C&C How many piggies can I house in this cage?

[rylanmoore678]

I am purchasing a C&C cage which has 21 SQFT of floor room and I was wondering-

How many sows can I house?

and

How many boars can I house?

Thanks you guys

 

[bpatters]

Six sows or five boars if the square footage is all on the same level, but I wouldn't recommend trying it with the boars. Boar herds fail way more often than they succeed, and you'll have a much easier time with sows.

Just as a warning -- be sure you can afford that many before you get them. Guinea pigs are not inexpensive pets, and they require exotic vets which are harder to find and generally more expensive than regular vets.

 

[rylanmoore678]

Do you think 2 boars would work? I know it’s a big cage, but I prefer boars over sows and I know that boar herds over 2 usually don’t work out.

Also- They’re brothers, so do you think I might be able to get away with 3?

 

[rylanmoore678]

Actually, now that I think about it, 3 brothers really wouldn’t work because they would all hit puberty around the same time... hmm

perhaps I should just go with 2 boars? The large cage will be good for when they do hit puberty. All of the space allows for room where they don’t see each other.

 

[LittleSqueakers]

2 boars can absolutely work, and if the 2 are from the same litter, they do have a better overall chance of making it through puberty still being able to live together peacefully.

 

[rylanmoore678]

Or maybe I should do 1 boar and 2 sows? I would get the boar neutered.

I guess I’m just afraid of ovarian cysts. I would rather have males than females, but then again, I would rather have a herd of 3 than a herd of 2.

what do you guys think?

2 boars or 1 neutered boar and 2 sows?

 

[rylanmoore678]

Or maybe I will just get 3 or 4 sows

I don’t know!!

I guess I will just see what the breeder has?

 

[bpatters]

How about finding a good guinea pig rescue and adopting some unwanted pigs that need a good home? Pregnancy and delivery are very hard on guinea pig sows and pups, and the death rate is high for both. If you adopt from a shelter or rescue, you'll be giving unwanted pigs a good home as well as freeing up rescue spots for more animals in need.

 

[rylanmoore678]

I would go with a rescue, but there aren’t any rescues near me with guinea pigs. The only one that does have a guinea pig is 132 miles away, so I’m stuck with a breeder.

The breeder, though, is a family friend, and she gives me a hardy discount anyways, so I always go with her if I can’t go with any shelters.

I have housed rescues with behavioral issues in the past, though, but that was before I moved.

I have also looked on petfinder and adoptapet but still, no luck