When To Introduce My Boars To Eachother

[CarlyCoolBeans]

So I got both my guinea pig boys this past weekend. They seem to still be adjusting to their environment and me but are becoming more comfortable.

I'm curious about when would be a good time to to introduced them next to each other. Right bow their cages are right next to each other so they are talking and bonding through the cage. When should i put them next to each other to see if they get along?

 

[Wiebke]

So I got both my guinea pig boys this past weekend. They seem to still be adjusting to their environment and me but are becoming more comfortable.

I'm curious about when would be a good time to to introduced them next to each other. Right bow their cages are right next to each other so they are talking and bonding through the cage. When should i put them next to each other to see if they get along?

You can do it anytime provided that you have several hours to watch over them; but you can swap them over in the cages for a day so they smell similar and the cages carry both piggies' scents.
The introductions need to happen on neutral ground. You can use your bathtub or shower with a large towel for grip on the floor if your flat is very small.

Please take the time to read through our very detailed guide beforehand, so you can prepare everything and have it handy. You will find a lot of information about what kind of behaviours to expect, what is good and what not when to move them back into a (cleaned and rearranged) joined cages as well as what happens in the days after while they establish a working group hierarchy. Expect more noises and liveliness while this happens.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

Make sure that your boys can move from one cage to the other once they have bonded. I hope that you can get the side panels of the cage tops to move out of the way and create a kind of bridge or platform.


The dominance phase lasts on average about 2 weeks. Unless your boys get into a real fight with bloody bites, please just sit by and do NOT interfere. That is the hardest bit for you!

 

[CarlyCoolBeans]

Okay i will it read it and probably try bonding them over the weekend. Maybe swap their cages Friday or Saturday and put them in the tub to bond the following day Also i can make them raps and connect their cages(when the time is right Thanks for that advice.

So far they seem to be friendly with each other or at least okay with each others presence.

Also both of them would come out even when i sit by the cage or even when i am speaking

Makes me happy. Can you tell. !

 

[CarlyCoolBeans]

You can do it anytime provided that you have several hours to watch over them; but you can swap them over in the cages for a day so they smell similar and the cages carry both piggies' scents.
The introductions need to happen on neutral ground. You can use your bathtub or shower with a large towel for grip on the floor if your flat is very small.

Please take the time to read through our very detailed guide beforehand, so you can prepare everything and have it handy. You will find a lot of information about what kind of behaviours to expect, what is good and what not when to move them back into a (cleaned and rearranged) joined cages as well as what happens in the days after while they establish a working group hierarchy. Expect more noises and liveliness while this happens.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

Make sure that your boys can move from one cage to the other once they have bonded. I hope that you can get the side panels of the cage tops to move out of the way and create a kind of bridge or platform.


The dominance phase lasts on average about 2 weeks. Unless your boys get into a real fight with bloody bites, please just sit by and do NOT interfere. That is the hardest bit for you!

Okay i will it read it and probably try bonding them over the weekend. Maybe swap their cages Friday or Saturday and put them in the tub to bond the following day Also i can make them raps and connect their cages(when the time is right Thanks for that advice.

So far they seem to be friendly with each other or at least okay with each others presence.

Also both of them would come out even when i sit by the cage or even when i am speaking

Makes me happy. Can you tell. !

 

[Wiebke]

Okay i will it read it and probably try bonding them over the weekend. Maybe swap their cages Friday or Saturday and put them in the tub to bond the following day Also i can make them raps and connect their cages(when the time is right Thanks for that advice.

So far they seem to be friendly with each other or at least okay with each others presence.

Also both of them would come out even when i sit by the cage or even when i am speaking

Makes me happy. Can you tell. !

They are still sub-teenage hormone baby boars and will bond much easier. The difficult times will come when their testicles start descending at around 3-4 months of age, but you always have the option of keeping them side by side for stimulation if necessary. Thankfully, the majority of boar pairs make it together to a more settled adulthood.

Do the cage swap on Friday, so you have got Saturday and Sunday to work though the worst of the hierarchy sort-out and dominance behaviour.

 

[CarlyCoolBeans]

They are still sub-teenage hormone baby boars and will bond much easier. The difficult times will come when their testicles start descending at around 3-4 months of age, but you always have the option of keeping them side by side for stimulation if necessary. Thankfully, the majority of boar pairs make it together to a more settled adulthood.

Do the cage swap on Friday, so you have got Saturday and Sunday to work though the worst of the hierarchy sort-out and dominance behaviour.

Okay Ill swap them on Friday What do you mean by keeping them side by side. You mean literally next to each other or in separate cages?

 

[Wiebke]

Okay Ill swap them on Friday What do you mean by keeping them side by side. You mean literally next to each other or in separate cages?

In separate cages that have been pushed against each other, so they can still interact through the bars, but cannot fight if they don't get on as teenagers or if your bonding fails.

 

[CarlyCoolBeans]

In separate cages that have been pushed against each other, so they can still interact through the bars, but cannot fight if they don't get on as teenagers or if your bonding fails.

So even if the bond well when they both are teenagers I would have to separate them again?

 

[CarlyCoolBeans]

You can do it anytime provided that you have several hours to watch over them; but you can swap them over in the cages for a day so they smell similar and the cages carry both piggies' scents.
The introductions need to happen on neutral ground. You can use your bathtub or shower with a large towel for grip on the floor if your flat is very small.

Please take the time to read through our very detailed guide beforehand, so you can prepare everything and have it handy. You will find a lot of information about what kind of behaviours to expect, what is good and what not when to move them back into a (cleaned and rearranged) joined cages as well as what happens in the days after while they establish a working group hierarchy. Expect more noises and liveliness while this happens.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

Make sure that your boys can move from one cage to the other once they have bonded. I hope that you can get the side panels of the cage tops to move out of the way and create a kind of bridge or platform.


The dominance phase lasts on average about 2 weeks. Unless your boys get into a real fight with bloody bites, please just sit by and do NOT interfere. That is the hardest bit for you!

I didnt have them sway cages last night. i just did it this morning. Does it have to be a whole day before i try to bond them?

 

[Wiebke]

So even if the bond well when they both are teenagers I would have to separate them again?

No, you only need to separate in case they fall out with other. And you do not need necessarily swap cages beforehand. It helps if they get to know each other a bit before they meet, but it is not the decider in a bonding - in the end, they will either like each other and click or not, and there is nothing you can do about that outcome. All you CAN do is remove any extraneous stress factors as much as possible. But if they are both young and babies, the need for company is generally a much bigger factor than any others.

Best of luck with your intros!