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Post by christine on Sept 6, 2015 5:31:20 GMT
I have a 10 week old piggy that is heavily pregnant. I can hear the pups teeth chattering inside her. We went to an exotic vet last week and he said she was within a week or so of giving birth. Everything I read says that guinea pig pregnancies are about 10 weeks long and they cant conceive until 3 weeks old. She was born (I am told) June 28, and her pups will be born any day.
My questions:
1. Does anyone else have experience with such a young mom? Any advice?
2. My original pig is a rescue-adopted boar who was neutered 8 weeks ago (before I had the sow). He and the sow had bonded tightly before I realized she was pregnant, and since separating them they call constantly for each other or stand at the common fence wall of their pen talking and rubbing faces. How soon after the birth can he be go back in with her and the pups? He is well past his post-neutering wait time and he is very gentle and respectful toward her.
I'm sure every piggy parent has similar stories. I adopted my boar from the local rescue where he was believed to be a female. I had always intended to get him a companion, but within a week I realized that he was actually a male and would needto be neutered first. So we did that and waited the necessary time, and then got the sow to be his companion. She was quarantined for 2 weeks at my husband's place (he lives in another city). By the time she came to my place and met my boar she was already starting to have bulgy pear-shaped side flanks. Yikes!! This parenting stuff is dramatic.
All thoughts welcome. I have read GuineaLynx and Cavi Spirit, but no one seems to have anything specific to sows this young or to when neutered boars can be with the sow and pups.
Thanks!
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Post by Bean on Sept 6, 2015 9:00:52 GMT
Welcome to Wheekers first of all!
Sounds like you have been rather unlucky, not only having been given a female so young that was already pregnant, but having a rescue mis-sex a boy! Have you got in touch with them both about the mistakes to reduce the chances of them happening again?
Years ago I adopted 2 females at about 10 weeks and it turned out one of them was pregnant, but she didn't have the babies for nearly 2 months so can't have long been pregnant. I did feel so sorry for her as she was tiny herself and the pregnancy turned her into a dinner plate! Her sister was popcorning about energetically while she simply waddled and slept. I just made sure she had plenty of food (she was still on alfalfa based pellets which are higher energy than the timothy-based ones that it's recommended adults receive) and she did just fine. One morning I just got up to find 3 adorable little babies trundling round the cage! Sounds like you already have a good vet to hand, so that's the only other thing I'd advise incase there are any complications.
Her sister could be a bit strumpy, so I'd been separating them at night, just to make sure everyone was okay. But she was fine with the babies, so they all went in together soon after - until the boys got separated at 3-4 weeks (they couldn't cope with the smell of females in the room when they hit adolescence, so they were then neutered and two groups formed).
I'm not really sure about the separation - the main reason separating a boar is advised is just to avoid back-to-back pregnancies which isn't an issue with your neutered boar, although some boars do pester the female after birth which can cause some stress. I guess you could play it by ear and see how they respond to each other - perhaps having a calm, caring companion would actually be a help to her and if there's any sniff of stress you can simply go back to what you're doing now. I remember years ago I heard mention of boars eating babies, but from what I remember, this was not only extremely rare, but in circumstances where the animals were stressed - kept in small breeding cages etc.
If you do a search of the forums at guinea Lynx, I bet you'll find some advice on this, even if there's not loads in the information section.
Have you planned what to do with the babies - will they be staying with you or is two your limit? Please keep us posted anyway, and lots of luck - hope all goes smoothly for you little one.
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Post by christine on Sept 6, 2015 14:48:41 GMT
Thanks so much Bean - I really appreciate your feedback. I did let the rescue know about the mis-sexing. They were a bit surprised to have missed it but he was relatively young too so perhaps difficult to sex. My husband wants the pups. He fell in love while he had the sow for her quarantine period and is very happy to take the pups. It is a happy all-family ending for this group, so long as my little one makes it safely through her pregnancy. Like yours, she is rapidly approaching dinner-plate size. I will post picures when they are born.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Sept 6, 2015 15:57:36 GMT
Welcome to the forum hunny and I want to thank you for looking after this little girl and seeing her through her pregnancy. Guinea Pig babies are adorable and I am so glad you are keeping those too, what a lovely person you are, so is your hubby. We would all love to see some piccies.
