Guinea Pig Bullying

Question
Hello,

I've just adopted 3 guinea pigs from a rescue center for my guinea pig who has been alone for just under a year now, after her sister and my eldest boar, who she got on well with, died.

The three piggies I've adopted are a bonded trio made up of:
- A 2-year-old neutered boar (Reuben)
- A 5 month old female (Truffle)
- And another female that we're guessing is around 1-2 years old (Celeste)

The 3 of them get along with no problem, and for the introduction today, the trio and my own guinea pig (Babe) got along well with no nipping or trouble- (just a lot of peeing on each other)

However, having them home for about 4 hours, there has been a lot of head-butting, nipping, squeaking and so on (coming from Celeste and Truffle towards my guinea pig, Babe) meaning my guinea pig has spent a lot of time hiding in the corner and not moving. Reuben has been quick to step in when Celeste is picking on my guinea pig, but for some reason she won't stop going for her.

The cages I keep them in are two 120 cages (like this: http://bit.ly/IS4mxZ) attached together with a little wooden bridge so they can hop between the two.

At first it seemed that Truffle was the problem, so we put her in the other cage, (with her still able to see/smell/greet the other guinea pigs) and things settled. However, very quickly, Celeste started to repeatedly charge at Babe, chasing her around the cage and nipping at her, despite Babe being in the completely opposite corner of the cage.

After 6 hours we noticed that my guinea pig, Babe had a bit of blood on her coat. My guinea pig is recovering from a bit of surgery, and it appears that Celeste has managed to tear the fresh scar. So for this reason, we placed her in the other cage with Truffle. Its been quiet now, and Reuben (the neutered male) and Babe are getting along well, as are Celeste and Truffle.


I'm all for these guinea pigs discovering who's boss and establishing dominance, and I understand 6 hours is very early to infer anything, but I'm a little confused as Babe(despite being the smallest) is older than all of the guinea pigs at 3/4 years old, as they are all under 2 years old.

Is there anything I can do to help these 3 ladies getting along with each other? As I really hate the fact that we've just got them, and the trio have lived happily together for months and are now being split up.




Any advice would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Grace

Answer
Usually the squirting urine on one another happens when a female is in heat and not ready to breed. She will spray the boar to let him know that she's not willing to accept his advances. Even after neutering some boars remain hormonal and will attempt breeding when they smell a female in heat.

The trio you brought in is an established herd. Even though they are in new surroundings they will try to bully the resident pig, in this case poor Babe. It's comparable to three new kids coming into their new environment having already established their own chain of command. They puff up their chests and try to take over without any consideration for the one sole little resident.

Since Babe is recouperating from surgery I would definitely keep her by herself until she's completely healed. Being attacked by strangers is very stressful, and just like us stress can inhibit healing. So give her lots of space and peace on her own.

I have a feeling that one of those sows was in heat. Some of them get what I call PMS or piggy mean syndrome. Some of mine do the same thing. The sows will try to mount the other girls, and they get very irritable and sometimes aggressive.

Keep the trio separated from Babe. Once she's healed you can reintroduce them. If they persist in this aggressive behavior they may not be able to be housed together. Usually if there is enough space for each one to get away from the other they will learn to get along. But with the three newbies being so dominant it's going to take time. If Babe is a particularly shy and timid girl she may not be willing to cohabit with them.