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Taking On A Third Boy, Advice?

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awallapiggie

awallapiggie

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Hi everyone! Things have been going very well with our 2 boy piggies Max & Fred. They are healthy and happy and we're really enjoying having them. We've had them since late July. They are four or five months now.

Recently a friend of a friend bought a single baby guinea pig from a pet store. They then had a death in their immediate family and felt they couldn't care for the baby anymore.(He's so small, maybe 9 or 10 weeks, they've only had him a very short time). Our mutual friend asked us if we could help and I said we'd take him.

We're keeping him in quarantine the moment but we're hoping to try to introduce him to our other 2 boys after period is up. I've read various things about how boars get along and we're going to introduce on neutral ground, we're setting up a new even bigger c&c cage too and will introduce them all to that at once. We've got 3 hideys and 3 food dishes etc etc. If it doesn't work out I guess we'll house them adjoining so they can see/smell chat...

I'm hoping as they're all fairly young that will help. Does anyone have 3 boys together? Any advice? Hoping it all goes well...
 
There are people with 3 boys together, I think @My3cuteBoys does? Hopefully she'll be able to give you some advice.

Advice I've seen/Been given: If it doesn't work, you could end up with 3 separate males.... also just having an adjoining cage wouldn't be 'good enough', he'd still need a cage mate but I'm not sure ! :)
 
I've read various places that lots of people say they house 3 (or more) boars together and it works for them. Most say it depends on personalities and having plenty of space for them. We're going to give it a go and if it doesn't work we'll go from there in figuring out what to do. Our new c&c cage will be massive and with a 2nd storey/loft so hopefully that will help.

I think it's worth a shot as the alternative was him living alone somewhere.
 
Two already live together happily so don't think we'd need to separate them (as in having three separate as H&&frank said).
 
How old are your two boars? The vast majority of subadult boar trios fail when the boys hit the teenage hormones betwen 4-14 months old. You have a better chance with a mix of ages, but you have to be aware that things can become tricky when the youngster is hitting the hormones and it can unbalance things; a trio very much hinges on the boars being character compatible and just the right balance between one dominant and two very laid back/submissive boys. At the worst, you can end up with three boars that won't get on.

It is good that you are quarantining the youngster.
 
awallapiggie said:
Two already live together happily so don't think we'd need to separate them (as in having three separate as H&&frank said).
Click to expand...

As said, adding another boar to bonded boars, can lead to the separation of all the boars, especially through the teenage hormone stage as @Wiebke said... hence 3 single boars... if things do not go to plan.
 
Hi, I took on 3 brothers at 5 weeks old all was well for a few months until I noticed oreo on his own a lot I didn't like the thought of him on his own but they were all happy so I just kept an eye on them. Around 5months old I noticed the hutch smelt very strong all the time due to scenting and small fallings out between the bonded pair and oreo but nothing nasty, then around 6months old we notice oreo had three nasty bite marks one morning, I took him out there and then and he lived in another hutch on his own until we boar dated him last Monday with our lovely new piggy Alex. I'm on here a lot and have wrote lots about my boys on threads so if you wanted to read my posts and the advice I recived just click on my profile page :)
Personally I would not add a new piggy to a bonded pair as it could affect their bond like others have already said. Could he live along side your other two?
If I can be of any more help or support please just ask, thank you for tagging me Gizi and H&& frank :)
 
I'd agree with what's been said so far. Trio's rarely work. The phrase two's company, three's a crowd is definitely true for boars and often the result is either some nasty wounds or three piggies who hate each other or both.

Any piggy introductions need to be thought about very carefully and it's definitely not as simple as 'I'll just go out and choose another one' as piggies of both sexes like to choose their own friends based on compatible personality more than who we think looks cutest. I can understand you wanting to help your friend out. I would too but it's a big risk to your currently happy pair of boys who, as youngsters are at the age most likely to have a big bust up if a third boy was introduced. Older piggies are more laid back once they've got through puberty and all the hormonal bits but even then the chances of trios working long term isn't great.

If you want to keep this new piggy how about taking him to a rescue to find a friend of his own? The space needed for two pairs isn't much more than you would need for 3 lively boys to live together anyway. By dating him at a rescue he'll be able to find a buddy he really likes. It might take a visit or two so be patient but I promisre you it's worth it to find his forever friend. I've been there more than a few times!

@lisaali would Hutches in Alyth be the closest experienced rescue to recommend?
 
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