Bonding I want to add a 4th female guinea pig to a bonded trio

[guineaghost]

I've read online that it's better to add a male to a female group but I don't want to put a guinea pig through the trouble of getting neutered. Is if okay to add another female or will they be aggressive towards each other?

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[Smileandnod]

It all depends on the personality of the new female, proper introductions, and most importantly the size of your cage.

Most people who have issues try to rush the process and don't plan out the need for a larger cage (be prepared that you may have to go wider, as well as longer). Don't settle for the bare minimum space, always go bigger if you want harmony.

Just remember that anytime you add a new pig to the mix the group will go through reestablishing dominance. This may upset the balance with your bonded trio.

 

[Soecara]

I have rarely ever had issues adding sows to a group. There are of course exceptions, and not all sows get along. I have never found group size to impact whether or not sows get along.

Don't completely rule out a neutered boar, try having a look at guinea pig rescues around you, some may have boars who have already been neutered. I have a neutered boar with three sows at the moment and he was already neutered when I got him.

 

[guineaghost]

It all depends on the personality of the new female, proper introductions, and most importantly the size of your cage.

Most people who have issues try to rush the process and don't plan out the need for a larger cage (be prepared that you may have to go wider, as well as longer). Don't settle for the bare minimum space, always go bigger if you want harmony.

Just remember that anytime you add a new pig to the mix the group will go through reestablishing dominance. This may upset the balance with your bonded trio.

I have a 6x2 cage and plan to add a loft, will that be enough? Also does age matter when adding a new guinea pig? Like lets say I add a guinea pig that's less than a year old, will they not accept the guinea pig?

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[Smileandnod]

I have a 6x2 cage and plan to add a loft, will that be enough? Also does age matter when adding a new guinea pig? Like lets say I add a guinea pig that's less than a year old, will they not accept the guinea pig?

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If you add a loft, please make it at minimum a 2x2 and consider two ramps. This will prevent squabbling from a pig getting trapped in the loft area. You will find oftentimes when you add a loft that suddenly a favorite place to lay will be the top or bottom access of the ramp.

The reason I say to be prepared to go wider is because I had one female who was aggressive with her cage mates in anything less than 3 grids wide. Once I widened the cage there was peace and she was as sweet as could be.

As long as you are patient and do the introductions in a neutral space (and make sure to clean the main cage to eliminate smells), age really doesn't matter too much.

They may be more willing to accept a young pig at first, but you probably will go through a secondary adjustment when that pig becomes of an age where they will naturally try to assert their own dominance a few months later.

Just make sure to either get another female or neutered male before introductions so you don't have an "accidental" pregnancy that we see too often on the forum AND be prepared to quarantine the newbie for a few weeks to watch for illness (URI or fungal) to avoid getting your originals sick.

I'm really happy you are taking the time to prepare and ask questions before just plopping a newbie in with your herd... That shows you are a responsible piggy parent!