Dominance Looking for some tips/education on my pigs! :)

John San H · Apr 9, 2013

Hello, first time writer and user.

I need some help and/or pointers regarding my pigs!

I have 3 piggies, 2 girls, 1 boy. None of them are from the same place.

My first girl is Kitty, named her that because I was bringing home a surprise gift of a Hello Kitty stuffed animal from London to my girlfriend, but she surpirsed me with a Guinea pig!

We had her for about 2 months before we decided to adopt our second pig, Zelda. Popular name, my girlfriend love the games. Zelda is presumably a little older than Kitty, given that I first spotted her in the petshop at the shopping center I work at 2 months prior to aquiring her.

They've been living together for about 6-7 months, but we have a dominance issue with Kitty. She is so fiesty, and apperantly the big boss of everything. She can bully Zelda and make her squeek uncomfortably just by being near her. She seems to tolerate Zelda to some extent by letting her eat and drink, but when it's her turn for anything she lunges at her. Our cage space could be a little better but there is room for them to move around without getting in eachother faces. I really want to remedy this situation, it's so hard to let her bully Zelda this way but I am not interfering as there are no blood or wound.

We recently adopted a boy, Kuro! He is still a baby, so tiny and so precious. We've had him for 2 days now and he's brave enough to eat from my hand!

I wouldn't have done it without Zelda though, she is so good with him. I really enjoy seeing them together. However Kitty is too hard, asserting dominance right away and just randomly nipping at him.

I keep Kuro in a seperate cage right next to the others. I want them all to get along but as I can forsee now only Zelda is really interested in him. Kitty seem to not care at all and only wants to assert dominance or bully :\

Here are some quick questions for all of you here

What are the options for the girls to get along?
Kuro is still a baby, but I fear when he gets older he can impregnate the girls, and they are closing in on the 1 year mark.
Is neutiring Kuro an option? It's an expensive procedure for us but if it will improve everyones quality of live it's something to consider seriously.

I love all my piggies, and I wish to give them the best quality of life which I can provide. Kitty is amazing with people, full of life and patience with us. Zelda is really shy, a bit impatient when we lift her up, but opens up when we cuddle with her.
Kuro is just the cutest little pig, and so brave the first day. Trying to dominate the girls is a bad idea lol, he learned that quickly.

Thank you so much for reading, I know it's alot and I hope you can provide me with additional information in order to improve the quality of life of our animals.

pawner69 · Apr 9, 2013

First off...WELCOME! I have not had much experience with dominance as my 3 girls seems to get along pretty well. I do know from reading other posts that your little boy can impregnate the girls as early as 3 weeks old so I would highly advise keeping him apart from the girls unless you are going to get him nutured (I believe I totally spelled that wrong). You didn't really say how big your cage is but I do know the bigger the cage, the better everyone gets along.

Hope that helps a little. Also....pigtures are a must on this site. We are all junkies for cute piggy portraits.

GoldieBrodiexx · Apr 9, 2013

I think if they were all living together eventually they would be happier, so the only way to do that is neutering Kuro.
I'm sure that the girls will eventually get along, if no blood is drawn then they should work it out.

Oh, and Kuro can impregnate the girls at 3 weeks of age.

John San H · Apr 9, 2013

Kitty and Zelda, and Kuro first day. He's been playing in the hay

Thanks for the replies guys (gals?).

My cage space isn't optimal, it's 50cm x 120cm, but they have more space if they jump outside to play. Alot of towels have gone in the trash, hoofff.... Looking for a better solution. Right now we took away the hideys because Kitty's been chasing Zelda out of both hideys :\ But when they don't have them, so much peace! They just wander around popping, chewing the toys and eating hay, a little puff here and there when they get too close but no shreeking squeeks.

Funny thing happened, Kuro the neighbour went all Spider-Man on the cage trying to get to the girls. I don't want him to be there as Kitty will lunge at him since he's new.
I find it hard to believe little Kuro can mate with them, they are more than twice his size and he's already submissive to them, but I'm not by any means doubting you

I'm going to the vet for a check up on Kuro, I'll ask about neutering and pregnacy and the risks.

