mixing 2 families of piggies

Question
i currently have 2 female piggies (sisters), i am about to adopt 2 more females (mother and daughter), what are the chances of them fighting? how should i introduce them, my piggies are 14 mths old now, i dont know how old the others are. what size cage/hutch would i need to house them all?

Answer
Hi Joanne,

First of all: quarantine.
Quarantining any new piggy is important. You must keep the new pig in a different room to your current guineas and wash your hands after handling the new pig . Keep your new pig separate to the other for at least 2 weeks, 3 weeks if possible.
Keeping the new guinea pig separate from the group gives you time to spot any illnesses the new pig may have as well as easing your new friend into a new place without causing too much stress.

After 2-3 weeks of quarantining you are ready to add your new cavy to your current group. Neutral is the key word when doing introductions. Try taking all the pigs out onto the lawn in an enclosure - this is neutral territory and the grass will provide a distraction. Alternatively you could line an empty bathtub with clean blankets and pop in some hay and fresh vegetables - again, neutral and a distraction.

Nipping, chasing, butt-sniffing, mounting, rumblestrutting and nose-offs (high nose contests) are normal dominance behaviours. The gender mix is irrelevant in terms of behavioural activities - boar-on-boar, boar-on-sow (ensure that one sex is neutered before putting together), sow-on-boar, and sow-on-sow. It does not mean that your pigs are "gay" if they mount each other and are of the same sex.
These behaviours will always be around as a daily part of your pigs' lives, but they will usually be most intense when they first meet each other.

What could indicate an imminent fight is snorting, lunging and yawning (showing teeth). Always have a small towel to hand when monitoring introductions in case you need to separate the pigs from a ball-of-fur fight - pig bites can be very nasty if you don't protect yourself.


Remember only separate if there is bloodshed, severe distress, or if one cavy is stopping the other from eating.
The dominance process may seem brutal but it is the cavy's natural way of establishing ranks within the herd.


If the pigs do get into a ball-of-fur fight, then separate them for a few minutes and re-introduce them on another clean blanket, in a totally new area if possible.

If none of your attempts work and they continually get into ball-of-fur fights then a "Buddy Bath" may be performed, where you bathe each pigs' rear end, temporarily covering their individual scents. Once they have dried off then they will smell the same, thus any tensions between them will usually be put aside. When their scents are uncovere they are often at the stage where they tolerate each others company and will not put up such a fight.

If you feel confident enough to bathe all the pigs together then do so - after all, that is the point of a "Buddy Bath". The piggies should be so concerned at what's going on that they forget about fighting the stranger and will bond with each other through fear.
This is a last resort though, as bathing does dry out the skin, so try to avoid it if you can.

Once the pigs have all bonded you must clean the cage thoroughly. Wash all water bottles, food dishes and accessories with hot soapy water. Clean the actual cage well before putting fresh bedding and the clean accessories back in. This gives the pigs the best chance at still getting along once in the cage.


For cages, go to www.cavycages.com
If you need help sourcing supplies in either the UK or the US, then let me know and I will list them for you.

Best Wishes,

- Laura