Behavior and Gender Issues

Do boars smell?

feeds@yuku.com (RoAnneM) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:35:37 GMT

I have one boar that is only 4 weeks old. So far I havn't notice any smell from him. I've heard from some people that they can have a strong musky smell, but others say they don't. If they do, is it just when you have multiple boars in the same cage and they are trying to prove who is dominant that they . . . release the smell? Or is it supposed to be for the benefit of sows? I'm trying to decide if I should keep the boy or not. I have 4 girls. (They are separated.) If...

introducing multiple pigs

feeds@yuku.com (moochieboochie) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:12:57 GMT

I have recently expanded my herd to 4! I have two pigs already established as mates (Heidi and Mo) and I recently adopted 2 more pigs (yet to be named) who are a mother and daughter pair. I would definately like to have all of them living together in one cage after some expansion takes place. My question is how to introduce them. I had an introduction between Heidi and Mo that went pretty well and now they are friends. But how to I introduce 2 pigs to 2 pigs? Should I just use the "put...

wheeking

feeds@yuku.com (RoAnneM) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:43:20 GMT

I've had my piggie Ginger about 7 weeks now. She hardly ever wheeks, but for some reason last night she has started to wheek everytime we walk past her cage. She has plenty of pellets, hay and water. I've given her her daily salad treats (and then some!). I don't know what she wants. I should probably mention that she is also quite pregnant, if that has anything to do with it. (I didn't breed her, I got her that way, unknowingly!) I just feel so bad because I feel...

bonding slowly but still running away

feeds@yuku.com (ronald305) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:59:03 GMT

I have a question I have been able to catch my two girls from time to time to bond with them each an hour or an half an hour depending on the time I have and they love it every time I hold them,but this is my my question- they still run away from me when I approch them in their cage to pet, but will allow me to pet them, if they are in a corner,and when I do get to pet them, Lucie the abyssinain will allow me to pet her more and her back legs even spread out some and purrr's, but...

Differences in Boars and Sows

feeds@yuku.com (WheeksandSqueeks) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:30:29 GMT

I have one boar, who is a year, and a sow, who is close to 5 months now. This is the first time I ever had a girl in the cage and she seems so different than Cinnamon. Her body looks longer and more pear shaped. Is this normal? And also, she talks constantly! She talks when she eats, when she drinks, when she runs, all the time and I love it. Cinnamon is much more quiet and subdued. Are there any visual differences in sows vs. boars.

Also, I am thoroughly confused on estrus in...

How do I get my pigs to use their ramp?

feeds@yuku.com (LaurenAshley85) — Sat, 31 May 2008 22:16:32 GMT

They have absolutely no clue. I grabbed my youngest one unexpectedly and kinda helped him up the ramp little by little, but I felt bad that I startled him. I dont want to just grab them while they're eating. That would scare the crap out of me so I'm assuming it would scare them too. I feel really bad that I did that. I tried putting their salad up there but they just sat there and stared at me and shrieked that they could hear and smell their salad but couldn't get to it. I'm...

My boys are once again together but like previous times, i'm still insure. Can you help?

feeds@yuku.com (LaurenAshley85) — Sat, 31 May 2008 14:12:35 GMT

Hello everybody!

I've had my two boars for about two and a half years, my youngest boy is 2 1/2 and my oldest is about 3-4 (not sure, I adopted him from a rescue). I've had them seperated for years since they do not get along.

Last night I finally built my long anticipated 2x6 c &c cage with 2x4 upper level. I also decided to give it one last go and try to reunite my boys, even though my previous attempts didn't fair too well. So far, things haven't...

Neurotic piggie

feeds@yuku.com (Amgc) — Sun, 25 May 2008 05:11:38 GMT

I have two female piggies. We got Daisy first and a few months later we got Capsi, because we thought Daisy needed company. In retrospect we didn't introduce them particularly well, but for the last two years they've been doing alright. Daisy has never been thrilled about Capsi, who can be a bit of a pest, but they are usually fine when not in heat. When their dominance tiff's go a bit overboard for too long (or they are in heat), separating them for a few hours seems to do...

Has anyone noticed what I have noticed......

feeds@yuku.com (skippy000) — Mon, 19 May 2008 09:50:42 GMT

I have 3 pigs and Betty is the dominant one. She is the most wary and frightened of the three of them. She rushes into her house when I come near the cage and has a fit if I try and pick her up. (That said when I hold her in my lap she is ok and seems comfortable). But the other 2 are pretty cool and let me do what I want most of the time. They are nowhere near as scared. When I was babysitting 2 other girls for a friend, I...

rumbling

feeds@yuku.com (KeepNitreal90) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:42:32 GMT

Whenever I'm holding Hershey he makes this noise like he's trying to romance with me. lol I'm not sure why he does it, and I'm just curious as to why when I'm petting near his rear, that he puts his leg up and starts to rumble. Any ideas?

