Well that wasn't very nice was it piggies? The "70" Guinea-Pigs have spurned my attempts to bond them...

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

We tried this afternoon to bond the piggies .
GP6 has been through two losses since New Year (GP5 in early Jan and GP4 last week)

GP7 and GP8 have been side-by-siding since last May (they decided they didn't like my female pigs)

So, we let them have a nose-to-nose chat last night, GP6 was purring loudly at them .
Today DD and I cleaned the Pighouse, redid the bedding in the hutch (for them to share) bathed the piggies in Gorgeous Guinea Cedarwood and Lemon.
Cut a bit pile of grass (they haven't had grass for a while and they'd had breakfast already)

They all tucked into grass...........good.
Bit of rumblestrutting from Bert. .........Good.

Then GP8 (my guinea, the little girl) got all in yer face really loud chattering, head up, mouth open, prancing about like a Tasmanian Devil.

The two girls got GP6 cornered (in a round pen) and though no teeth met skin, they were very assertive (bordering on agression) leaping at him.His little rump was right up against the bars, he'd have had to fly over their heads.

We left them a while, kept a couple of towels handy, tried to get them eating , which they did (though GP8 upended the bowl to whap GP6 if he tried it on)

We called time on a three pig brawl ball of fur , lobbed a towel into the midst and broke it up.

So: I couldn't safely say I'd put GP6 in with these two ladies where I couldn't keep a close eye.
We put the divider in the Pighouse, the 2 sows will have the hutch and GP6 can have the little square wooden hut .
He can chat, have his own space.

We'll try again on a 1:1 basis, see if he copes better when they're not both chattering at him.
They might not want to bond with him at ALL , they might do over a longer period.

Good job we love these little rodents.
GP8 was being all sweet and cuddly , sniffing at my eyelids when I cuddled her.

Maybe they were judgey at the lack of cake, but they did enjoy grass very much ........

Oh 70 that sound so like the behaviour of my little agouti pig when I tried to bond her with tricolour boar and his satin pig wifey

She's the most angelic looking little thing ever but OMG, the way she went for tricolour was Admittedly he's a very dominant boy (this was what caused the original fall out, many years ago, with ginger pig) and did lots of mounting and rumbling but I think I naively thought it might be ok, as satin pig has always accepted him as he is.

Agouti pig was NOT up for accepting him as he is.

We had full on teeth chattering and yawning, her fur bristled so much she looked almost twice her usual size, and for her grande finale she rounded on tricolour pig, mid his attempt to mount her, and literally bowled him over and over. Tricolour pig is (a) much older (he's 5.5, she's barely a year old) and (b) disabled - the original bite from ginger pig has left him with a distended and arthritic paw - so it wasn't pretty, and satin pig was terrified.

I had to do the 'chuck a towel over agouti pig and grab her away quick' thing too.

Thankfully she's been fine with the new baby Abyssinian (who lets her be boss lady) but bang went my idea of a nicely united herd in the fabulous C&C cage I'd envisaged...

Poor Bert. What a shame

For animals who are so gentle and adorable with humans they can be bloody horrible to each other

It's scarey isn't it (I'd scoured through the Green/Amber/Red of warning signs) little GP8 was standing her ground, head up (she actually went straight to head up, no sniffling round preliminaries) mouth open.
I didn't think a piggie could chew grass, chatter/grind their teeth and have her mouth wide open at the same time)

DD said "I've never seen her like this" though TBF , when we tried a second introduction in the big rabbit run last summer (neutral, food,huge space) GP7 went for GP4, GP8 leapt 2' in the air at GP5 .........Bert just sat there like father Dougal.

Poor Bert, he inherited the house from his wives and now his new wives have evicted him to the annexe .

Oh I love the sound of Bert I miss having a cuddly love sponge boar (tricolour doesn't really do snuggles, he's far too antsy)

Poor Bert. It's hard being the only male surrounded by nagging women. And then to be evicted from your home as well. Poor boy. There should be a helpline for him.

Actually Madampig would probably be up for some husband swapping. Gingerpig keeps forcing his attentions upon her and then hogs the big pigloo. Bert sounds much more of a gentlepig, so I'm sure she'd be interested in a trade with your girls.

Aww Gingerpig is excited to have a female Bert didn't even try it on with GP7 and GP8 , they just marked his card before he tried any shenanigans.

We bought him a tunnel to cheer him up and he seems to like his cosy little haybox .
He fancies himself as a cavy version of "My Wife Next Door" cheesey 70s sitcom.

Sows, can't live with them, can't kill 'em he sighs.

Oh poor Bert. Any chance of bonding with a new pig 70? Not that I'm encouraging you to visit a rescue or anything like that

Nothing like a new tunnel to warm the cockles of a little piggie heart. Glad he's settling into single life and a gentle feud with his neighbours! Poor boy has been through it recently.

The offer still stands from Madampig. She tried to move in with Currentbun yesterday and although he was happy for her to visit, he didn't want her to stay. Gingerpig is just not understanding about 'No'. I'm wondering if Scruffy taught him anything.

I did briefly consider a new female (very very briefly) but if they don't get on I'd have three cages. (And I can imagine DH face)

Gingerpig will need to read his CavyContract and realise (like Bert has) that the laydeez basically rule the roost.
He's given up his Rabbit hutch house.
He doesn't get snuggly night cuddles (though on the bright side, the only pee in his sleeping house is his own now)

But he gets loads more attention from DD. She'll bring him in for cuddles because the girls have each other. Then when they all come in we juggle laps and don't leave a piggie alone.
And if he leaves something in his plate he can go back and its still there

Ginger likes the sound of things still being on his plate. If he leaves something in his mouth, Madampig swipes it and runs off. He's having to eat much faster than he did with dear old Scruffy.

Sounds like Bert is relaxed and content with his situation.

We put GP7 and GP6 on the kitchen floor. There was purring from him and some sniffing then they sat together nose-to-tail. Very nice.

We put GP6 and GP8 (my guinea) together - before he moved , so still a good 3' away she started 'ticking' at him, chattering her teeth,
Not so good then

DD kept telling GP8 "He's nice , really. He knows his place (ie 3rd place) and he's very cuddly husband material"

GP8 was still

DD and I tried again to introduce them (God loves a trier , yes? )

GP8 just chattered her teeth a while, GP6 pootled up , walked round her, purred a bit.....
She dived under his chin, grated her teeth some more then basically flew at him. , going for his face and ears (no blood but no love lost either)

He's going to be single but side-by-side I reckon, for his own safety.
She doesn't look any way like she's going to accept him (though GP7 is ok with him)

We swapped them round in the Pighouse, he has the rabbit hutch, they have two hidey hay houses. To see if being in each others patch (with clean bedding) would help.
Nope

Strange thing is GP8 is the sweetest little piggie, I thought maybe she's scared of him and has decided to punch first ask questions later? If that's the case , enforced bonding will mean he gets bitten or she'll hide in a corner, neither of which I want.

Poor Bert. Maybe GP8 is an ardent feminist pig and does not wish to be part of a patriarchal society

Poor Bert.
Bet he's wondering where it all went wrong, living in harmony with his little herd and now he cannot do anything right

Bert enjoyed a long cuddle with DD (his PigMum) after his encounter with GP8 .
I did think about letting him run about with GP7 a while but I'm worried GP8 might take against GP7 on her return and in fairness GP7/GP8 were a couple long before they came to us.

He seems a bit happier now he's back in the rabbit hutch though.

If nothing else, he's had a lovely time with his herd and now he still has company to chat with, I don't want to risk his sanity and health (she'll shred his little ears I reckon, little toad)

Polygamy isn't for every pig