Adopting a guinea pig

[Ijustwouldnt]

We're going to a rescue centre tomorrow with our 2 sows to perhaps add a third. The rescue centre has very good reviews and we have room to take another. Just feeling a little nervous.
Anyone had any experience with this?

Sows are generally more accepting of newbies than boars. They will probably bicker for a few days on and off at most to establish the new hierarchy. I have introduced pigs several times to a herd of sows and never had any problems. Try not to worry or interfere - just let them get on with it. Make sure you have plenty of resources as they can guard them sometimes initially eg enough houses for each pig and a couple of water bottles, scatter food/ couple of bowls around. The rescue should be able to give advice on the initial introduction

Thank you for your reply. I have a house for each and plenty of resources. I think I'm nervous of it going wrong e.g fighting or bringing diseases into the cage etc. But I really think another would be good for them too.

I think you’re supposed to quarantine any new pigs for a couple of weeks to prevent potential diseases spreading but we never did. Any decent rescue should be on top of disease prevention anyway. We had some fighting with our two boys but never have with girls. It does happen but not as often. Understandable to be nervous but the best thing is just to let them work things out themselves unless anything extreme such as drawing blood (unlikely), then separate immediately. Sure it will all be fine 😊

Yes they have a good reputation, I've read the reviews. I'm excited as well as feeling nervous. Thank you for your reply.

If I'm not too late to add another angle ........

I had no sucess trying to bond two new sows into my herd ( 2 sows + boar) so if you're looking for a new piggie , what about a castrated boar ?

Many Rescues will castrate theor boars to rehome :
You can bond two neutered boars ( as you can bond uncastrated , it doesn;t make boar'noar any different)
If you have a bereaved boy , it is much easier to get him a wife than to make him wait till he's sterile .

A rescue sterile boar is good to go and meet new ladies .

Sows are usually the leaders of the pack . A boar will rumble a bit , try it on and get told to s*d off .

We had S/S/B and S/S (One of the new sows would not tolerate either of the original girls and attached our dopey boar !) But gine with her cagemate . Luckily I had the space to keep 2 groups
Eventually B on his own and S/S living beside him untill the little terror died and I bonded B+ remaining S .
It was nerve wracking but they were fine . She missed her cagemate , he was desperate to be back in a herd

I know with the Rescues ours came from they wouldn't rehome before Christmas unless you were seeking a friend for a bereaved piggie .

Good Luck

Thank you @70isaLimitNotaTarget. We took our 2 sows along so the rescue lady could clip their nails (I'm too nervous to do it!) and see them. She saw how feisty one of then was. 😆 this was a few days ago but she knew we were wanting a new friend for the herd rather than a Christmas present.
The vet advised we keep quarantined behind closed doors until next week, but we they have spotted each other through the glass. Next week is cages side by side.
It is a bit nerve racking but I'm hoping it'll be OK.

Thank you so much for advice and sharing your story. It's good to hear other owner's experiences