Should I go for color or coat type?

[shelleykj]

Fuzzle's pups went together to a wonderful new home with a mom and teenage daughter. Now I'm considering breeding Kahlua, the question is to Calvin or Hobbes? Calvin has such great coloring, but from what I can tell, Hobbes has better rosettes. Temperament-wise, they are about the same, curious, talkative, still a little skittish about being picked up, but getting better. Hobbes had both Aby and smooth-coat in the litter, 2 black and white like him, the other 3 were tri with kind of a gold/creme. Don't know about Calvin's littermates as there were about 10 in the pen, all colors and coat types, aby, smooth, and crested. This is still just a thought everyone, so please don't bash me for wanting to breed a litter as pets only.

[Kayleigh]

Why would we bash you for wanting to breed a pet litter??

As they are indeed pets its difficult to know what will be produced. I personally would go for coat type over colour. As depending on their background who knows what colours will pop up. Im breeding my rex a silver agouti and tri colour but the sow carries himalayan in her lines so i could have a himi marked pup from them. Its all about the genes and not what you see in the

I like rossetted pets, they are a little different than smooth coats.

A picture of the possible boars would be good. To let us see too.

Kayleigh

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[Orlaith]

As Kayleigh said, it's tough to know what will come out. I would also go for coat because colour is unpredictable. When I bred my himi and red dutch I ended up with one himi baby, and three mis-marked dutches that were a mixture of white, the red from the dad's coat, and this mad reddish-brown agouti, and in different patterns So you may not get the colours you expect anyway since there's no way of knowing what's in them, if you know what I mean.

[shelleykj]

Here are some more recent photos. Calvin:


Hobbes:

[dschuna]

If I were choosing for a pet litter I would pick Calvin. both super cute little piggies!!

[lovinguineapigs]

I Would Choose Hobbes lol

[kales]

Lol they are both cute! Flip a coin??!

[shelleykj]

Actually I was thinking of just swapping Fuzzle for Hobbes. Or would that be too much for Fuzzle? I know she's had 2 litters at least, one with us, and for sure one with previous owners. Also how hard is it going to be to put Calvin and Hobbes back together if I put Hobbes with Kahlua for a week or two? So many things to consider!

[Kayleigh]

Firstly with breeding to ensure the sow catches you odeally need to pair for at least 4 weeks, maybe longer. Sows come into season every 14-16 days and are receptive for 24 hours. So to give the best chance of her catching id say pair for 4-6 weeks. ( i personally leave my breeding pairs togeather until i can see/feel pups)

If your sow is fit and healthy theres no reason she cant litter again. You just need to ensure shes condtioned up well. Fit but not fat.

As for re pairing boars it depends entirely on their personalities. I have recently paired a couple who used to live togeather, then 1 was used for breeding, they repaired with no issues. But iv also had boars fight after breeding.

Theres alot to consider.

Let us know what you decide to do.


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[shelleykj]

I'm going to go for it. Why not? I love having the babies around, don't mind the extra cleaning, and that mom and daughter were so happy to get a cute, healthy pair of piggies. That makes it worth trying. And yes, I've got the room if things don't turn out as I hope, at least I'll make the room!

[shelleykj]

Okay, I want to do things right, so I got a scale.
Kahlua: 861g
Hobbes :640g
Fuzzle: 893g
Calvin: 779g
Does it look like anyone is too heavy or too light?

[Kayleigh]

I would say they are all fairly light weights for adults. Especially the boars.

Sows should be at least 800grams too breed, in my opinion. But always remember, fit not fat. All pigs will vary on breed etc though.

Do let us know who you decide to breed and remember you will need to house them togeather at least a month for success.

If i have time tomorrow ill get weights off all mine, they are due a weigh in so will post to see how they fare.

Best of luck.

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[shelleykj]

Thanks Kayleigh! I actually thought Kahlua was a little chunky, she's right about 4 months. After the full clean this morning, Calvin went with Fuzzle and Kahlua with Hobbes. Just some chasing, lots of wheeking and purring, and Calvin a little confused on which end is which, they're all just sitting quietly in neutral corners. Time will tell.

[Kayleigh]

Sorry if im misreading but are you breeding a sow of 4 months old? If so i would strongly advise against this. A sow should be at least 6 months old to breed.

I apoligise if iv misread your post though.

[shelleykj]

My mistake, I thought 4m was the youngest they should breed. I will wait with Kahlua, I wouldn't want anything to happen to her as she is first piggy.

[Kayleigh]

Opinions vary from person to person, breeder to breeder and country to country.

But a majority wont breed a sow until shes at least 6 months old.

I like to give the sows a chance to grow up themselves, mature and grow to their fullest potential. 4 months (16 weeks) is still very young.

Let her grow up, and then in a few months pair her up.

Breeding should never be rushed, there are alot of things that can go wrong with young sows and older sows.

Good things come to those who wait, i always say.

Best of luck with your other sow and breeding!