Had to separate guineas due to fighting

[swizzlestix]

Hi please can someone advise.
Our 2 males aged about 7 months and 5 months who had got on ok ( ish, lots of dominance but no actual fighting) had to be separated last weekend as they seemed to be full on fighting.
The smaller one had what looked like several bites and skin was broken.
So they’ve been in separate catches near each other, at times they’re squeaking as if they want each other and at other times they’re rumble strutting through the bars.
Wondering whether to try introducing them again on neutral ground but really scared to.
Don’t want to have to have 2 runs, hutches etc. It’s tricky!
Has anyone successfully reintroduced guineas after they’ve fought and drawn blood?

Can any of the guinea crew advise?

No knowledge of pigs..but no I wouldn't risk putting them back in together.id be keeping them separate permanently

Are they castrated? It might help if they both were. I've only had females so can't think of any other advice.

Castration does not solve fighting problems in gps.
They have hit puberty when this often happens.

I used to keep guinea pigs many years ago. My experience was that once the boys took a dislike to one another you were very unlikely to ever have them "roomies" again. I made my own cages, and just put a divider between them. They seemed to like to be close to each other, but things would quickly escalate if left together (I have a nasty scar still when I had to separate two of mine. My hand got in the way just as one went to bite the butt of the other). The girls were never a problem!

I used to frequent a site called guinea lynx. It's American, but full of great advice, so you might find someone on the forums there.
www.guinealynx.info/
www.guinealynx.info/forums/

My first two boas had a fight , it was scary because it was the smaller brother (the mild mannered janitor turned Hong Kong Phooey ) got his teeth right into his brothers back.

I'd say go back to basics.
Wash them, nice strongly scented shampoo (Gorgeous Guineas or nip down to your local petstore and get something scented for rodents)

A bath gives them the rage at you hopefully it will take their minds off each other.

Clean their cage Pig Neutral, scrub it with white vinegar.

Bigger is better with pigs, always have two doors in their housie so they cannot trap each other.
Two bowls , keep food spaced apart.

When you rebond , a neutral space (we used a paddling pool) , huge pile of food and grab a towel. You might literally need to 'throw the towel in' if they fight, don't get your hands in the way of warring guineas.

It might be (as with my boar and the two sows we got 2 years ago) that they cannot live together.

I bonded a boar+ a piglet
The piglet (grown) with 2 sows
The 2 sows with our present boar

I tried to bond our newest sows with the trio (failed) then the sows with our boar (after his wives died) failed.

The aggressor is my piggie , who is a sweet as a button but attacks our boar.

Sometimes for their own safety you have to accept , but I'd say give it a go to rebond but if it gets spiteful, wade in with a towel.

Good Luck

With our 2 brothers, the indoor cage we had (and still have) is 4x2 , just for indoor nights.
We did put a barrier between at night but they went out to their Pighouse by day and they had two hay beds but did sleep in the same one, different corners (pooh nest evidence)
The bigger brother got very stressed when his brother was away so their bond was very strong.

The next winter I gave them two hay boxes in the winter cage , no barrier, they were fine.

We're not 100% sure what tipped them, they were both adult , over a year. I had given them coriander though.
Check back if you've fed them herbs , it's like crack cocaine to some hogs.

We had them living harmoniously for the rest of their days.
Which is why its so that GP8 (my pig) comes along and tells me I know bugger all about guinea-pigs

Thanks so much for the helpful advice. It’s not looking hopeful but I feel I should give them one last try before resigning them to separate lives as neighbours. Do you think the outdoor run would be ok as neutral place to introduce them?
Lots of space and places to hide - then I can be on hand standing over them with a towel as 70 suggested.
If no joy then they’ll have to be neighbours, would be such a shame though and tricky practically.
Thanks for your advice as always, these guineas are causing me more stress than my kids!

They are stress inducing little ratbags aren't they Bear in mind boar:boar pairings do work well but it's not a natural way for pigs to live , it's an artificial environment that guinea-pig keepers engineer to compromise the fact they need company but we don't want to be breeding a load of pigs. They would IRL be a boar+ a herd of sows.

Boar pairs do need careful monitoring , enough space and of course now its Spring all animals get a bit lairy.
But boars are lovely and snuggly , far more so than sows IMO .

Just to update. Sadly our boys now won’t be able to live together despite a final try ( thanks for the back to basic tips). So as we don’t have space for 2 decent sized hutches, our littlest guy is going to live with a lovely lady who has 22 guineas living in ‘apartments’ side by side so they can see each other, then they go out in separate but close runs on the warmer days.
We’re going to see how the lone pig gets on with extra attention from us and if he seems lonely we’ll look at bonding him with another.
Thanks again for all the advice

Sorry that they fought! If blood is drawn pigs will never forgive and never be friends again. They are very stubborn creatures!

Please get him a friend, he will indeed get lonely, human interaction is not enough for guinea pigs alone. I recommend visiting a rescue close to your home via a quick facebook/google search who can really help you, and even take your boy for a few days to bond.

Thanks I think we will do that. I think the age gap was too close with our boys so they both hit puberty around the same time!