Hugs
JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Sept 6, 2015 20:48:45 GMT
Hello and welcome  This was written by a member who did have good experience with pregnant guineas, so it could be a lot of help to you: wheekers.proboards.com/thread/7303/pregnancy-birth It's in our Wheerkerpedia section in Cavy Care I've never had a pregnant pig myself, but I have heard that it can take as much as 8 weeks for a neutered boar to get his system clean of sperm. I've only waited 4 weeks, and never had a problem with a pig getting pregnant. As for separating mom and babies from her boar friend, that's to give her a chance to have the babies without any interference from him, and for the babies to nurse and grow without any interference. Once the babies are weened(3 weeks), you should be able to put her and the baby girls back in with him. I would enlarge the cage, and have a meet and greet in a neutral place, just to let them get used to each other again. She didn't have babies to protect, when they were together before. Any baby boys can go in a separate cage for a couple of months, but once they enter puberty (2-3 months old) they become extremely territorial. The most closely bonded brothers have tried to kill each other during puberty, so don't wait. Once they are a year old, they can go back together, if they get along after a meet and greet. There are special pellets for baby/young pigs, and for the first 3 weeks, mom can eat them, too. They can also eat alfalfa instead of hay for that period. Then it's back to hay, and mix the regular pellets with the youth pellets, only about 1/4 youth to 3/4 adult, until the pellets are gone. Enjoy the mini pigs |
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Post by christine on Sept 7, 2015 1:49:21 GMT
I really appreciate all the help everyone and I will post pictures as soon as she has the babies. It will be soon, as my girl is getting HUGE.
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Post by Bean on Sept 7, 2015 8:18:24 GMT
When my girl was pregnant, I started off thinking we'd maybe find some great new homes for the bubs as we'd only planned to have 2. But they didn't end up going anywhere - I fell in love with them right away! She had 3 babies - 2 boys and 1 girl. At first I did separate sex groups but the 2 boys couldn't cope with being in the vicinity of the females when they hit adolescence and fell out. So I decided to neuter the boys (well, my vet did!) and had 2 groups, which we then added another female to so each boy had 2 wives. Amazing how quickly herds can grow!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Sept 7, 2015 18:57:46 GMT
That happened to me too Bean love, we didn't want to risk them going to bad homes so we kept them. I tell you, it was b..... hard work because we ended up with 21, They were all inside too. Still they all had a good life and were all loved very much. Our little single piggy Merlin had the snip about 6 weeks ago and we are waiting for things to settle before getting him a lady friend, yes it is a minimum of 8 weeks.
Hugs
JO xx
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Post by christine on Sept 8, 2015 17:54:27 GMT
The babies came at 8:30 this morning, quickly and with little fuss. There were a few little yelps at first but then she settled in to birthing them and it was all done in about 10 minutes. Mama is fine and eating, and did an excellent job during the birth. She was 873 grams yesterday, and post-birth is now 572. The babies are 114 grams each. They're just adorable. Thanks SO MUCH for the advice and reassurance on this site. You are wonderful and have so much knowledge. Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment Deleted |
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Post by Bean on Sept 8, 2015 18:54:07 GMT
Oh wow! They are just perfect - ridiculous cuteness levels! And you got to see it all too, you lucky thing - I'm sure you were holding your breath hoping everything was going to go smoothly, but it sounds like mum did a great job and I'm so pleased she's doing well. Great news indeed! Thanks for the photos and please keep us posted with how they're getting on!
I've never heard of a female getting pregnant at quite such a young age - if anything it's the odd case of a male becoming fertile really early rather than a sow conceiving. Perhaps mum's just a couple of weeks older than was thought? Either way, it's a very good reminder about the importance of separating males and females in a timely fashion! Hope mum enjoys moving about a bit easily more now she's dropped over a third of her body weight!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Sept 8, 2015 19:32:57 GMT
Oh wow, I have just melted into a big puddle, gorgeous doesn't nearly cover it. Thanks for the lovely photos and please keep us advised.