Rumble strutting and mounting

feeds@yuku.com (LillyGirl38) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:11:59 GMT

My guinea pig Marshmellow has been constantly trying to mount my other pig Sarah. Sarah is very unhappy about this. She whines quite loudly and tries to escape but marshmellow just keeps on following her while rumble strutting.. I just don't know what to do with her.
Any suggestions?

Do boars "mark their territory" like dogs?

feeds@yuku.com (zap79) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:17:07 GMT

I had my boy out for his nightly torture.... I call it torture because he acts like lap time is sometimes torture for him.(he's also only about 3-4 months old) Sometimes he squirms and flips around in my lap and other times he lays and purrrrrssss the whole time. Well last night while I had him out he sprayed me with urine. The few "accidents" we've had while he's been out have not been like this. He'll stop and go on the towel I usually have him on. Last night was...

I have a weird pig, but I love her...

feeds@yuku.com (ocnaibopac) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:30:49 GMT

Okay I'm pretty new to this cavie thing. I've had my pig for 5 months and she's very, very attatched to me. Her name is Penelope (Penny). She has a cage and I let her out all the time in my bedroom. I have a 7foot carpet in my room because I do not like hardwoods and neither does my pig. So basically I let my pig out all the time and she stays on my rug. I have all the electrical cords covered. She has never tried to leave my room so I also leave the door open. She knows my...

Abby Chirping

feeds@yuku.com (penelope and abby) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:07:27 GMT

Tonight my husband took the myself and the kids (human ones) out to dinner for my birthday. When we got home it was a little later than normal to feed the GP and I asked my son to get me the girls' vegetable bowels. Then I got the vegetables out of the fridge, and I starting hearing this sound that sounded like a bird chirping and I look over and there is Abby who is standing in her hidey and her nose held high chirping away. I believe she knew the phrase "vegetable bowels"...

Need advise on nail clipping!

feeds@yuku.com (zap79) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:00:20 GMT

I've been reading that my cavy will eventually need to have his toenails clipped. I tested this the other night because I've never really played with his feet. He's about 3 months old. HE FREAKED! He tried to bite and succeeded a couple of times. Any tricks of the trade I should know about? Some of them looked as though they needed a trim. I trim my bird's nails, but I cover them with a towel when I hold them. The piggy is WAY to squirmey!

Is this normal?

feeds@yuku.com (penelope and abby) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:39:54 GMT

I am totally new to guinea pigs. As stated in an intro post I have two sows that are both rescue pigs. The first one is named Penelope and I brought her home late February. She was born at the beginning of January, January 4th to be exact. She was spoiled from the beginning and has come to believe she is a princess. Two weeks ago at the urging of my vet I adopted an American who I named Abby she was born two weeks after Penelope. They got along great right away and Abby loved going from...

Oh my my my!

feeds@yuku.com (leldi) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:08:11 GMT

Just the other day, when I was at my friend's house, we were playing outside: talking on the phone and watching her guinea pigs at the same time. It was all okay until one of the two boys(or so we thought) started showing signs of getting the other one pregnant. As soon as we saw, we took them inside and looked up guinea pig pregnancy, gestation, and how to tell the difference between two. Well, she has informed me a little bit about what is happening to the (recently found out) female....

Boys.... I hope!

feeds@yuku.com (mariabb) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:42:41 GMT

Oh my god! Me and my friend were playing with my guinea pigs,(then they were both boys, Flash and Oreo) and all of a sudden Oreo started to show signs of trying to get Flash pregnant. We both checked underneath them, and are almost positive, that they are boy and girl(Flash being the girl). I really dont know what to do! I am pretty sure he is going to get her pregnant. I am checking every day for signs that she is pregnant. Please Help!

One Boy Biting/Nipping the Other

feeds@yuku.com (MaineShutterbug) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:01:06 GMT

I am a veteran cavy owner, so I was probably over confident when I adopted littermates Bijou and Monet from the shelter where I volunteer with ... the cavies, rabbits, and smaller animals. I wasn't prepared to deal with this dominance issue!

My first clue that something was amiss was when I took them for their first well-guinea visit on Tuesday. The vet saw fresh red marks all over Bijou's back. I was concerned about mites b/c all the cavies at the shelter have them, but...

vacation

feeds@yuku.com (muzzie01) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:56:42 GMT

We will be going on vacation soon. We have only had our pigys for 2 months. What do people do if they can't get anyone to take care of them?? I was thinking that I would hang at least 3 water bottles, get those compressed hay cubes, layer with paper, towel, fleece and throw a 1/2 bag of hay in their cage. I have 3 pigys in a 4X8 c&c cage. Anyone have different ideas??