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General Natural Herd

scruffytufty

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Hi all, i have been thinking about adopting a boy that is neutered or getting a boy and then neutering him to make my herd more natural, does anyone have experience with this? does it even work? i have looked in the ups and downs of getting a boy neutered so i am hoping to find one already neutered obviously. but i just want to make it more natural for them so if anyone has any experience please share :D
 

RodentCuddles

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It does work. I have 2 females (1 spayed) living with a neutered male. The only thing that really annoys me is that when ever Trixie (girl who isn't spayed) goes into heat Pluto really annoys her, and stresses her out to her limits but other then that they're a happy little bunch and they get along just as great as my group of males.

I wouldn't get a boy just to get him neutered as I wouldn't want to risk anything, I think It's a great Idea that you want to get a male but I'd adopt or rescue one that is already neutered and currently living by himself.
 

madelineelaine

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I don't think it matters if there's a boy in the group or not.

and I can tell you, when izzy goes into heat, she hates felix because he won't leave her alone.
 

pinky

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I had a neutered male living with 3 females. The girls picked on him but there was no fighting. I took in a senior male and felt bad about him living alone so I'd bring the neutered male out for the males to play. They got along so well, I have the senior and neutered males living together. Compatibility has more to do with personalities than a male with a group of females. I now have three female pairs and and the male pair in four separate cages and each pair is very compatible
 

madelineelaine

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I wouldn't neuter a male if you don't need to. There are a lot of complications.

I got felix from the rescue neutered, and this summer he had to have an expensive surgery for a hernia that was a complication of his neutering.
 

scruffytufty

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yes i did state that i would prefer to get one that is already neutered :) i want to make it as natural as possible but i have some hefty girls and i wouldnt him to feel out numbered!
 

madelineelaine

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I don't think he'd feel out numbered.

Again, I would just like to caution you. Why not adopt another girl instead?
 

scruffytufty

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because i am all for them being natural, it was only a thought and i wanted peoples experiences, why are you cautioning me?:p
 

Paula

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I don't understand why you think it's more "natural" or that it's an arrangement they'd prefer in the first place. If you want to add a pig to your herd, focus on individual personalities and interaction within the group, male or female.

Keep in mind that guinea pigs as we have them are not found in a wild environment, so there's nothing really "natural" to their herd makeup other than the herd itself.
 

scruffytufty

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i just reckoned that a male to a group of females is a natural set up for any animals behavior, iv read other views on this a lot of people have more positive views than others but i wanted peoples genuine experiences in-case females turn strange in any way, all my guineas have the oddest behaviors and are quite chunky so i thought it may be an option
 

lifesvr7

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I have one male who is not neutered. He is going to piggy speed dating this weekend with a local rescue to see if we can find him a girlfriend or two. All their pigs are spayed or neutered before adoption so there will be no chance of babies. Ultimately, the point of the speed dating is to let HIM decide if he want one or two friends and to see how they get along as a group. Im sure it will be a long day lol I hope to have less fighting issues with two females and one male (since males often butt heads a little more)but in the end, they are all different.They will all have their own personalities whether they are male or female, fixed or not. For all I know, I will male the long journey just to have him decided he doesn't like any of them since he was a lone pig in the home he was in for three years before I got him.
 

madelineelaine

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@lifesvr7 I feel like that would be really stressful for the pigs.

And well I'd caution you because guinea pigs are delicate animals, and even if they're already neutered that doesn't mean things can't go wrong. 8 months or so after Felix was neutered (at the rescue, I adopted him neutered) he developed a hernia and it was lots and lots of fun. There are things that can go wrong, like abscess etc. Sure it doesn't always happen, and lots of pigs are neutered/spayed just fine, but it seems unnecessary to me. Neutering a cat or dog is a lot different then neutering a guinea pig.
 

iamsnape

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I personally would advise looking in to adopting another female rather than a male. Guinea pigs have become domesticated animals, living in cages with humans handling the daily etc is far from their what was once natural environment, so I think the more important thing would be to consider the effects of having a male in the cage - e.g bothering females when in heat, how will the females react, etc. I believe that it would work better and be 'smoother' to adopt another girl but that is just my view. All guinea pigs are different and all have different personalities so gender may in fact be irrelevant - you just need to find a group of pigs that work together. Best of luck!
 

madelineelaine

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@iamsnape I have to agree with that too. I've had sleepless nights because Felix won't leave Izzy alone. They make a real racket, him chasing her, the mad wheeking, the squeling, the burring, the cage bar biting ..
 

pinky

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I wouldn't neuter a male if you don't need to. There are a lot of complications.

I got felix from the rescue neutered, and this summer he had to have an expensive surgery for a hernia that was a complication of his neutering.

