stropy teenagers or something else?

[Lizzi T]

So Ginger n Chocolate have been with use for a week now. There has been some grumbling and bum wiggling from ginger (he seems to be the boss) chocolate has retaliated one. Ginge is also going up behind chocolate and chasing him round the cage like a nutter... Is this them settling in, boys just being stroppy? They are about 10 months old if that helps

 

[Wiebke]

So Ginger n Chocolate have been with use for a week now. There has been some grumbling and bum wiggling from ginger (he seems to be the boss) chocolate has retaliated one. Ginge is also going up behind chocolate and chasing him round the cage like a nutter... Is this them settling in, boys just being stroppy? They are about 10 months old if that helps

Hi!

You have got two teenage boars in one of the trickier hormonal stages who have establish a working hierarchy in new territory, which usually takes two weeks for the dominance phase of that to settle down, so it is a bit of a double whammy.

The good news is that the bond seems to be stable and the dominance behaviour very much in the mild to medium range. Rumble-strutting (your bum wiggling) is a very mild measuring up dominance behaviour (even sows will use it for that purpose). chasing, nipping, chucking the underpiggy out of hideys and taking precedence with the feeding are typical dominance phase behaviours you see from either gender. You just have to sit it out.

Please take the time to read these guides here. You will hopefully very helpful in understanding what is going on; they also contain measures on how you can mitigate potential problem spots.
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

These guides are part of our new owners guide collection where we address all the areas we get the most questions and concerns about from piggy newbies. You can access our full guide collection on a wide range of topics via the shortcut on the top bar.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[Lizzi T]

Thank you, yay double whammy

 

[Lizzi T]

Hi just an update, ginger is still rubble-strutting poor chocolate with some nipping for good measure. He's also taken to quietly chattering teeth at me when I'm talking to them at the cage but not when I come bearing teats. I do think I need to extend the cage as as currently it's a 2x4 (even an upper possibly).

 

[Piggies&buns]

As has been said, it is very normal dominance behaviour. I did however find that I needed to extend my cage for my teenage boars. They live in my shed and over the beginning part of the summer they had a 2x4 c&c playpen with constant access into their hutch via a ramp but I quickly changed it to a 4x4 and their bickering settled right down very quickly after adding more space.
The recommended space for a boar pair is 5x2. Remember that upstairs doesn’t count towards the total space as guinea pigs are ground roaming, so adding a loft is a bonus space, but extending the main cage would ideally be the priority if a bigger cage is needed.

 

[Posyrose]

It still sounds as if all is going relatively well - that's all normal dominance behaviour. The minimum size for boars is 2 x 5 c and c

 

[Cadaverous]

Hi, I also have two teenage boys so feel your pain and worry!

I’ve just upgraded by boys from a 5x2 (min for a pair of boars) to an L-shaped C&C with 16 sq ft of floor space (equivalent to 4x4 C&C square cage) and find they are getting on a lot better now. The larger floor space has allowed me to set up two different areas at opposite ends of the L, each with a water bottle, pellet bowl and veggies when they get them, hidey and toys.

I moved them because they were bickering quite badly (bond saved by virtue of Mousse’s massive fleecey fur coat!), the first 5 days were tough on them as they were working out the hierarchy and they stayed at opposite ends for a while. Now Mousse has asserted his authority they are back to sharing hides and food bowls, but they can still choose to go away from the other if they want. They can also have their ‘mad half hours’ without tripping over each other, which has really helped!

Remember to make sure hides and toys have two entrances/exits so one piggie can’t trap the other, and ensure they have two of everything. They may well choose to share and that’s fine too, it’s having the option to have separate things that is important! As hard as it is to watch some of the posturing please let them try and work it out themselves so long as they are not hurting each other. After Butter pushed his luck once too much, Mousse spent three days on a proper mission to make sure he knew his place. Mousse would make sure he ate first, he would move Butter out of the hides just because, and make sure he waited in line for his hay and pellets. Butter seemed very depressed during this time and I was very worried about him (gave him a few extra feeds and cuddles), but by the end of the third day he suddenly changed and seemed to accept it. Now it’s been a week and they are currently sat eating some Romaine together and taking pieces out of each others’ mouths!