If anyone has good pointers on dominance I'd gladly take it. Kitty might be the sweetest piggy with us humans, but she's the big bad piggy if anyone gets in her way.
I sure hope adding Kuro will bring balance to our little herd.

cavykaitlyn · Apr 9, 2013

I can't really help you with much of anything (I'm quite uneducated at the moment, getting better!) but I have to say Kuro is so darn CUTE! Like a little puff! Now, the others are cute too (and the one on the left seems silly XD) but I love Abys and their little hairdos

any longhaired will do, though. Good luck, man!

Megaredize · Apr 9, 2013

i agree it is funny to think of a such a small pig being able to mate with a full grown female BUT it happens. I also have a new baby pig that im unsure of the sex so i havent even introduced my two girls to the baby yet because of this. Kuro is adorable! He looks about the same size as my baby.

Oh and have you thought of petting fleece on top of the towels? The fleece wicks away moisture and the towels below will absorb all the urine. This way the fleece stays pretty dry and your girls aren;t on wet bedding.

SardonicSmile · Apr 9, 2013

The playpen you have makes for a great big cage, which could vastly improve your two girls getting along. You should consider putting a fleece layer on top of the towels, that way they don't sit in their own pee like they do with just towels.
The ramp into the cage is a bit steep. Maybe you can use a grid from the playpen? Just cover it up properly so no feet can get stuck.

The little boy can certainly find a way to get your girls pregnant even if he is just tiny. Crafty little buggers when it comes to mating.

here is a pic of my cage, using coroplast and the playpen.

clb89 · Apr 9, 2013

SardonicSmile said:
The playpen you have makes for a great big cage, which could vastly improve your two girls getting along. You should consider putting a fleece layer on top of the towels, that way they don't sit in their own pee like they do with just towels.
The ramp into the cage is a bit steep. Maybe you can use a grid from the playpen? Just cover it up properly so no feet can get stuck.

The little boy can certainly find a way to get your girls pregnant even if he is just tiny. Crafty little buggers when it comes to mating.

here is a pic of my cage, using coroplast and the playpen.

Is that fleece? Very pretty, where did you get it from?

SardonicSmile · Apr 9, 2013

@clb89 yes it is fleece, but I got it at a store called Jysk and they have no stores in the USA, they do have them in Canada though.

clb89 · Apr 9, 2013

Thank you @(broken link removed) maybe I can find it online somewhere. I'm from the U.S. so I'll have to go searching.

John San H · Apr 9, 2013

Ah cool. They have jysk in norway. I'll be sure to look for them fleece matts_

John San H · Apr 10, 2013

Update:

So today I gave all the piggies some floor time, first I place Kitty and Kuro in the pen. To see if neutral ground could help leviate the bossy nature of Kitty... That really didn't work lol. So I put Zelda in... same thing

I distracted them with some food and it was okay, but if either Zelda or Kuro approached her they would be in for a nip attack.

Eventually I picked them up one by one, Zelda being the most impatient of them, dosen't really like to get picked up nor held if I don't spoil her right away with cuddles. I fed them and groomed their fur, which they all seem to enjoy.

I put them back in their cages, and I've been noticing Kuro craving attention from the girls by biting on the cage. So I gently put Kuro in their cage, for a moment I thought they would play nice but Kitty started bullying him.

So I thought I would place Kitty in Kuro's cage to observe Zelda and Kuro together... it's like cavy love and playfullness. They are much better together, no quarreling, no loud shreeks. Kitty just dosen't seem to care at all. She could live anywhere, she's as happy as she were before...
I hope when Kuro gets older he will be able bring some harmony to the group, because we're planning on making a really nice cage for the pigs.

to think this little baby would become so fiesty with her kin....

