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Post by piggylover on May 9, 2011 6:26:22 GMT
I know this sounds stupid but I've been trying too look this up and can't find anything about it, I have a guinea who is blind in one eye, born this way say if she was breed would her babies be blind or would they be normal, I know it seems silly to ask but I've looked in loads of books with no help, in every other way she's happy and healthy
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Post by mblight on May 9, 2011 6:47:04 GMT
It would depend entirely on why she's blind. She may have been hurt during the pregnancy, or it may have been a genetic thing... unless you know which one the chances are 50/50 that some of the youngsters may be blind.
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Post by piggylover on May 9, 2011 6:55:59 GMT
She was born blind but her mother was caught by her brother, at a very young age, I know it's daft asking but you can't find anything in books about it, and how do people know if there guineas eyes are ok, I could see the colour was different, but it's also been checked by a vet and a clean bill of health
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Post by momof4 on May 13, 2011 5:10:02 GMT
My son was given a blind in one eye boy from our little pet store. He was finally old enough to get neutered this week because we didn't want to take a chance of him breeding with our females.
Partly because we don't want babies and because I don't know if it was a accident at birth or genetics.
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Post by Orlaith on May 28, 2011 0:44:05 GMT
Three of my pigs (a full litter) have a slight cataract in their eyes since birth and my vet recommended I didn't use them for breeding in case it was passed on. Neither of the parents have it, it must be dormant in one of them. So even seemingly healthy pigs can have secret problems you don't know about.
So, personally, I wouldn't breed from her seeing as she has a problem you know about. Depending on the reasons for her blindness and the genes controlling it, the chances of her passing it on could be virtually none, or almost guaranteed. I know that blindness isn't the worst thing that can happen a guinea pig since their sight isn't brilliant to begin with, but I would worry that it might be linked to something else, especially since her parents were so closely related (e.g. a lot of lethals are blind and have other problems).
I've seen your pics of her in the pigture section and she's such a gorgeous pig though. Her coat is stunning, I can see why you would want babies from her.
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Post by piggylover on May 28, 2011 6:49:16 GMT
She's only 9 weeks and it was a question more than I am, it's something I had tried to find and couldn't, so thought I'd ask and I'm sure I won't, it just annoyed me you can't find it in a book, that's all
But I'm pretty sure she will just be a pet
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Post by Orlaith on May 28, 2011 8:59:29 GMT
I'd say the reason it's not in books is that piggy genetics aren't that well understood and there could be a few genetic causes of blindness and each will be passed on differently. Breeders have worked out a few things about the genes for the coat types, etc. but when it comes to the more medical things I think those things only get researched by scientists  |
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Post by piggylover on May 28, 2011 17:35:12 GMT
It's just a shame it's not put in books, more people need to understand what should not be breed from
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Post by Kayleigh on May 29, 2011 14:15:51 GMT
I think it should be in books also but i also think that there should be a bigger section on breeding. The pros, cons and the effects it can have on the sow. Breeding shouldnt be done by everyone or just anyone. Its something that should be left to those who know what they are doing and understand that things can and do go wrong. Many people dont read books either, they just assume they know what they are doing and go ahead with things.
I have never had a guinea pig with blindness of any form but i know pigs dont have the best eyesight anyways. But im sure this doesnt effect them too much. But as mentioned if you dont know the reasoning behind the blindness its best not to breed from them.
Kayleigh
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Post by Orlaith on Jun 9, 2011 14:20:14 GMT
I agree. I think that breeding is such a taboo subject and I know a lot of people have come to this forum because they were attacked elsewhere for mentioning that they breed their pigs. I think that's such a stupid attitude. How can you expect to educate people about something you won't discuss?
I do believe that breeding should only be done by people who have a good understanding of the sow's needs and who will find good and loving homes for the pups, or guarantee to keep them if homes can't be found, but accidents happen and lots of people find themselves in a "buy two (or one!), get four free" situation because their piggies have been mis-sexed or kept with boars. Giving advice is only going to help those people, and maybe it would change the mind of people who think breeding is for them, but who don't understand all the risks involved.
From my own personal experience, we let Xander and Hilda have one litter before Xander got neutered and we kept all the babies, but even though I thought I was informed, as the delivery date got closer and closer I realised that I really wasn't. I honestly don't think I would go through that experience again. Don't get me wrong, I love Hilda's babies and I loved seeing the pups grow inside her and learn to follow her around etc., but if I had fully understood the risk I was taking, I don't think I would have done it. Maybe if breeding was treated seriously in piggy books etc. then I would have made a different decision. I was so grateful for this forum and all the helpful advice and support that I got. Without it I would have lost my mind!
As an aside (and after my little rant, sorry!), I work (on plants and bacteria! Not animals!) in a biological research facility, so I have access to a lot of scientific articles and resources, which I have used to look up piggy information in my spare time. Some of it has been really helpful (for example, I've heard different accounts of whether piggies can see colours or not, or what colours they can/can't see, but no one presented any evidence, so I looked up research papers and discovered that pigs can see yellow, green and blue, but not red because their eyes are missing a certain protein that detects it, so it's physically impossible for them to see the red spectrum as we would see it), but some has been really scary and disheartening. Animal testing is a whole other kettle of fish, but the guides to animal husbandry are really just awful, more geared towards a piggy factory than the care of the sows and babies. I think it's terrible that the people in a position to research piggy health and to better people's knowledge and understanding take such a lax attitude, and it's the breeders who genuinely care for their pigs that have to do the teaching.
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