Behavior Need help. Sows fighting. Maybe urgent.

Sounds like they are just in heat. It should settle down. As long as no blood is being drawn they are fine.

How big is the cage you have them in? If it's too small that could also be part of the problem.

Yes that is perfectly normal. My clarabell does it to buffy alll of the time. We will take one out of the cage for a little while to calm the other one down and put her back in, and if you think one won't let the other get treats do the same thing take one out give treats and give the other one treats while they are in the cage. If you dont see any fur chunks missing or blood everything is perfectly normal.

Deep breath over your way. You have to have two of everything and no closed hidey huts. Just drape fleece over the corners so no one gets trapped. No blood, no separate. Girls have hormonal issues that seems to set off issues as to who is boss and different personalities play huge in this. Others will address cage size issue. They will work it out and really, really want to be with another of thier own species even though sometimes it does not appear to be so. And I would hand feed the one who is getting robbed of parsley her parsley. It is a good bonding experience. I have a herd and I have to give the little one her salad alone in my arms cause the others push her aside and she is just not quick enough to get her share. Cute.

No close hidey huts? So hidey huts not good?

Hidey huts are good, what i think they meant was no hidey huts that only have one entrance.

The problem with huts with only one entrance is that a pig can easily get trapped inside and if a fight breaks out they can't get away. So it's best to have two entrances of any houses you give them.

Right, I tried putting Poopy back in the cage and she just wouldn't stop grumbling or roughing up Moody. WOULDN'T STOP (I'd have thought the experience would shake her up a tiny bit, if not taught her anything). Are you sure that is perfectly healthy?
So I took her out again (really wished I hadn't messed with this one more time). This time, they both squeaked a bit. Last time, neither did.

Well my hidey house is closed. But I already bought a platform with stairs thing. I will replace the house with this and add drapes.

Agreed. Sounds like either heat or just establishing some dominance. It will be fine as long as there is no blood!

The longer you leave one out of the cage, the more trouble you're going to have putting her back. Unless there's a full-on fight, with lots of teeth and bloodshed, let them alone. The more you interfere, the longer it will take them to work out who's boss.

Read (broken link removed) -- there's some good information on pigs in there.

If it's a store bought cage, it's probably less than 4 feet long and is probably too small for two guinea pigs. Lack of space is probably causing a lot of the problems you're having.

I threw out all huts regardless of front and back entrance and just use fleece over corners, all four corners. Make a huge difference in the bad girls.

Mine two girls recently started doing the same thing! I was shocked when I saw them fighting so viciously! We immediately made the cage bigger and instead of hideys my husband bought some big PVC pipe home. We made two tunnels and I made little fleece cushions for each and now no one can get caught! They immediately pushed everything toward the center of the cage and proceeded to do zoomies all around the edge! My son, husband, and I watched them all evening and had so much laughing and enjoying their joy!

pinky said:

If it's a store bought cage, it's probably less than 4 feet long and is probably too small for two guinea pigs. Lack of space is probably causing a lot of the problems you're having.

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I actually have stated the size of my cage.

I've literally just added another member to our herd (of two), and there was definitely a lot of concern both because the newest member was a baby and because she has special needs. I was really stressed about the interactions, but I kept telling myself they were normal. When my kids started getting upset about the "mean" behavior or the "bullying," though, I had to sit them down and talk to them. In the end, explaining herd dynamics to them helped ME feel better about all the chasing and nipping.

1. Every herd has to have a leader. The leader is often the oldest, wisest, most experienced one (not always, but often). The leader of the herd HAS to get the other herd members' attention because it is that leader's job to ensure everyone's safety and well-being. Just as a mother would grab her child's hand to prevent him/her from running into the street, so does a dominant pig need to occasionally assert his/her authority to protect the other members of the herd.

2. The leader of the herd has a lot of responsibility. My dominant pig almost never sleeps in hideys. She is very serious about her role and will sleep out in the open -- not even under the loft. This means that the submissive pigs don't have to worry about keeping safe because they know she's on the lookout. When she nips the newest pig to get her in line, it's not because she's being mean but because she wants to ensure that that little pig knows to follow her instructions in case little pig's life ever depends on it (not in captivity, probably, but they've still got their instincts).

3. There is a difference between aggression (fighting) and dominance. The two pigs in our established herd have nipped and chased baby pig. More than once. But she has her own little hidey, and they leave her alone in there. They are perfectly willing to share their food dishes, water bottle and hay rack with her. I would consider it to be more aggression than dominance if they began to actively bully her, chase her out of her space and prevent her from eating or drinking. Those still may be normal behaviors -- don't quote me on that because I am not a pro -- but they'd not be things I would necessarily be comfortable with (certainly not the latter).

4. Dominance isn't about picking on the youngest or newest member of the herd. It's about establishing boundaries and rules to ensure the safety of the entire herd. Interfering with this process (which was definitely my gut instinct because I didn't like seeing my little disabled baby being chased around) can delay or derail the entire rule-learning process.

5. Some guinea pigs want to be top dogs. Some don't. Some really don't care. But in the end, they all need to know where they stand for their own safety and well-being. They need to figure it out.

Hang in there. It really DOES get easier. Make sure you have lots of hideys, preferably with multiple exits (fleece forests, fleece tunnels, etc.) and two of everything just in case they struggle. And make sure the cage is plenty large enough. From there on, leave them be unless there is actual physical harm.

I actually have stated the size of my cage.

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You gave us the length but not the width. There's a world of difference, from a pig's point of view, between a 4x1 and a 4x2 or 4x3. And the bigger, the better.

You mentioned taking things out of the cage. I'd leave them one hidey each that no pig can get trapped in, maybe one extra if it's small, the two pellet dishes, and nothing else. When things calm down, and they will, you can experiment with putting other things in there, but don't make the floor so crowded that they're having to run around stuff to get away from each other.

It sounds to me like one or the other is in heat, which means things should calm down very quickly. Unfortunately, it may all start up again in a couple of weeks or so for a couple of days.

asnnbrg said:

3. There is a difference between aggression (fighting) and dominance. The two pigs in our established herd have nipped and chased baby pig. More than once. But she has her own little hidey, and they leave her alone in there. They are perfectly willing to share their food dishes, water bottle and hay rack with her. I would consider it to be more aggression than dominance if they began to actively bully her, chase her out of her space and prevent her from eating or drinking.

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Well that's the thing. ALL those things are happening. Poopy also runs and hides from me before going to rob food off Moody. Is that dominant behaviour?