The decision to breed

[Dawn - Admin]

Starting to breeding your guinea pig should not be taken lightly.

Really think about why you want to breed and decide if it is worth the risk of possibly losing either the mother and/or babies through complications, or ending up with baby guinea pigs you can't rehome to good responsible owners.

Do a lot of research read books, surf the internet and really gain as much knowledge as you possibly can.

Breeders are a good source of information as they have had hands on experience.

[Dawn - Admin]

Some questions to ask yourself are:

1. Do you know the risks involved in breeding cavies?

2. Do you have extra cages to house the new additions?

3. Have you got the room to house dad separately before the babies are born?

4. Do you know how to sex the babies and how to separate them at the right age?

5. Can you find good homes for all the babies if you are not going to be keeping them?

6. Do you know to signs to look for to tell if your sow becomes ill?

7. Do you know what illnesses the sow can get while been pregnant?

8. Do you have money for any vets bills?

9. Has the sow had a litter before?

10. Do you know the right age to breed the guinea pigs?

11. Do you know how long sows are pregnant for?

12. Are you sure you have found out all you need to know before you start to breed?

[Dawn - Admin]

Some good links:

www.comfycavies.com/Care/Breeding/breeding.htm

www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/breeding.htm

www.petalia.com.au/templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?Story_No=246

[karenrgpr]

In my opinion you should also know the history of both parents before breeding. Particularly 'pet' piggies/x breds. Even then things can go wrong. Its good to see some UK studs widening the gene pool and bringing in pigs from other countries.

[greeneracres2001]

Being a breeder of show piggies I totally agree with the above information...You must do your research on parentage and history of both the sow and boar to ascertain many things, one being do they carry any lethal genes i.e. roans and equally important the age of the sow and has she ever had a litter before and how old was she, did she have any problems etc....
Its a decision not to be taken lightly and I weigh all the pros and cons before I make that decision.... Although I do breed for the show quality, I do love my animals and do not wish to lose any one of them in pregnancy and or illness..
Its not for everyone.... you must be prepared for the wins and you must be prepared emotionally for any losses you might incur....
Something to think about.
Linda

[Dawn - Admin]

Excellent post Karen and Linda

[cuticomcavies]

Another thing you should be aware of is don't trust breeders to be entirely certain of a pigs health status.

I only realised I had a boar wth cleft palate AFTER I bred him. When I told the breeder she was shocked. Then she admitted she had a history of cleft palate in her line and had never told me.

I went through a lot of heart break raising the deformed baby from that litter. She died at 28 days old from a bowel prolapse.

Emma

[greeneracres2001]

A "responsible and good breeder" would not have forgot to tell you that information....If any of my guys or gals have any health issues or what have you I would not sell them to anyone without divulging the proper information and background.
It was totally irresponsible to sell you a piggie with that in its background and it should never have been sold to anyone, period.....
Sorry for your loss and heartache on this which I think could have been prevented had you been properly informed..
Linda

[gingypig]

Thanks for this post!! I have some purebred rexes ang alpacas that i want to breed but also a couple of pet sows and one is coming up to the age that if i don't breed her now i can't and i got all in a fluster... but then sat back and thought well no it is irresponsible to breed from her, she is afterall just pet quality and I don't want any of my babies to end up in bad homes so her and her friend will not be having any babies and i think they will be more than happy with that!!! Also this will give me more time, money and space to concentrate on just having a few 'quality babies' xxx

[toffeerules]

im wandering... well i have a long waiting list for pets At the moment should i let my purebred argente breeding sow breed with my pure bred golden agouti? i've done it with her and a agouti last year and i got ok babies and she is only just 1 so should i or should i not breed them?

[Dawn - Admin]

Why not if you have good homes waiting I can't see a problem with it.

[toffeerules]

ok thanks the holdaways said if i do and they are purebreds they will come out as some Agouti and some Argente

[george]

You should always keep in mind, to breed only to better a breed, not to create more guinea pigs. There are lots of homeless guinea pigs that are in need of a loving home. Some food for Thought!


George

[jhp]

when a sow has a litter how long should the gap be before she gets pregnant again?

[waterscavies]

Many people would give 3 months but I tend to give mine about 6 months just so I know the sow is in tiptop condition and has a well earned break before putting her body through the rigours of breeding again.

