In the wild of course boars would not live together. In fact the ancestors of our domestic guinea pigs would have lived with a large group of sows and would not have tolerated the presence of another boar.
However our guinea pigs are a far cry from their ancestors now, having been descended from the lab animas imported long ago. And although it is possible to keep one boar with a sow or a group of sows this is not a practical option for keeping pet guinea pig, except in the case of a sterile or previously neutered pig. This is for a number of reasons:
Breeding
- Baby guinea pigs will result which will need homes. Pregnancy & birth endangers the life of the sow. If she is over 2 years old & not been bread from her hip bones will have fused and she will die as a result of the pregnancy.
- You will be adding to the numbers of unwanted guinea pigs that end up in rescues or worse
- Breeding is not for amateurs& can quickly spiral out of control, and result in too many or badly bred animals. Please leave it to the experts.
- If complications occur in birth would you know what to do & if not would you be able to afford emergency vetinary assistance?
- Litters can vary in size. Boars & sows must be separated at a very young age. The boars are difficult to rehome & must be kept in pairs only.
- Dumping or selling your babies with pet shops is the worst thing you could ever do. Anyone could buy them on impulse, little children who know nothing about them & will loose interest fast. This is a sure fire way to ensure your pigs end up in rescues or worse.
- There are more than enough deserving pigs waiting in rescues for homes. Many the result of amateur breeding got out of control. Please consider giving a home to a rescue pig if you have the room rather than breeding new pigs... be part of the solution not the problem.
Debs Pigs Princess (Sow) & 
Bilko (Boar) were adopted as an established male female pair, one of whom must be sterile. It was thought certain that one or the other pig must be sterile since no babies had resulted, despite Princess & Bilko living together for some years. Such pairs are rare. So it is unlikely you will be able to adopt a sterile pair yourself.
If the boar was neutered then sow & boar could live together without the problem of pregnancy, but if the boar has ever bred with any sow before he will still pester & bully the sow he lives with even after being neutered. Our advice is to stick to single sex pairs since neutering is dangerous & expensive.
Sterile Boars
Occasionally boars or sows are sterile & can be housed together but since there is no way to be sure which if any of the pigs re sterile this has associated risks. and as mentioned above the potential of killing the sow should she become pregnant.
Side by side
It is possible to keep a single boar in a SECURE cage near to sows, he will enjoy their company through the bars.
Can you keep pairs of boars next to Sows?
Some people do & have no problems at all, others find that the boars fight around sows & have to be separated. Any fights that do occur between boars kept near sows will be more serious, and potentially fatal. So if you are able- stick to single boars near your sows only to be safe. And if you are trying a pair ensure you can supervise them closely & be ready to move them out of the way of the sows at the slightest sign of a quarrel to ensure their safety & that they don't fight & have to be separated permanently.
| Left: This Boar Pip is kept in a secure cage nearby Hattie (a sow), This picture shows Pip having a sniff of Hattie with great interest. |  |
| Right: Second picture shows Pip has just walked away having lost interest and Bournville then says hello to Hattie. Carol their owner reports no problems keeping boars near sows. Hattie just walks away then and the two boys go back to grazing! |
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Lastly you might consider neutering. We have collected some information on a new page about this for you
