Males around females

[Taboo]

When males and females are housed in the same room in separate cages will the males fight with each other because they smell the females, or vice versa?

 

[Simonmaal]

When males and females are housed in the same room in separate cages will the males fight with each other because they smell the females, or vice versa?

The smell of a female can be enough to make even neutered males fight.

 

[clotho]

Not necessarily. I have three boys who live together quite nicely and their cage is in the same room as the girls' cage (5 girls). When the girls go into heat, the boys might be a little more likely to argue a bit, but it never gets out of hand. I think it depends on the pigs and how much room you give the boys - the more space you can give them, the better.

If you do happen to house the boys and girls side by side with a grid separating them, make sure the grids are totally secure and there is a lid on the boys' side. Males have been known to climb grids to get to a female in heat. I would suggest having their cages as far apart in the room as space will allow.

 

[Simonmaal]

True, which is why I said it can cause them to fight, not will . I was more making the point that neutering them makes no difference and like you said, yes it does depend on individual pigs.

 

[breezy2]

I am one who could not house her female in the same room as her two males. It was a mother and her babies, so originally I thought they just wanted their mother, but even now if I have any smell of Tess on me when I go to see them or if I try to let them see Tess from a distance, they go nuts and fight. I do not let them see her anymore for that reason.

 

[Taboo]

Aw, that's a shame that they may fight. I hope mine don't. I mean, if I get both males and females, I'm just planning on getting males though, but I've learned that things never turn out as planned.

 

[Simonmaal]

Yes indeed, things do tend to have a habit of surprising us! It's a long story as to how I came to have even one guinea pig and now I have four males!

The 3 males I've had the longest all live together and have never fought, with only a bit of dominance behaviour such as nipping, chasing, rumblestrutting and nose rearing. In the past, things went as far as raised heckles and tooth chattering but it's been weeks since they've done either and they've now settled happily into their home and seem to "own" a section of the cage each. And that's the thing with males: many have said they need a bit more space than females if they are to get along (not very much more though) and you need to always be aware of their instinct to be the only male in the colony.

Sadly, although 2 of the boys don't mind Bluey (my newest arrival), Billy (the dominant one) takes exception to him and they have fought violently, leading to a few nasty injuries. So at the moment Bluey lives alone but in a cage attached directly to the others so they can all interact without hurting each other.

So to re-iterate, it really does come down to individual pigs and I would not be without my 4 boys now! They are such good fun.

Good luck with your boys and I hope you have as much fun with them (and them with you) as we do