Bonding three boars together?

[trenbeau]

Shhhhh, don't tell my boyfriend. But Ive been contacted by one of my friends who's friend is getting rid of her baby guinea pig, because she "hates him" because he bit her (my friend says that she was present and the friend was holding him too tightly), but even if that wasn't the case, that is no reason to hate an animal that doesn't understand what that means.

So, my question is, if I was to foster this guy until I can find someone else to take him, or (more likely) end up keeping him, would he be able to happily go in with Moogle and Frodo after the quarantine period? Or do three boars rarely work?

Frodo is a two years in November, and Moogle is about 4-5 months old. They are very mellow, Frodo rumble struts a lot, but never any fighting or nipping or anything and Moogle doesnt seem to really get intimidated by it. Im honestly not sure who is dominant. It is not clear.

 

[bpatters]

Three can work, but it may not. There's no way to know ahead of time. Plenty of people do have more than two boars in a cage. You'll eventually have some adolescent drama between Moogle and the new one, but that might not come for several weeks.

I'd say go for it if you've got some way to house one of them separately if the pairing doesn't work and if you've got a nice big cage. If not, you probably ought to pass.

But do be aware that if you try to put all three together, you may wind up with Frodo and the baby together with Moogle the odd man out. You can't ever tell which way it'll go until you try it.

 

[PiggyLove1]

Three can work, just don't EVER do 2 boars and a sow. Not a good choice.

 

[Agrimony]

I tried three boars and it did not work, at all, not even a little bit, worse case scenario type situation. So what happened to me is not the rule, but know that it can happen. I added a baby to my original bonded pair, and they started fighting for dominance. It was all chattering and rumbling and some hair pulling, no full fledged fights. However, eventually the older of the two did bite the other- and it happened to be right in his eye. $1200, a surgery, and 5 day veterinary stay later I got him back but had to keep him in a separate cage blocked off from the older one completely so they could not even see each other. He's on long term antibiotics now and required many follow up appointments and recommended a second surgery (the first did not heal right which is causing recurring infections). The older one has since passed away but the two left still do not get along and share a divided cage. I'm hoping some day they can live together, but I'm not holding my breath. So be sure you have a separate cage handy if need be.

So long story short, my addition of one forever changed the dynamics of my bonded pair, and permanently injured one of my boys, and cost more money than I could have imagined. I love the third pig I got, but if I had it to do over again I would not have adopted him.

Whatever you decide though good luck!!

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

I have three happy boars together.

 

[piggypuppylove]

I have three happy boars. You absolutely must give the lots of space for it to work. My guys are in a 3x6, but they were able to get along in a 3x5. Also, you'll need lots of hiding spots and multiple food dishes and water bottles.

ETA: I forgot to add, if you add a 3rd boar EXPECT the hierarchy in the herd to change. I adopted Frank and Charlie together, so they came to me bonded. Charlie was the boss and Frank just sort of went along with him. When I adopted George, it through of the balance and Frank became the dominant pig.

Another caution, I adopted a baby boar a few months ago and it ended up being a disaster. I wound up bringing him back to the woman I adopted him from. He was a cute little thing, but I didn't want to cause any further damage to the bond between my trio.

 

[trenbeau]

Oh dear ! I dont want anyone to feel left out. Maybe I will just end up fostering him. Inle_Rabbit, do any of your boys feel left out? Agrimony I am so sorry to hear that! Maybe I should wait until Moogle is older to introduce a new boar. It seems that if theyre hitting puberty around the same time, no one will like eachother so. Plus, If I cant afford the worst case scenario (1200 dollars is not something our finances could afford) then I definitely can't afford to take the risk! Thank you so much for your story.

Thanks everyone else as well!!!

 

[trenbeau]

Piggypuppylove that gives me a little hope! Was there any lasting damage to your trio after trying out the little one? Could I try him out and then if they start to get too edgy with eachother, take him out with no lasting effect?

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

No odd pig out in my group.