Go Forth and Multiply(and
they will!)
Breeding cavies is great fun and the babies are very cute, however you must approach it
responsibly and consider all the facts and questions, for example
HOW OLD ?
The parents of the prospective litter must be old enough, in the case of the female
that is 5 months, and never over 10 months for their first litter for the male 3 months is
old enough. The female is pregnant for a period of 10 weeks and the pregnancies are
more often than not trouble free, having said that there are a few pregnancy
problems which sometimes must be dealt with.
Accidental pregnancies of very young sows, do occasionally happen, mainly in ignorant pet
shops who think its OK to leave them together! . I've had one in my care as young as 4
weeks old when pregnancy occurred. Although it's far from desirable, don't panic, give them
loads of vitamin C and Calcium, and hope for the best
HOW OFTEN?
Never breed a sow more than 3 times in any 12 month
period, in fact I recommend never more than 3 times in her lifetime, after all
these are not baby machines, and when you are sure she
is pregnant, obvious by her bulbous shape, and DEFINITELY about at least a week before the
birth remove the male from her cage, for about 6 weeks, this is vital because
a) The sow will be straight back on heat after the birth of her pups, and so the boar will
mate her again, not a good idea
b) Males could unintentionally hurt the newborn pups in trying to get to the sow
One thing to note is that there are certain breeds that you should never breed to each
other. These are Dalmatian to Dalmatian or Roan to Roan, the later 2 will give deformed
babies THIS INCLUDES CAVIES OF OTHER BREEDS WITH ROAN OR DAL COLOURING (ie
rex,teddy,longhair), also never
breed brother to sister.
SIGNS OF PREGNANCY
Sows when pregnant seem to drink huge amounts of water and obviously their appetites
increase until the last few days when they tend to go off their food. They go a kind of
bulb shape from about half way thru the pregnancy ( see photos) and get fatter and fatter.
The most important thing is to make sure they get loads of vitamin C later on in the
pregnancy to prevent Pregnancy
The babies will being to
kick at around 14 to 7 days before the birth and the sows get really 'cheesed off', also
the sows pelvic bones will begin to part around 48 hours before the happy event.
This
picture is of my Argente guinea pig, Eustacie, she is heavily pregnant at this stage, She is around about due when these
photos were taken, unusually she isn't going thru the 'cheesed off' stage and is quite
happy, trundling about.
THE BIRTH
Births are usually uncomplex and you will suddenly see the babies up and
running around their cage. The babies are born fully furred and lively with eyes open and
are around 4oz in weight. Their mother will eat all of the afterbirth, this is essential
for the production of the milk so if you are at the birth, don't clear it up !!, very
Rarely the babies can Get Stuck
BABIES
The babies will suckle milk from their mother for around three to four
weeks, as well
as eating all of the adult food such as hay and greens. After this time they should be
separated, boars from sows, as they become fertile at this time and you run the risk of
them impregnating each other or their mother ( actually I have had a couple of
boars as young as 2 weeks old being fully fertile, however even if this is the case, you
still should leave them with mum until the age of three weeks ),its a good idea,
if you have a placid boar, to put the boars in with dad for a while, dad will chase them
around for a while, but they soon settle in and it gives them company and warmth. They
should be ready to go to new homes at around 6 weeks old
SEXING THE BABIES
Both boars and sows look very much alike when very young, and even in pet shops
mistakes are made. My way of telling is to imagine a Y, both sexes have the Y but the
boars have a dot in the cup of the Y, and the sows a 'pimple' on the stem.
HAND REARING
In rare cases if the mother has no milk, or rejects her young or you get a runt, as
shown in the photo, you have to hand feed the babies, never do this before they are 24
hours old as they will undoubtedly choke on the milk!!! After that its a case of As soon
as possible. You will need to feed them every 2 hours with a milk substitute,
Evaporated milk, mixed 50/50 with water is ideal, and now for the yuk bit, you MUST add a dropping to the
milk, so that the baby gets necessary bacteria. Also if the mother isn't washing it, you
have to do the job after every meal, including rubbing its genitals with a damp cotton
bud
to encourage it to pass waste!!, also warmth is VITAL, its best if another pig keeps it
warm such as a motherly sow. Its most important that you do not force feed the baby as
again it will choke, soak some breadcrumbs with milk on a teaspoon and let the
baby suck from the spoon. They quickly learn how . You can gradually cut down the milk after a week, but it must have some for
three weeks, after a couple of weeks you can try leaving the mix in a shallow
bowl, but make sure they are eating it. Its not easy, but always worth a try, they really can
thrive.
WHERE WILL THEY GO?
This should really come first, never breed unless you have prospective homes, be
responsible and good luck
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