When can i touch the babies?

[fudgeandsmudge]

Hi, Smudge has had her litter and we have 3 gorgeous babies. How long should i leave it until i can pick them up to sex them? Will Smudge reject them?

[Katie]

As I understand it you can pick them up and handle them from birth so you should be fine to handle them and sex them but someone more knowledgeable with baby guineas will give you a more definite answer

Katie

[igglepiggle]

Congrats!

Well you can hold the babies as soon as they have dried off and fluffed up I usually wait until the following day so that mum has had a good 24 hours to bond with her babies and give them their first feed before i go handling them

The first time you handle them, make sure the mum can see you handling them so that she knows they are in no danger. MAke sure u handle them one at a time as if you start taking away her babies all in one go, the mum can get anxious as she doesnt have any of her babies close to her (in my experience!).

Also, for the first few days i would handle them for a short time only on one or two occasions throughout the day. I do this so mum gets used to you holding babies frequently so she will tolerate them being taken for longer periods of time .

I have never (touch wood) had a sow reject her babies through me holding them from very young. They are just relieved to have them back when they are put back in lol.

This is my opinion. Just dont be scared about handling them

[Kayleigh]

I handle my pups from day 1. If im lucky enough to catch my sow having her pups i always make sure they are all ok and mum is doing well. I dont take them away from mum as such, she can see me handling them and can see the pups too.

But i always make sure i check the pups, i also have a sneak peek to sex them too.

Iv never had a sow reject young after handling. I think this is more common in rabbits and other small animals.

But as said above, dont be afraid to handle them. The more you handle them the better.

Kayleigh

[sugar10381]

I handled my sows babies with in an hour just to take a pic. I was so excited. She had no issues with me oing that. I only handled one at a time.