Wanting to get a third sow?

[Piper&Kierstein]

Hi all! I have 2 females right now. One named piper and the other named kierstein they are still very new to their enviroment as I've only had them about a month now so I'm not looking to get a 3rd partner for them yet. Right now I'm in the process of building a 2×5 C and C cage because I would like to rescue another female but problem is I'm not really sure how Piper (my dominant piggy) will respond to a new female. She doesn't seem to like Kierstein all that much. It's like she likes her but she doesn't like it when she is in her face all the time which is Kierstein is younger son that's almost as always. If I wanted to introduce a new female after a while how would I do this? And how would my dominant piggy react?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all! I have 2 females right now. One named piper and the other named kierstein they are still very new to their enviroment as I've only had them about a month now so I'm not looking to get a 3rd partner for them yet. Right now I'm in the process of building a 2×5 C and C cage because I would like to rescue another female but problem is I'm not really sure how Piper (my dominant piggy) will respond to a new female. She doesn't seem to like Kierstein all that much. It's like she likes her but she doesn't like it when she is in her face all the time which is Kierstein is younger son that's almost as always. If I wanted to introduce a new female after a while how would I do this? And how would my dominant piggy react?

Hi and welcome!

Your two girls are still in the dominance phase of the bonding and are still busy establishing a working hierarchy. Any new piggies will only trigger a new bonding process from scratch and a repeat of what you are seeing now. Just let your two girls work through their agenda and please don't interfere. They will settle down together, I promise you!

Please take the time to read these guides here. You will find them very useful as they will help you to understand the bonding process and social guinea pig behaviours.
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Sow Behaviour
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

These guides are part of our New Owners guide collection, which addresses all the most often asked questions and concerns. You should find it very helpful and interesting. You can access it via this link. It covers settling in and making friends (including a spot of piggy whispering, understanding behaviour, diet, housing and care, learning what is normal and what not, safe and unsafe toys and cage accessories as well as important information re. vet care. Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[Piper&Kierstein]

Hi and welcome!

Your two girls are still in the dominance phase of the bonding and are still busy establishing a working hierarchy. Any new piggies will only trigger a new bonding process from scratch and a repeat of what you are seeing now. Just let your two girls work through their agenda and please don't interfere. They will settle down together, I promise you!

Please take the time to read these guides here. You will find them very useful as they will help you to understand the bonding process and social guinea pig behaviours.
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Sow Behaviour
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

These guides are part of our New Owners guide collection, which addresses all the most often asked questions and concerns. You should find it very helpful and interesting. You can access it via this link. It covers settling in and making friends (including a spot of piggy whispering, understanding behaviour, diet, housing and care, learning what is normal and what not, safe and unsafe toys and cage accessories as well as important information re. vet care. Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

Thank you for the advice! Yeah, I wasnt looking to get another one now as I see they still have some issues to work past but for the future I'm not sure how piper would feel with another sow.

 

[HeatherW]

Thank you for the advice! Yeah, I wasnt looking to get another one now as I see they still have some issues to work past but for the future I'm not sure how piper would feel with another sow.

I'm not the best person to offer advice, but I can say the following from what I've picked up from the forum:

It'll all depend on each pig's personality. If you have a particularly dominant piggy, then you'll probably need a more submissive sow or a neutered boar. You're best getting a third piggy from a place where experienced people can properly introduce and monitor their interactions with each other during the process. Most reputable rescues will offer this. Check out the rescue locator!

 

[Piper&Kierstein]

 

[Lady Kelly]

I think it's impossible to say. My initial two sows were one older "grumpy" one and one youngster who was getting in her face all the time. I got a neutered boar for the youngster to cuddle up with and when I introduced them the old grumpy lady soften and snuggled up with him leaving my youngster off on her own again... I ended up going up to four piggies

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for the advice! Yeah, I wasnt looking to get another one now as I see they still have some issues to work past but for the future I'm not sure how piper would feel with another sow.

Thank you for the advice! Yeah, I wasnt looking to get another one now as I see they still have some issues to work past but for the future I'm not sure how piper would feel with another sow.

On my own experience, adding a third piggy to a pair that is in trouble will only end up in an outsider situation as the newbie will inevitably side with one of them and the other is going to be left out; this rule holds whether the new piggy is a neutered boar or a sow. In that case, you'd better split the pair and find them each a new companion of their liking, ideally via rescue dating.
(See the guide about adding guinea pigs)