Aggression: Girls fighting :(

[Barb1222]

So I have five girls...or so I thought. I discovered one of my boys was actually a girl who ended up pregnant because she was with boys (I posted about this a bit ago). Anyway, momma, known as Porker, had two babies, one didn't make it The baby turned three weeks old this past thursday and is a boy so he was separated.

Well, I decided to put mom with my other five girls. I was going to connect her cage with theirs...that was the master plan. I put momma in with the girls and they were all fine for a few minutes. Then, one of my girls, Sally, picked a fight with her and bit her ear. I immediately separated them. **Side note: when I first added Sally to my other girls (only three at the time), they didn't get along. She climbed out of her cage and into three girls' cage over night. I discovered them all together and everyone was perfectly alright. They have been ever since. It was weird.

Today, I tried to put one of the other girls, Splotchy, into Porker/momma's cage. Momma chattered and Splotchy attacked, only getting some fur, fortunately.

I really really don't want momma to be alone. I feel so bad for her. Is there anything I can do? Should I put them in a completely different cage/setting when I introduce them? She is older than all my piggies and she is blind in one eye. She got along with the boys when she was in there...when I thought she was a boy.

[Paula]

You need to do introductions in a completely neutral area. Ideally, there should be some things to distract the pigs too, like veggies and hay. While you are letting them get to know each other in a neutral area, you should clean the cage completely and when they seem to be getting along, put them back in the same clean cage together.

Make sure that your cage setup gives the pigs ample room and at least meets the minimum requirements for the number of pigs you plan to house in it.

[Barb1222]

Will do. Thanks! The cage the five are in now is 3x4 with a 2x3 upper deck and mommas cage is a 3x3. I'm hoping they all get along so that I can combine both cages to give them even more room.

[Barb1222]

So I waited a week or so, cleaned cages and tried to put them together again, during their breakfast. They were doing fine at first, all eating. Then momma (Porker) started chattering, so I would put some lettuce in front of her & that seemed to work for a while. Then they all got riled up. Making noises and some were chattering. I still left momma in there.

Sally, she's looking like the dominant one, starts going after the other piggies. Got some fur from one, but no blood, so I kept Porker in. She even lounged at Porker once, but since it wasn't that big of a fight, I still left Porker in. I left her in until Sally really started attacking Porker to the point where I had to separate them. The only one that ended up bloody was me. Sally bit my finger when i separated them.

Everyone seems fine now. I feel like Porker gets really defensive. She's older and is blind in one eye. She was starting a lot of the chattering.

Is there anything else I can or should I just leave Porker by herself? Should I try putting someone with Porker first? Their cages are right next to each other - they share a grid wall. Should I try to take down the coroplast wall between them and leave only a grid wall so they can get used to each other, or would that be too stressful?

I really get worried when they start chattering and stuff. I wish someone was here to tell me if how they are acting is ok and they would be fine together.

[NicholsS10]

Originally Posted by Barb1222

So I waited a week or so, cleaned cages and tried to put them together again, during their breakfast.

Just because it isn't clear here with what is written, I'll ask. Did you do your introductions again in their cage (albeit a clean cage) or in neutral territory?

[Barb1222]

In a cleaned cage

[fieryone]

I would try making a floor time area and introduce them there. If they get along okay in a completely neutral area for at least an hour or so, then I would clean out the cage and all hideys, etc with vinegar and water and try putting them in there. Put hideys and things in different places than they were before, too. If all else fails, you could try a buddy bath. It took a combo of all of the above for my Lucy & Ethel to accept Lola.

[Barb1222]

I figured since the cage was all cleaned out (vinegar watered) and bedding replaced, that that would work. Apparently it won't. I will have to create another area and try again.

[Barb1222]

Originally Posted by fieryone

If all else fails, you could try a buddy bath. It took a combo of all of the above for my Lucy & Ethel to accept Lola.

What's a buddy bath?

[fieryone]

Originally Posted by Barb1222

What's a buddy bath?

Buy some rabbit shampoo (it's a pink bottle, I think the name is Bunny Bath if I remember correctly) and put all of the girls in the bath together. Go here for more detailed info: Guinea Pigs Social Life Scroll down to "introductions" and there is also info on buddy baths.

[Rnd210]

To do introductions the easy way would be make a pallet on the floor with a blanket, putt grids or playpin around the blanket or block everything around the blanket so that the piggies can not leave the blanket. Add all the piggies to blanket put a pile of hay and veggies in the middle. This makes it Nuetral territory, watch the piggies for atleast 20 minutes, if things seem to be going good, then leave them there for a while.

After the 20 minutes, you should go to their cage and clean everything, grids, bedding, hideys and toys and coroplast when and only when this is completed, the guinea pigs can all go back into one cage together provideing they are still getting along on the blanket.

[Barb1222]

Originally Posted by fieryone

Go here for more detailed info: Guinea Pigs Social Life Scroll down to "introductions" and there is also info on buddy baths.

Thanks for the link! That helps a lot...especially with the establishing dominance and what to expect.