SardonicSmile · Apr 10, 2013

You do know that you are asking for problems by letting the boy near your girls right? If you continue to do this, prepare to have loads of babies.

bubblepig · Apr 10, 2013

STOP LETTING KURO BY THE GIRLS!
He's biting at the cage to get to them and mount them! He WILL impregnant them which,especially sows older than 6 months,can kill then. Why did you even GET an un-neutered male?!

John San H · Apr 11, 2013

Hi,

Please relax. I've monitored them closely, they seem to mind their own buisness for the most part. Kuro will not approach the girls because he will get shrugged off.
Kuro is still a baby, can he be neutered already? My local sources tells me he's not ready for such a procedure. And I am not by any way letting them stay in the same cage un-monitored. He only gets about 30 minutes with them, and all he does is eat hay.

The sources online are very misleading to what's correct. All guinea pigs I've come across have very different personalities and health is an important factor.
I have a vet appointment on monday for Kuro, I will ask the questions surrounding neutering and pregnacy.

gigiroxstar · Apr 11, 2013

I just thought I would say, guinea pigs can be impregnated in seconds. It is very risky letting Kuro near the girls, and since they are nearing the 1 year mark, being pregnant and delivering is VERY risky. Just thought I would warn you because you wouldn't want any of your piggies to get hurt.

I think neutering can be performed at three months? Someone correct me if I am wrong but I think that is what I have seen on other threads.

Lastly, Welcome to the Forum! You will find a WEALTH of knowledge here.

John San H · Apr 11, 2013

Thanks for your feedback

The girls are between 8-10 months (Did a check up on them). According to our book it's either now or never for the girls to have babies to be safest.
By your requests I will not have Kuro and the girls together anymore until I know for certain if I want babies or not. Or if the vet says the girls should not get pregnant.

I'm really hoping though when Kuro gets older (And neutered) he will bring balance to the herd

HannibalLecter · Apr 11, 2013

John San H said:
Thanks for your feedback

The girls are between 8-10 months (Did a check up on them). According to our book it's either now or never for the girls to have babies to be safest.
By your requests I will not have Kuro and the girls together anymore until I know for certain if I want babies or not. Or if the vet says the girls should not get pregnant.

I'm really hoping though when Kuro gets older (And neutered) he will bring balance to the herd

Pregnancies are extremely hard on both the sows & babies, where 1 in 5 sows die as a result.
There are genetic diseases & deformities that could be spread to the babies, such as lethal whites where the babies are born deaf, blind, without teeth & intestinal deformities causing them to live a short & unhappy life. There is an extreme overpopulation of guinea pigs where pigs are euthanized daily because they simply don't have the room for them, and thousands are homeless. Don't add to the problem, if you want babies & care for your sows, adopt babies from an accidental litter instead.

Your boy can be neutered at the weight of 650g and over, and would have to be separated for a few weeks after as well.

Breeding info:
https://www.cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm

Neutering info:
Guinea Pig Neutering, How to Neuter your Guinea Pigs

bubblepig · Apr 11, 2013

I had an accidental litter. It's hard for the sows,especially older ones. Twix was 5/6 months when she gave birth. We had 3 healthy babies and.. One still born. Sows older than 6 months are more likely to have complications or die.

Megaredize · Apr 11, 2013

This forum is anti breeding. Just a heads up, you will get some people angry fast when they see you are even thinking about purposely having a litter.

Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Dominance Looking for some tips/education on my pigs! :)

John San H

Member

pawner69

Well-known Member

GoldieBrodiexx

Well-known Member

John San H

Member

cavykaitlyn

Well-known Member

Megaredize

Well-known Member

SardonicSmile

Well-known Member

clb89

Well-known Member

SardonicSmile

Well-known Member

clb89

Well-known Member

John San H

Member

John San H

Member

SardonicSmile

Well-known Member

bubblepig

Well-known Member

John San H

Member

gigiroxstar

Well-known Member

John San H

Member

HannibalLecter

Well-known Member

bubblepig

Well-known Member

Megaredize

Well-known Member

Similar threads

Share this Page

Newest members

Online statistics

Key Resources

Members online