My male ended up with an abscess and bloat almost four weeks after his surgery. I agree that there are risks.
 

stray hares

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I think I have the set-up you're envisioning. I have a neutered male in with five females. Sid is the dominant pig, I have a number of really stroppy girls, and Sid being the gentle but firm leader pig that he is keeps everyone in line. I have pigs that I know wouldn't work in pairs, but in a large herd, they get along fine. Sid's a sweetheart though, he's always grooming his favourite girls, and me sometimes, ha. Before Sid, Murphy was the herd leader, but he developed a massive abscess on his liver that was only diagnosed after his death. The group headed by Murphy always worked really well, too. My personal experience, with larger herds where you have several females with a dominant male, has always been very positive. I have a larger cage and lots of pipes and hideys so that the girls can get away from Sid if they want to, and, yes, they do pee in his face a lot to tell him to go away, but Sid is a gentleman and I can't remember the last time the herd got worked up because someone was in heat. Murphy was a little pushier than Sid, but still I didn't have any major issues.
 

lifesvr7

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[MENTION=25012]lifesvr7[/MENTION] I feel like that would be really stressful for the pigs.

And well I'd caution you because guinea pigs are delicate animals, and even if they're already neutered that doesn't mean things can't go wrong. 8 months or so after Felix was neutered (at the rescue, I adopted him neutered) he developed a hernia and it was lots and lots of fun. There are things that can go wrong, like abscess etc. Sure it doesn't always happen, and lots of pigs are neutered/spayed just fine, but it seems unnecessary to me. Neutering a cat or dog is a lot different then neutering a guinea pig.

Im not sure if you are referring to the spay and neuter part or the piggy speed dating part. As for the spay and neuter part, the rescue chooses to do that. Likely because as one of the largest pig rescues in this area, they find too many "unwanted" piggies and are doing their part to keep their pigs from adding to that number once adopted. It also keeps backyard breeders from adopting their pigs for profit. I see nothing wrong with it if that is how they choose to operate.

As for piggy speed dating. . . Maybe the name is misleading. They are really "monitored introductions" where the pigs are introduced and monitored to see if they bond or if they have issues. It is done so there are less chances of them fighting or being introduced wrong once the adopter gets them home. Wrong or failed bonding either leads to more "lone" pigs or more pigs that get returned to the rescue. Ultimately going from home to home is more stressful than what I affectionately call piggy speed dating. They are only introduced to one or two pigs. The long day comes from the drive and the monitoring etc. Its not like human speed dating where they spend like seven seconds each with like twenty people. The rescue has very strict guidelines, requirements and screening processes and just wants to observe if interaction between your pig and theirs to see how they do.

Hope that explains things better. No different from anyone else who does introductions on their own. I actually feel it will be less stressful for him since the rescue folks are used to this and Im not. They will know what to watch for more than I would since this is the first piggy I have had.
 

guineapigs2468

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Im not sure if you are referring to the spay and neuter part or the piggy speed dating part. As for the spay and neuter part, the rescue chooses to do that. Likely because as one of the largest pig rescues in this area, they find too many "unwanted" piggies and are doing their part to keep their pigs from adding to that number once adopted. It also keeps backyard breeders from adopting their pigs for profit. I see nothing wrong with it if that is how they choose to operate.

As for piggy speed dating. . . Maybe the name is misleading. They are really "monitored introductions" where the pigs are introduced and monitored to see if they bond or if they have issues. It is done so there are less chances of them fighting or being introduced wrong once the adopter gets them home. Wrong or failed bonding either leads to more "lone" pigs or more pigs that get returned to the rescue. Ultimately going from home to home is more stressful than what I affectionately call piggy speed dating. They are only introduced to one or two pigs. The long day comes from the drive and the monitoring etc. Its not like human speed dating where they spend like seven seconds each with like twenty people. The rescue has very strict guidelines, requirements and screening processes and just wants to observe if interaction between your pig and theirs to see how they do.

Hope that explains things better. No different from anyone else who does introductions on their own. I actually feel it will be less stressful for him since the rescue folks are used to this and Im not. They will know what to watch for more than I would since this is the first piggy I have had.


Just wanted to say I don't think there is anything wrong with this. Most rescues know what there doing and these monitored introductions sound like a good way to find a piggy a friend. This has been recommended to me before, I don't think it would be stressful to your guinea pig.
 

lifesvr7

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Just wanted to say I don't think there is anything wrong with this. Most rescues know what there doing and these monitored introductions sound like a good way to find a piggy a friend. This has been recommended to me before, I don't think it would be stressful to your guinea pig.

Thanks. I agree. I would rather do this than bring home pigs who don't get along with each other :)
 

guineapigs2468

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Thanks. I agree. I would rather do this than bring home pigs who don't get along with each other :)

Yes same here, I would have liked to do that with my girls.
 
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