The Guinea Pig Ranch?

[CiaraPatricia]

Mixing bunnies and pigs isn't ideal, but it might work out sometimes. I used to keep a rabbit and two guinea pigs together, before I knew it was risky. (I had seen it being done on Pet Rescue in an RSPCA centre so thought it was fine!) They got on really well, and complimented each other well. They all groomed each other, and the rabbit's more outgoing personality made the guinea pigs become braver. They saw her kinda like their mom and protector I think. But now I probably wouldn't do it because I know they're better with their own species if possible.

I do think though, my rabbits are small, just a bit bigger than my biggest boy guinea pig, so a dwarf rabbit is just as likely to kick another rabbit and hurt it, no? Or a rabbit is more likely to hurt its own babies by accident, then hurt a full grown guinea pig.

If you feed them commercial dry food then they might have different dietary requirements, but you can feed them lots of fresh food and supplement their diet, or feed them some food seperately every day, to solve that.

As for communicable diseases I don't really know. I often let my guineas and rabbits be in neighbouring runs, so they could pass diseases but it's never happened, even with newborns. Also I'm always outside with them handling them all and not washing my hands between them, and use the same brush for sweeping out the hutches and runs, and have never had a problem. It might be a problem, but I've never found it to be.

Obviously guinea pigs are happiest with guinea pigs and rabbits are happiest with rabbits (and everyone is safer) but rabbits and guinea pigs can be friends, just like dogs and cats can be friends. I think it only would work for some animals though, and they'd have to be watched carefully, need a huge space with loads of places for them to get away from each other. It'd be a lot of work when it'd just be more sensible to keep them seperately.

But then again, if you have a rabbit that can live with other rabbits and a guinea pig that can't live with other guinea pigs, but they work very well together (similar size, get on well, etc.) then maybe it's better than them being apart. I think them being kept alone is worse than the risk of injury.

I'm not saying they should routinely be kept together, but I can see some situations where it might work and actually be a good thing.

 

[ceretrea]

I've taken an 'anti tetchy, overly defensive chill pill' lol so would like to comment more intelligently on the discussion at large, and to stop showing myself up

I've certainly found out a lot about the issue of keeping them together. I look at Pets at home, even keeping them seperated now (not that there really a good place to get advice from but if they aren't doing it then that says something). I look at the RSPCA regs which say no.

I think that the difference between cats and dogs is that a cat is capable of showing the dog it doesn't want attention without risking a serious injury. Often this pairing only works when the dog understands to give the cat space..otherwise there are alot of scratched noses in the house. I think that as there are documented cases of bunnies killing piggies that I would not want to risk it. I also believe that a rescue should take the highest ground possible when it comes to welfare to set the example.

I feel it is similar to a lot of talks about rodent bedding. There are numerous amounts of people who say they have never had resp. issues keeping their pets on shavings...yet the evidence contradicts. For me, again, I prefer not to introduce a risk that I can so easily avoid.

I'm afraid I don't know enough yet about piggy behaviour but are there no other options for piggies on their own? Neutering or something? Or is a case that they are agressive or get bullied? In which case I wonder the merits of putting them with a bunny who is more likely to bully them from what I've read. And if the argument is that the bunny's personality is good for that..then surely there are other piggies who would be just as compatible?

Anyways...thats my take as a piggy newb.

 

[Cgilchrist]

I think there are always exceptions to everything. when i rescued my piggies from the RSPCA the lady there showed my a pig and bunny together and said ' I know we aren't supposed to do this and we have tried pairing them both up with their own species and keep trying but they have lived together for 4 years and both won't accept another friend and stopped eating etc." this is a case where it is very difficult to know what is best for the animal but still the centre kept trying to pair them up with their own species as they knew it was better for them but in this situation the 'mistake' so to speak had already been made. BUT this was an exceptional case. i'm sure there are people who have had bun piggie pairing work fine but equally there are probably a lot who have had bad pairings and lost their piggie. I think it is better to try and prevent things going wrong by not putting the piggie in a risky situation in the first place. There is nothing worse than something happening and then thinking 'if only I'd done that I would still have them today' the thing is there is a lot of evidence to suggest that it is not a good idea. but it doesn't mean that ON OCCASION it might work but I personally don't think it is worth the risk when there are so many rescue buns and piggies around who need friends.

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Oh and I forgot to mention, even with a good pairing of a bunny and guinea pig, that get on well, the rabbit could still get spooked and run around like mad, as they do, or if the rabbit was happy and binkying then it could trample the guinea pig. I know from when I had them together (I was only a kid) that the guinea pigs had to run for cover sometimes. For that reason, if they're together, they need a big run with places for the guinea pigs to run under. And a big space because rabbit are big and need to run around (so do pigs of course) but rabbits kept in groups need a lot of space because they're quite territorial. Whenever I hear of a rabbit that was attacking a guinea pig it always seems to be when they're in a small hutch or cage in a pet shop.

I'm sure some rabbits would attack a guinea pig, or bully it, but my guinea pigs bullied the rabbit! They were tiny compared to her, but they used to pull food off her and nip her if she was eating the food! So she had to wait til they finished. Which was fine really, since guinea pigs are just more greedy then rabbits. Rabbits aren't as bothered about food!

Though I like having rabbits in a run next to guinea pigs, because I think it's interesting for them to see each other and communicate (which they do, they love going up to the bars to say hello). I think it enriches their lives being able to see other animals of different species. Because animals in the wild see other species all the time. And it's very cute when the rabbits binky then the guinea pigs start popcorning!

I had my baby bunnies next to the girl guinea pigs yesterday and they're about the same size. The guinea pigs went up the wire and squeaked at their new neighbours and the bunnies hopped over to see them. They were really happy. And they don't seem to be territorial or aggressive or scared of each other, because they know they're different species, so it works out well for me, having them as neighbours.

 

[katiepops]

I'm afraid I don't know enough yet about piggy behaviour but are there no other options for piggies on their own? Neutering or something? Or is a case that they are agressive or get bullied? In which case I wonder the merits of putting them with a bunny who is more likely to bully them from what I've read. And if the argument is that the bunny's personality is good for that..then surely there are other piggies who would be just as compatible?

Anyways...thats my take as a piggy newb.

We adopted Stripes from the Pets at Home adoption centre, he was on his own and we were told he couldn't be rehomed with another pig because of his history of fighting. I strongly believe that animals are just like humans. Some just don't get on with each other. Piggies that can't live with other pigs just haven't found the right one yet.
It took a few tries but we found a friend for Stripes and they lived happily ever after. (well ok most of the time, unless there's only one piece of cucumber left! )

 

[Hels]

This thread is being closed. It has run its course.

Helen.