Hello! New Piggy Caretaker here!

[3boys]

Hi, we recently adopted 3 young boars as an early Christmas present for my 3 human girls. They have been (tragically) named "Fluffy," Cutie Pie" and "Bolt" - nobody was on board with my Harry, Hagrid & Dumbledore suggestion. Oh well. Anyway, I have found this forum and lots of very helpful information so we have built them a great C&C cage and are patiently waiting out all the mounting as they decide who is king of their new space. They were in a pet store cage together when we adopted them and the owner thought it was "plenty big" for them (poor guys). Anyway, thanks for all your helpful discussions. I am probably more of a lurker, but I find it all very enlightening and am really enjoying watching these little critters as we get to know them!

 

[bpatters]

Welcome!

Here's some recommended reading for new pig owners:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!

And just so you know, the mounting won't stop when they figure out who's king of the mountain. It will go on for a long time, and you may be in for some rough days when they hit puberty. We never recommend putting three boars together, especially if you're a new pig owner. Two will work, sometimes a herd will work, but three works very rarely.

How large a cage did you build? Boars require more room than sows, so you need at least a 2x6 or equivalent, or larger.

 

[3boys]

I think they are in the midst of puberty right now (I was told they are 7-8 months). They have been together since whenever the previous owner had them (birth?) two are brothers and they are the ones who are still sorting it out, but it has never got really nasty - not even teeth chattering. They have 2x5 now, with an offset loft. Eventually I will expand to under the loft and build a base, but that's just not in the cards right now. They seem to be getting on relatively well, but if it comes to bloody fights we will reassess. I figured the mounting won't really stop - I had a spayed female dog who loved to show anyone she could that she was the boss.