Aggression Mother and Daughters appear to be fighting!

[Ky_Piggies]

I had gotten a Guinea a few months ago, and about 12 weeks ago she had babies (pretty sure pet store sold her to me pregnant based on when she had the litter). I had the babies sexed by a vet, and pulled the one male out at 3 weeks.

I now have the mom and the two daughters in the same cage, They've had small squabbles which I assumed was just the little ones bothering mom. However tonight I split the daughters from the mom because they were chasing each other around, and the little ones were making noises that sounded like they were scared. There's no injuries, and before I split them they didn't seem to want to be near each other at all! Now that they're apart the daughters are trying to find a way to mom, but mom is calm and normal while being alone. One of the daughters does occasionally chirp, but usually only when she's alone in the loft section of their cage.

I was prepared for the son, and the male I already had to have fights, and occasionally have to split them, I wasn't expecting that the females were going to be worse. My males get along just fine.

 

[ItsaZoo]

How large is the cage that the mother and daughters are in? Are there multiple places for them to hide, and do the hideys have 2 exits so no one gets cornered?Are there at least 2 water bottles and hay piles so no one is kept from eating or drinking? Usually these kinds of disagreements are due to stress at being too close together. Fleece forests to block the view can help so they can't see each other all the time, but with 3 in a cage, the minimum size would be 10.5 square feet or a 2x4 grid cage.

 

[Ky_Piggies]

I am able to give them a big cage, it's a multipart set up, equaling roughly 2 2x4 cages. They have several tunnels, and two water bottles, two piles of hay. So I know it's not that they don't have enough room, or food. I even make sure that any veggies I give to them are in different piles for each of them, or evenly by hand.

 

[ItsaZoo]

Sounds like you have everything covered as far as the cage and food set-up. When you have time to keep an eye on them, you might have to put down new bedding to get rid of the old cage scent, then try putting them together again in a fresh environment and see what happens. It could be as you say, that the babies are pestering mom and she wants them to leave her alone.

 

[bpatters]

If they weren't already weaned before now, she may just be weaning them. It's a pretty dramatic process, and it can look like she's attacking them. I'd just keep an eye on them and see if it eases up in a few days.