Our two boys

[ginsparkles]

Hi, we recently got two male guinea pigs, they are about 11 weeks old. They chase each other a lot, cookie is chasing Oreo about and is humping him. Which I understand is normal. However I am worried that Oreo isn't being completely submissive to him, as he rumbles at cookie.
There is no going about in circles, raising on to hind legs or teeth chattering.
Are they being normal pigs, or can they not work out who is boss? They have been together in their hutch outside for just over a week.

Boars go into the Terrible Teens . Usually about 4-6 months . Are they related ?

When you say hutch , how much room do your boys have ? Boars like to have a space to get out of each others faces . Also make sure they cannot trap each other in a hidey box . You need 2 doors or a wide enough door for 2

When we got our original boars (brothers) they had a Playhouse to live in with a big haybox
They didn't like their Winter nightcage (which was 4'x2 the minimum size for 2 pigs but for boars you need biger ) this was just to rest their weary heads in but they were very judgey !

You might find they get a bit full on, keep an eye on them. You might need to change things round a bit , steam clean to make it neutral (white vinegar is good too) maybe bath them to make them smell the same .

Have they got a run? You can slowly introduce grazing time , maybe 30minutes to begin with .

And photos ?

The hutch is 6ft. I have got them two over everything. And am going to take out the section that makes a sleeping area so that one can't get trapped and replace it with two hidey places with 2 holes.

They seem to be settling a bit, but get really cross if I cover them at night so I have stopped doing that! I will give the hutch and them a little bath. What should I bath them with?

Ahh they are lovely boys
I used to buy Gorgeous Guineas shampoo (they do trial sizes which last ages and you can have a few to try) though a lot of them are 12+ week so you need to check .

I used Lemongrass and Cedar for bonding as it was a strong scent , there was a conditioning one , Lice'n'Easy treatment one .
Calendula balm for dry bits (I used Coconut oil on our teddy boars dry bits )
Good "Piggy Skin Problems" page and theyre good at answeing any queries .
And my Top Tip for bathing small wriggly guinea-pigs :
Have everything ready . Spare pair of hands too
Towels , couple of plastic jugs to pour over
We washed ours in the ath with a few inches of water and a towel on the bottom. Clean water in the sink to rinse .
They can jump quite high when they want to !
Dilute the shampoo a bit to make it easier .
keep their eyes and ears dry
Parsley or they'll never forgive you !
A bath can often calm them, make them smell the same and make them sulk at you not each other .
Two of our boars dried immediately . Sometimes we had to use a hairdrier , very low , keep your hand on the piggie to check the heat and ruffle their fur . Keep the dryer far enough away .
Make sure they're completely dry before they go out .

I used to put a sheet over our boys at night when they were noisy , like you would a parrot (they were not impressed )

If you do cover the hutch a clear plastic sheeting , you can anchor it slightly away from the hutch at bit , they get ventilation and can still see out .
I got a strong clear packing bag to make a window cover for the Pighouse so they had protection from rain if the window itself was out (it was lined inside with bars/mesh)

Lots of good tips there @70isaLimitNotaTarget. I came on here to ask advise on how to help two boars to get along.

Our boys are now about 10 months (we got them as a bonded pair from a rescue when they were about 4 months - I don't think they are related).

They have mostly got along together pretty well but this week they have been scrapping a bit (lots of squaring up and chattering teeth and growling) and tonight I saw that one of them now has a bloody scratch on his nose.

They have a 150cmx 60 cage and are out for about 8 hours a day in a run on the grass. I have put a divider into their cage for tonight (they are still next to each other and after an initial fuss they calmed right down, lay down and started eating) and was going to put them out together in the run tomorrow (as they will have much more space) - do you think this is a good idea, or will they be more likely to fight after being separated?

Having seen your post I am now thinking about giving them a bath...?

I am really hoping it is just a tiff I am crossing my fingers we can help them get along again.

I have two boars and they have acted quite similar to your boys when they were their age (if not worse!). This is normal boar behaviour and is their way of establishing who is the boss! :) It may take a couple weeks or even a few months before they really figure out who's going to be the 'king of the cage'. The only time you need to really worry is when they physically harm one another (or attempt to do so). Once guinea pigs physically hurt one another, it's unlikely that the bond will be successful. I found this article quite helpful when my piggies were acting up, I hope it helps: kaveecage.net/blogs/kavee-c-and-c-cage-fleece-liner-guinea-pig/all-you-need-to-know-about-guinea-pig-fights