Just make sure that you have the space and the housing readily available before putting a mating pair together



Sasha

[cozmo]

Ok the time has come for me to put my first sow and boar together. The sow has littered once before, but my male hasn't. Hopefully this shouldn't cause a problem as he humped his boarfriend loads before I split them up yesterday.

I feel really apprihensive about the whole thing and I can't understand why. I spent the whole of November/December/January researching through books and the internet. Looking at the pro's and cons. This is something I've ALWAYS wanted to do. I have the space for baby's should I not be able to find homes for them, and I know how to hand rear should I need to (and have the net and books to refer to should I forget anything).

I know she's a good mum and coped perfectly the last time (I know because the breeder she came from is a real decent one, and I have a daughter from the litter who is as perfect as mum).

Is it normal to get last minute jitters the first time you put a mating pair together? I guess cuz I've never done this before, I don't know how often problems can occure with pregnant mum's and babies. I suppose its not that different to mating any other animal, there are always going to be risks with any animal.

[bussell]

Hi All I'm quite new to this site but was introduced to it by my good friend Emily.

I've just had a litter of 3 - 2 boys 1 girl. Mum (Bussell a Sheltie) was bought by myself from a breeder wirth the intention of breeding with my coronet Merlot but after 2 weeks of them enjoying each others company I realised that she was allready pregnant - 4 weeks later Bubbles, Squeak and Cassie appeared. Mum did all of it by herself and she has been amazing considering she is only 6 months old herself.

I am keeping Bubbles and Cassie and Squeaks has a forever home waiting for him when he is 5 weeks old - I am aware I have to take the boys out next week and have plenty of room for them.

Cassie is staying with her mum and when she is 6 months old I am putting Merlot in with them to breed with. I will be intending of keeping all the babies and have some friends interested if I want to give some away.

I have been keeping guinea pigs for 14 years and have bread twice before but many years ago.

Can't believe how much I missed them being sooooooo tiny.

[cavylover12]

I'm breeding my guinea pigs, too. Its my first time. Breeding guinea pigs is super fun and probably adorable. The experience is very fun, yet one question. Are you willing to put your sow through this? That's up to the owner, for he/she should know the risks and make their own decision. Most people say yes for the experience, cuteness, or money. But that is not anyone else's decision but the owners. I'm not against breeding, I love the tiny bundles of joy. Just make sure you ask yourself that question.

[Kayleigh]

Jul 12, 2012 0:22:01 GMT cavylover12 said:

I'm breeding my guinea pigs, too. Its my first time. Breeding guinea pigs is super fun and probably adorable. The experience is very fun, yet one question. Are you willing to put your sow through this? That's up to the owner, for he/she should know the risks and make their own decision. Most people say yes for the experience, cuteness, or money. But that is not anyone else's decision but the owners. I'm not against breeding, I love the tiny bundles of joy. Just make sure you ask yourself that question.

Thats a good question to ask, its not so much putting the sow through it as such, Its a natural thing and aslong as the sow is fit and healthy theres no reason she cant breed. It is a wonderful experience and one i have experienced many times (as a breeder/exhibitor) I have however had 1 bad experience where i lost the sow and her entire litter of 5 pups. This made me rethink if i should be breeding. I decided to carry on as the good outweighed the bad. I take great care of all my pigs and the sows who are inpig are all taken care off to the best of my abilitiy/knowledge and thankfully i have continued to have healthy litters and the sows do very well.

Breeding is a hugely contraversial subject and will continue to be. I am all for breeding, if the research is done and its done properly. I am against back yard breeders, those who breed for money and those who breed just to supply pet stores.

If it wasnt for breeders of all species then there would be no rescue centres, and probably a very small selection of well loved pets out there.

For those who wish to breed forums like this one and others are here to help in all cases, with questions, no matter how silly they may seem. If you ask you can get the answers, if you assume and get it wrong it could be fatal to your pigs.

Kayleigh

[guinnymom25]

Mar 25, 2006 23:21:54 GMT Dawn - Admin said:

Some good links:

www.comfycavies.com/Care/Breeding/breeding.htm

www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/breeding.htm

www.petalia.com.au/templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?Story_No=246

out of these three...only one is still up and running...are there any more sites that have more information on breeding?