when needs arise.....

If got a neutered a single boar you could have him in with the girls but never two neutered or un-neutered boars and two girls as a group. Have a read of this thread here it explains piggy groupings and effects Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
 
Cocochanel4 said:
Hi,
I'm new to the forum and currently own 2 spoilt girls called Coco and Chanel who live indoors in a large (135cm) cage. They are four years old.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of baby boars. The problem is, due to space restraints, they would need to live in a cage above the girls. Two main questions really -

Would I need to neuter the boars? I used to keep 2 boys in stacked hutches above 4 girls and they were fine, but I'm not sure this is always the case. If I did neuter the boars, would they be better living separately or together with the girls in a bigger cage?

What sort of cage would people recommend? I've looked online and can hardly find any two tier plastic cages, but I have found a seller on Etsy who does custom made wooden ones (haven't yet contacted to see if they could do a two tier one).

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Hi! You will hopefully be fine with the boys living above the sows; if they are used to their presence, right from the beginning before the big hormones kick in, it is usually easier. I have a pair of boars living above my mixed groups and right next to a pair of sows. Nye needed a couple of separations in the thick of his puberty (Nosgan is 3 years old) when we had several sows's seasons triggered by a strong one and the pheromone cloud was just filling the whole room, but the boys have always gone back together without problems. They are thankfully both not very dominant and are very closely bonded. I did actually adopt Nye because any attempts to bond Nosgan with sows failed. He is just not into them and is much happier with his little happy-go-lucky boarmate.

Neutering is only necessary from if you plan to have your boys live with a sow each or if you are worried about accidental meetings. I had Nye neutered a year ago when he was old enough, simply because the risk of accidental meetings during roaming time is too great and also to have the option that the surviving boy can go and live with some of my sows. However, it has done nothing for their relationship: Nye has still gone through all the classic phases of his puberty and was at times just swimming in testosterone.

Please make sure that your boys have plenty of space and can get away from each other; ideally they have only hideys with two exits. Also have something at hand that you can split the boar cage with if necessary!

If you use wood, please make sure that it is protected by a water/pee proof layer at the bottom.
 
Thank you both for your advice on this - it is really appreciated. From what I can gather, it just depends on the boars in question! I am looking at cage set-ups and thinking about the best way to approach this if we go ahead.
 
Cocochanel4 said:
Thank you both for your advice on this - it is really appreciated. From what I can gather, it just depends on the boars in question! I am looking at cage set-ups and thinking about the best way to approach this if we go ahead.
Click to expand...
Have you thought about a C&C cage? If you decide to go ahead, and things don't go to plan, a C&C gives you more options for splitting them up - and, of course, you can build the cage to your own choice of size rather than rely on what's available commercially, including 'double decker'. There's loads of ideas on this thread Member Gallery: C&C cages/homemade cages
 
Cocochanel4 said:
Thank you both for your advice on this - it is really appreciated. From what I can gather, it just depends on the boars in question! I am looking at cage set-ups and thinking about the best way to approach this if we go ahead.
Click to expand...

Best plan for a set-up for two pairs. Quartets with young boars have a near 100% fall-out rate. Exceptions only prove the rule - and you cannot count on being that 1% that get lucky! ;)
 
Cocochanel4 said:
Hi,
I'm new to the forum and currently own 2 spoilt girls called Coco and Chanel who live indoors in a large (135cm) cage. They are four years old.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of baby boars. The problem is, due to space restraints, they would need to live in a cage above the girls. Two main questions really -

Would I need to neuter the boars? I used to keep 2 boys in stacked hutches above 4 girls and they were fine, but I'm not sure this is always the case. If I did neuter the boars, would they be better living separately or together with the girls in a bigger cage?

What sort of cage would people recommend? I've looked online and can hardly find any two tier plastic cages, but I have found a seller on Etsy who does custom made wooden ones (haven't yet contacted to see if they could do a two tier one).

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Could you send me the Etsy person? I'd love to see their cages + price.
 
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