Respectfully, learn how to read before you comment if you're going to act as if you THINK someone said something to you that didn't agree with or like. Telling someone to do research when they have had hundreds of guinea pigs for 34 years is kind of like telling a veteran surgeon to learn how to operate so they can be like you. Hello. I often learn new things with each piggy and with different exotic vets and was lucky to often have great guinea pig specialist vets. In fact, I was blessed for a long time with a vet in Champaign, IL, Dr. Kenneth Welle, and his wife Dr. Mary Welle. Ken was so good with not only regular guinea pig care, but he was an excellent diagnostic vet and often was well versed in the newest care and diseases in piggies. He also was an excellent dental surgeon for piggies. He did it all and still was great with other animals of all kinds.
If you would have read CORRECTLY, you would see that the person said ONLY same-gender pairs to which I CORRECTED and RESPONDED with it DOESN'T always work. I didn't say NEVER nor did I tell anyone what to do. I have had male pairs that have worked and some that have not. NOTICE the word SOME. Not ALL. It is IRRESPONSIBLE for you to say that they always work, if you think that. That's why I said it is OPTIMAL (which means it would be easiest and best!) if you do it in baby pairs or littermates or younguns before they go through changes. I have had unrelated male pairs that worked and a papa and son that worked for years, especially because they grew up together and previously had shared some "women." In fact, that is actually rare, because when you mix 2 males with a harem, it sometimes goes south because they are competing. Some males work well with each other and bond as if they are partners, like 2 male lions who belong together and work together to protect their territory from interlopers.
Secondly, as far as neutering goes, it is not only the responsible thing to do where breeding is concerned, but it serves SEVERAL purposes. Many neutered males tend to live longer, have less instances of anal impaction, and have fewer medical problems that result (not ALWAYS, but TENDENCY; also, that is also IF they survive and thrive after the surgery. It is serious surgery, though can be quite simple to recover if you are a good "slave" to your pig and help them recover properly.) The neutering is NOT just the testes are drained but also cutting of the "chords" that lead to sperm production. I don't need to do RESEARCH smart a**. I've LIVED it and been involved from beginning to end on TONS of male neutered pigs and NON neutered males and been involved in the process with every type of mix of pigs and pairs and families and unrelated co-minglings there is. I can send you reams of papers on it too, but that's not the point. I appreciate you giving reading material and I ALWAYS read on piggies and other animals to keep up with the latest and try to watch as much video as possible along with LIVING it in real life. Okay??????????
They do not change their behavior completely. I never once said that. I said it is easier to put two males together neutered because there is less aggressiveness that results. My neutered male pigs didn't change their regular personality. They were still lively, nutty, and still had a big sex drive actually (which docs said would change). There was still flirting and mounting. The aggressiveness is what changed. Not complete transformation mind you, just a lessening of the somewhat aggressiveness. I've often actually found that the male pigs are nicer than the female pigs over the years. But that is a different issue. Where did I ever say IT CHANGES THEIR BEHAVIOR AND THAT THEY BECOME DIFFERENT PIGS? Besides it is WRONG to say that it doesn't alter them at all. It does. Just doesn't take away their personality.
Next, on the female pairs, duh! Nothing ALWAYS works. They have individual personalities, and sometimes even family that is separated a long time and then reintroduced sometimes leads to disaster. SOMETIMES. I have had grandmas, greatgrandmas, mamas, daughters, sisters together with great results, and sometimes poor results. It is often like lionesses in the social order, hence the "sorting out" you mention. Alpha and lower order pigs also know their places. I have had a few that never could co-exist peacefully and others that immediately bonded.
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