Hugs
JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Sept 8, 2015 20:12:51 GMT
Aw, they are beautiful So glad the births went smoothly, and all are doing great Watch moms weight, as she should be 600 grams or more to be in a safe range. No need to worry, just to make sure she gains some weight back, and hopefully keeps gaining. You can use alfalfa instead of hay, as that's good for babies and nursing moms |
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Post by christine on Sept 8, 2015 21:24:22 GMT
Thanks Bean, Jo, 3Piggies! Its a pretty exciting day here. I was SO worried about my girl as she's so young. I was told that she was born June 28, which (if accurate) means she'd be 10.5 weeks old. Our vet was also surprised that she was so young and pregnant, but said she couldn't be much older than that as she is so small. Maybe she is a week or two older...my limited piggy experience tells me almost anything is possible. I've gotten the baby pellets and alfalfa hay, and the babies are already nursing. They are just incredibly sweet. I think they are females, but I'm going to leave that for someone with much more experience to confirm. Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment Deleted |
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Post by jolovespiggies on Sept 9, 2015 19:37:58 GMT
Oh sweetheart, I have just melted seeing those pictures, they are so cute and adorable. It is wonderful how mummy piggy doesn't mind you holding her babies. Do keep us up dated.
Hugs
Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Sept 9, 2015 19:52:55 GMT
I'm glad she and the babies are doing so well. Since it's possible for a sow to get pregnant by 3 weeks old, and all too often babies are mis-sexed, even by vets and knowledgeable rescue people, so baby boars and sows end up sharing quarters all too often. Breeders, of course, start breeding sows as soon as it's possible for them to get pregnant  So being pregnant at such a young age is terrible, not not rare. This is her last litter |
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Post by Bean on Sept 9, 2015 19:53:24 GMT
Oh they are adorable and it'll be so special having pigs that you saw being born grow up with you. I can't believe the size of the babies compared to mum - how on earth did she manage to carry them round inside her? A big well done to her, she's done a great job and I'm so happy she's okay.
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Post by christine on Sept 9, 2015 23:53:31 GMT
You are so right that this is her last litter!! She's so small. Mama was up a little in weight this morning (580 grams) and she's eating well to support nursing the babies. I will keep an eye on their weight daily until Mama is over 600 and until the babies are about 3 weeks old. Such great, practical advice on this site!
She is great about me handling the pups. I take them out for about 20 minutes or so a couple of times per day to let Mama eat a good meal. They wheek back and forth with her, but she doesn't get distressed at all.
The pups are extremely active and playful and seem to be having a lot of fun. They're starting to nibble at lettuce and eat baby pellets and alfalfa hay so they seem to be on the right track.
I am so grateful that Mama is doing so well. I was really very worried about how small she is, but she got through labour like a champion and she and her babies seem really healthy.
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Post by Bean on Sept 10, 2015 9:27:02 GMT
Aww that last one is especially adorable! It is a major plus with guinea pig babies that you can handle them so quickly without it bothering mum or babies.
That's great that mum seems to be putting on a little weight, even while nursing. You will generally get up and down variations depending on what they've eaten/emitted in the few hours before, but really hope the upwards trend continues. Good work keeping a close eye on her weight and I'm sure she appreciates the undisturbed chomping time too! Great the bubs are starting to nibble too - they really just do sound too cute!
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Post by 3piggles on Sept 10, 2015 18:05:49 GMT
Adorable pictures, and I'm so glad mom and babies are all doing so well. Mom obviously trusts you a lot, and isn't worried about her babies being with you. That's excellent Weight can vary as much as 30g at a time, from when they've just finished eating, to when they've just eliminated all their eliminate waste. A steady, if slow increase is all you need, and with them all eating well, that shouldn't be hard to get |
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Post by jolovespiggies on Sept 10, 2015 18:52:33 GMT
Thank you for more wonderful pictures love and we all wish that there were more people like you in this world, you are ding such a brilliant thing. It is so lovely how mum doesn't mind you holding the babies where as with most others it is not advised. With bunnies and african pygmy hedgehogs (I have a bunny and have had an APH) you have to be very careful when mum has babies and keep your distance as such as possible. I am glad mum is doing so well, please give her a big cuddle from her Auntie Jo Jo.
Hugs
JO xx
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This was written by a member who did have good experience with pregnant guineas, so it could be a lot of help to you: 
So being pregnant at such a young age is terrible, not not rare. This is her last litter