Spayed mother living with two grown sons?

LunaAndPepper

LunaAndPepper

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Hello! About a month ago, I adopted two "female" Guinea pigs from a pet store, one happened to be male and the other turned out to be pregnant. I had to give the father away, but now there's the problem of what to do with the two newborn male guinea pigs. They are perfectly healthy, and I really want to keep them. However, two cages isn't an option because of my parents and three piggies is the max. I was wondering if the two boys and a spayed female, their mother, could get along? Or would neutering the two boys be an option?
 
Sorry but you CAN'T have 2 boars with a sow, whether you get the sow spayed or the boars neutered. You can have the 2 boars live together and get another sow for company of your sow. You also can't let the sow be a neighbour for the boars coz they will start fighting for her when she gets in season.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
 
:agr: Sorry you’re in this position. You could also stack the cages and have the sow in the bottom with a friend.

But as your parents only allow three then you only really have two options. either give up the sow, or give up the boars and find a friend for your sow. Rescue would be the best way to go in this case.

How are they housed at the moment? Remember that boars need more space than sows - 150x60cm as a minimum. I hope you find a solution soon. It’s unfortunate about the timing but hopefully you’ll have come to an agreeable decision by the time rescues open up again.
 
I have them housed in the Kaytee plus cage, it is about 8 square feet. I'll most likely have to give up the babies and find the mom a friend. Thank you.
 
One more question though, could i get the mom spayed and keep one baby with her?
 
A neutering op is ‘easier’ than a spaying. Bear in mind you can’t have boars neutered until their testicles descend - so from four months onwards. Do you have a trusted (exotics) vet?

If you decide to keep the boys then you’ll have to get a bigger cage.
 
We have found a vet and will most likely neuter one boy and find the other a new home. The only problem is that the mother will have to be alone for a while before the son is ready to be put in with her. The cage came with a divider, but living in only half of the cage may be small for the mother, even if it will let her interact with her sons. Do you think only having half of the cage for a few months will be too bad? I'll be home from school, so I'll be able to let them out for floor time often.
 
Half a cage isn’t enough I’m afraid. The minimum of 140x60cm is for up to two sows or a boar/sow pairing, so is the minimum for one.

Are you able to set up two cages side by side? this would only be after you’ve neutered the boar and have just the one left. If you do just make sure that the boy can’t escape and get in with mum.

However, until you’ve only got the one then you can’t keep the sow near them as it could lead to a fallout. It’s a pity as she really shouldn’t be alone. But given the current circumstances it can’t be helped.
 
For some reason, my parents won't let me put another cage next to this one. If I divide the cage, it will be the mom next to the son that is waiting to be paired with her. We will probably find a home for the brother quickly after they are weaned because of these circumstances. What I will try to do is divide the floor area with a play pen and put all of their things out with them so they can stay out for a very long time. With all of the coronavirus stuff going on, I spend most of my day in their room so they should spend most of their time out with lots of space except for night. I know might not be enough, but unless someone can put together a very convincing paragraph for my mother, it may be my only option. Thank you so much for all of your help!
 
How old are the boys? Are they still in with their mum? If they’re 250g or three weeks old then you need to separate them now. If they’re not in with her then all good.

It’s really not fair to keep a pig in such a small space, even for hours. They don’t sleep all night like we do. They need space to run around. It would be like you being picked in the bathroom and only being let out to roam the house for a few hours a day. I’m not really sure what to suggest.
 
They are only a few days old. I'm still trying to convince my mom to put the baby in a separate small cage while we get him neutered and everything so that the mom won't have to be in such a tiny space. The extra cage is bigger than half the cage, so it will be better for the boy too. Hopefully she'll agree! We still have weeks to decide, but it will be nice to know exactly what to do when the babies are weaned.
 
Ok that’s fine. Hope you’re weighing them daily for now and mum as well. Have you read the nursing diet to see?

If you joined the two cages (is that possible?), how big would it be altogether? If it was 240cm long, you could then split in half for mum and babies. You do have some time to go but it’s best to plan ahead rather than when you’re in the moment. Hopefully she changes her mind.

Are they in a big enough cage at the moment? Perhaps your parents don’t want another cage next to the boys one because of space. It does take up quite a chunk. I think you have to plan for if they say no to a bigger cage/mum and baby side by side while you wait for him to be neutered. Fingers crossed for you.
 
The mom and babies are doing great, the babies have been growing fast! Their pellets are timothy and alfalfa pellets, we couldn't find any all alfalfa pellets at our pet store. We also added alfalfa hay though and have been feeding recommended veggies for nursing piggies. We recently figured out that one baby may have been incorrectly sexed, I posted a thread asking for verification on that, but since I'm a newbie I don't know how to put the link here. If it is a female, which hopefully it is, that would make everything a ton easier! I'll post the picture here if you think you can help. We think the first one is a male for sure, but I'll post the pictures of both so you can see how they compare.
 
As advised by Wiebke, it’s best to read through the guide then do a physical check yourself. That’s the best way rather than us guessing from photos. They’re also still very young and may not be too ‘obvious’. I’d give it another week then check again.

Alfalfa doesn’t need to be a large amount. I think only a handful a day if I remember correctly. I wouldn’t feed alfalfa containing pellets on top of that either. Have a read of the nursing guide again
 
She doesn't eat that much of the alfalfa hay we give her, she definitely likes the timothy better. We are trying to do a physical check right now, but its hard. Hopefully it gets easier as they get older. We'll keep checking until we are positive. Thank you again for your help.
 
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