Sows Scrapping When Out

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Pipsqueakspigs

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Can you help me interpret their behaviour please?

They are 10 months old, and I adopted them from a friend who was moving.

Their hutch is too small but that is being rectified tomorrow, but they seem fine, behaviour wise, in their hutch - no food bullying or fighting.

But when they're out, it's a different story. One insists on trying to mount the other, the other one gets cross, teeth chattering, hissing and eventually the fur flies.

I try to sit them separately but the mounter makes her way to the other one and it all starts again. The mountee also seems more paralysed with fear when she's out alone, despite the constant harassment.

What is going on? And how do I solve it?
 
How long have you had your new girls for?

Please remember that when you move them to a new cage, please make sure that you do not have any hideys with just one exits, as you are bound to see more dominance behaviour in any new territory.

Part of the behaviour is dominance; it can also be cause by an excess of hormones or a combination of both. Has this only been happening on one day or several?
What you need to find out is whether the two are actually getting on as a matter of course or whether their relationship has fallen apart.
 
Sorry, I didn't see the rest of the message. They can only use half their hutch atm but after tomorrow they should have the other half available so more breathing space.

I watch when they have food etc and they share it out between them. When I come down in the morning mounter pig is outside and mountee is in their main nest box so I don't think mountee is being pushed out of bed...

The dominance behaviour is only when they're out of their hutch having lap time. It doesn't seem to happen in their run either...
 
I would strongly recommend to use unwashed bedding from their hutch when you move them into a new hutch and cage so it smells like "home"; that will hopefully minimise some of the inevitable dominance.

Perhaps you can also use regular stuff of theirs during run and cuddle time and place a blanket over the run to make them feel more secure?

If they have only ever been stuck in a small hutch, the outside and human handling must seem rather frightening to them. It can take some time to bring them round, but it will be worth it.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/how-do-i-settle-shy-new-guinea-pigs.36239/
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sow-behaviour.38561/
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/
 
Great thank you. I was going to clean them out at the same time but I'll put the used bedding into their temporary spot during their building works and put it back in their hutch when done as well.

If the fighting us caused by anxiety etc then that makes perfect sense. They are already bolder when we come to the hutch so we're getting there.
 
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