We have lost dad, what to do with his little sons?

[Megann120]

After a surprising pregnancy we decided to neuter our boy so he can rejoin the mum and daughters later. We have four babies, two girls and two boys.
Toppi had the operation last week and two days later he passed away. Most likely his heart was weakened by the aneashetic.
So now we have two boys that we have to separate in a week (we are checking the weight daily to see if they reach 250 g earlier than that). The guide I've read said that they should be placed with a boar for guidance. That is no longer an option. Is there a point of keeping them close to the mum and girls for interaction or should they be moved to another room?
We have watched Toppi desperate to join the herd and it is heatbreaking to think that he never got to do that. Will the boys act symilarly? Week for mum through the bars?
Would it be better for them to just cut the ties and keep them totally separate? They are eating and drinking on their own but obviously still drinking milk and cuddling a lot to mum...
We have a possible home for them but they would be the only piggies there so when would be the right time to rehome them?
Xx

 

[My Piggies]

Hi
Since you have two little boys, they can live together, while the two little girls can live with mum. The boys will need to be totally seperate from the girls (no bar-to-bar interaction) as this could cause fighting between the boys. They will have each other for company and shouldn't miss mum.
More experienced members will be along shortly

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

The baby boys will be fine in a cage on their own as a pair. You can keep their cage next to mum and sisters so they can still interact through the bars but you need to make sure they are secure and cannot escape and get back in with the girls. As you are rehoming them, it’s less relevant for you, but keeping a boar pair next to a sow pair long term is problematic and can cause problems once they hit their teens.
While it’s good to get guidance from an older boar while they are young, it’s not always going to be possible.

You ideally will keep them with you until they are around 6-8 weeks of age and then they can go to their new home as a pair. It doesn’t matter that the home doesn’t have any other piggies.

Yes, separating them is going to be a vocal affair though.

The guide below explains further
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sexing-separating-baby-boars-and-rehoming-babies.109391/

 

[Megann120]

Thank you for replies x
I would like to clarify, is it ok if the boys cage is in another room? I am asking for the sake of my daughter, the piggies are in her room and we have lost two since Christmas. It would be very hard for her to watch and hear them pining for mum cause just a week ago it was Toppi...
So ideally I would move their cage to the living room till we can rehome them.

 

[My Piggies]

Thank you for replies x
I would like to clarify, is it ok if the boys cage is in another room? I am asking for the sake of my daughter, the piggies are in her room and we have lost two since Christmas. It would be very hard for her to watch and hear them pining for mum cause just a week ago it was Toppi...
So ideally I would move their cage to the living room till we can rehome them.

Yes that is totally fine, I hope you can find a good home for them. Have you considered contacting a rescue who would be willing to take them in?

 

[Megann120]

We were planning to ask the rescue centre to rehome them and we still will if the first option won't work. I really hope it will though, it is a beautiful farm owned by animal lovers and we could keep in touch with the boys ☺

 

[VickiA]

The little boars will be fine together as a pair. They will have each other for company.

I’m so sorry that you lost Toppi. It’s sadly a risk of all surgery under anaesthetic that they can react adversely to the anaesthetic, but it’s still quite rare to lose a piggy in this way.