Should I neuter my boar so he can go in with sows?

[clairepig]

:(We adopted 2 females (Poppy and Rosie) and 1 male (Roger) at the beginning of Sept. they were happily in a seperated but joined outdoor run and hutch until recently when I brought them indoors because of the cold. they are now in 2 seperate large cages, often cuddled, but I worry that poor Roger is lonely. Would it be best to have him neuteured so he can go in with the girls, or should I intoduce a baby male to him? Have read lots of conflicting advice so i just don't know wht to do?...

[lisajaneh]

first of all - Hello Clare. Welcome to the forum and congratulations on adopting your three piggies.

GP's can live on their own quite happily but love attention from their owners but equally they love to have a friend, even though some just dont want to live with another pig.

I dont beleive there is a right or wrong answer, but my opinion would be to give Roger (love the name BTW) a break and dont get him neutered. Getting him a little baby boar as company would be the way I would go, but with this in mind, once you start to add piggies it never seems to stop! you'll have LOADS because they are so addictive!

I guess if you have the space then a friend for Roger would be cool and then you'd have two of each.

hope this helps a bit. Let us know how you get on, and post some pigtures. we love to see everyone piggies.

[Hugs-Cavies (Doris)]

There is no right answer to this one, but ask yourself the following:

Do you have the space to house a baby with Roger? If the answer is yes, going down the baby boar route is an option.

Neutering is an operation, are you/would you be able to cope with possible complications?

It is your decision ultimately, but I can say that neutering guinea pigs is fairly straight forward although there can be complications which must be considered.

Also - how old is Roger?

If it were us, we'd be getting a baby boar

[clairepig]

Thanks! It's so nice to be able to get advice from other piggy lovers!
My son named Roger by BTW - no idea where he got the name from - he's only 7!! ;D

I think we will probably go down the baby route - Roger is approx 18months - will he object to a new buddy? That's my only worry - currently have 2 cages, but really don't have room for more if they don't get along!

[snailspace]

Hi Claire

Yes - welcome to the forum! I think you have pretty good advice there already, and Pigpog's advice is excellent too.

I know that the two boar or not two boar question is a difficult one, and apart from the problem of his loneliness, I always wonder if the females would want a boar chasing them round all the time Personally, as you have the space, I would opt for a friend for him.

Good luck, whatever you decide - see you around the forum!

... my stepbrother is called Roger too ...

[meggiepiggy]

Hello Claire

So, you've already discovered we are only too pleased to offer help and support here on the forum

The wheekbox is also useful for quick advice if you are lucky enough to be online at the same time as one of our mods or one of our experienced members It's also good for a bit of a chat.............

As I think you were already aware, there is no clear cut answer to your query (a very common one too) and you will decide to do what feels right for you and your piggies.

Pigpog (my daughter by the way) has gone down both avenues on this very question and I really have nothing more to add to what has already been said other than to direct you to the main website (if you haven't had a look already).

At the bottom of the forum home page you will find the link to the website. On the website home page on the right hand side there is a section called Piglopaedia - click on Introducing which covers exactly what it says on the tin

Do let us know what you decide to do and keep us updated. Your experience may well be useful to someone else in a similar situation

See you around the forum

[Hugs-Cavies (Doris)]

18 months is a good age to introduce a baby to him, just do this on neutral territory.

[PigPog]

Hi Claire, welcome to the forum.

I've done both options; the neutering has had a 100% success rate so far as they've all come home in one piece (well, minus their teabags! ). I generally suggest neutering if there's no other option and you have an excellent vet who does exotics (as guinea pigs are classed as exotic pets). All of my neuters are living with females now and all of them are happy as Larry.

Roger is a good age to try a companion with, because I've found that boars become more difficult to pair up as they get older. A very young boar has a good chance of automatically being submissive to an older counterpart where the pecking order hasn't already been established. My older boys have learned what they will and won't do which makes it a lot harder , so I think 18 months is a pretty good age for this.

Have a look at my introducing page to help you during the process of putting Roger with another pig.

[clairepig]

Thanks so much for everyones advice and friendliness! ;D

We have decided to go with the introducing a baby route and will be picking up a 6 week old boar next week!....Me and the kids cant wait! Even my husband seems quite please! (and wants to call him Theo or Lewis after Theo Walcott and Lewis Hamilton respectively, tho me and the kids have other ideas....!)

Currently have one of our females on my lap as I type - Rosie, and my daughter has the other , Poppy, on hers....

Will post some photos soon and update you on Roger and his new friend next week!! (including of corse, the grand name announcement!)

Thanks once again for all the advice!

[snailspace]

Sounds like a plan to name him after Lewis Hamilton but you won't be able to catch him easily

Looking forward to seeing photos of them all!!

[clairepig]

Lol! Didn't think about that! Mind you, the other 3 give us the runaround already! ;D

Gave them all a bath this afternoon (Rosie, poppy and Roger) - they loved it.

We are going to pick up the baby boar tomorrow - will let you all know how it goes....