Pregnancy links - help

[urockstar]

Can someone please post additional links for what I may have to do if my sow is in fact pregnant? I'm bringing her to the vet tomorrow to confirm.

I know I may not be home at the time she gives birth, but if I am and am able to help, I want to know how.

I know that any male babies will have to be removed by 3 weeks.

How will I tell if Marley is having problems when she gives birth, if I am there to witness it, how will I know when she's done giving birth to the litter? I think I read by half an hour they should all be out?

I need to know how to help with getting the sack off so the pup can breathe if she doesn't get it all off herself. Do I simply just wipe it off? (Stupid question but I have to make sure of this)

I don't have to worry about feeding the pups because they will be nursing, but they will also be eating the hay and pellets fairly soon, I read. Is there anything else a newborn will need (will they be eating vegetables as well, and if so are there any vegetables that are not good for newborns)

I wasn't expecting my sow to be pregnant, but I'm up for the challenge and just hoping she and they will make it through just fine. Hopefully the vet will give me some good information tomorrow as well. With getting a big C&C cage I hope to have enough space for all the pigs. I'm not going to lie, I'm hoping she doesn't have more than 2 or 3, but I know she very well could have quite a few more than that. I will not be giving them up and will be open to any suggestions on cutting down costs - like the fleece bedding someone mentioned in another thread. I'd like to know more about that as well.

I just want some help to make sure the pregnancy goes as smoothly as possible. Dietary information for pregnant sows and newborns is what I'm needing the most.

Please help if you can! Thanks. And since I did get my pigs from a store, please cross your fingers for me that all goes well at the vet tomorrow. They both *look* and act healthy so let's hope their insides are as well.

[Ly&Pigs]

Here is a link to the gl page Guinea Lynx :: Reproduction. There are some links on the left hand side of that page to also check out.

As far as diet related, there's not much difference between a normal cavy diet and one for pregnant sows. You will want to add in either some alfalfa hay in addition to the grass hay on a daily basis OR add in some higher calcium veggies every day to every other day. Like add a small leaf of kale and a few sprigs of parsley to the daily diet or give one day and the other the next day. The pups will be leeching most of moms calcium so it's important to give her a bit extra.

When the pups are born they can have alfalfa hay also as a supplement to grass hay. They will eat hay, veggies and pellets within hours of being born.

Most pigs do fine giving birth on their own. If she does need help and you need to remove a sac, then hook your finger into the sac away from the face, (like under the chin area or the back of the neck area) and gently but quickly rip the sac open and pull it off.

The mom will eat the placentas and let her because it's good for her. You may notice a few spots of blood in the cage after birth but that's all normal and she may spot blood for a few days. Any heavy bleeding is when you want to get her into a vet asap.

Also watch for toxemia. At any time during her pregnancy, if her breath starts smelling like fingernail polish remover, then you need to get to a vet asap.

I also want to mention that no one thinks your pigs will "die" because you bought them from a petstore. It's just that petstore pigs mostly come from backyard breeders and pig mills. They aren't raised in very good conditions and things like mites, lice, fleas and other illnesses can run rampant through the mills and the petstores don't always treat these conditions before selling them. Also by not buying petstore pigs, you aren't contributing to the vicious cycle and putting less demand on breeders, which in turn can save some sows lives by them not having to overbreed.

[urockstar]

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

Here is a link to the gl page Guinea Lynx :: Reproduction. There are some links on the left hand side of that page to also check out.

As far as diet related, there's not much difference between a normal cavy diet and one for pregnant sows. You will want to add in either some alfalfa hay in addition to the grass hay on a daily basis OR add in some higher calcium veggies every day to every other day. Like add a small leaf of kale and a few sprigs of parsley to the daily diet or give one day and the other the next day. The pups will be leeching most of moms calcium so it's important to give her a bit extra.

When the pups are born they can have alfalfa hay also as a supplement to grass hay. They will eat hay, veggies and pellets within hours of being born.

Most pigs do fine giving birth on their own. If she does need help and you need to remove a sac, then hook your finger into the sac away from the face, (like under the chin area or the back of the neck area) and gently but quickly rip the sac open and pull it off.

The mom will eat the placentas and let her because it's good for her. You may notice a few spots of blood in the cage after birth but that's all normal and she may spot blood for a few days. Any heavy bleeding is when you want to get her into a vet asap.

Also watch for toxemia. At any time during her pregnancy, if her breath starts smelling like fingernail polish remover, then you need to get to a vet asap.

I also want to mention that no one thinks your pigs will "die" because you bought them from a petstore. It's just that petstore pigs mostly come from backyard breeders and pig mills. They aren't raised in very good conditions and things like mites, lice, fleas and other illnesses can run rampant through the mills and the petstores don't always treat these conditions before selling them. Also by not buying petstore pigs, you aren't contributing to the vicious cycle and putting less demand on breeders, which in turn can save some sows lives by them not having to overbreed.

Thanks much for the advice. I'm hoping my pig has her babies just fine. If I knew better at the time I wouldn't have gotten my pigs from petco, it really was a spur of the moment kind of thing, but now that I have them I am taking care of them. I SHOULD have gotten them from a shelter though. Thanks for all the help.

[Wheek Weak]

Originally Posted by urockstar

Can someone please post additional links for what I may have to do if my sow is in fact pregnant? I'm bringing her to the vet tomorrow to confirm.

I know I may not be home at the time she gives birth, but if I am and am able to help, I want to know how.

How will I tell if Marley is having problems when she gives birth, if I am there to witness it, how will I know when she's done giving birth to the litter? I think I read by half an hour they should all be out?

I need to know how to help with getting the sack off so the pup can breathe if she doesn't get it all off herself. Do I simply just wipe it off? (Stupid question but I have to make sure of this)

I may not be much help, but I'll try the best I can.

When Ruby was pregnant, I had this information printed off to keep handy:.... Labor

I'm glad I did, because it came in handy for easing some of my worries and wonders.

Ruby had a single-pup birth (very high-risk). She was just a baby herself at the time, so she got mixed up and started eating the placenta, instead of cleaning the sac off of the baby, first. I just picked up the baby and put her on my lap (on a clean towel) and started wiping her with a clean dry cloth (starting at her nose and face). The more I wiped, the more active (and talkative) she became until she finally stood up wobbling and looking for a nipple on my fingers.

We also had the vets phone number, clean towels and cloths, and a scale for weighing mama and baby right beside her quarantine cage.

Another thing we did when Ruby was VERY pregnant was make her an "elevator" lift to pick her up out of her cage for weighing and cleaning. We just cut the side out of a small cardboard box, lined the bottom with a soft towel, and lured her into it with a special treat, or gentle touches on her behind. You do want to be very careful with handling (and picking up) the mother when her belly is very large with babies.

I'll be thinking about little Marley, and the babies. I hope everything goes well for her. It sounds like she's in good hands.

[urockstar]

Originally Posted by Wheek Weak

I may not be much help, but I'll try the best I can.

When Ruby was pregnant, I had this information printed off to keep handy:.... Labor

I'm glad I did, because it came in handy for easing some of my worries and wonders.

Ruby had a single-pup birth (very high-risk). She was just a baby herself at the time, so she got mixed up and started eating the placenta, instead of cleaning the sac off of the baby, first. I just picked up the baby and put her on my lap (on a clean towel) and started wiping her with a clean dry cloth (starting at her nose and face). The more I wiped, the more active (and talkative) she became until she finally stood up wobbling and looking for a nipple on my fingers.

We also had the vets phone number, clean towels and cloths, and a scale for weighing mama and baby right beside her quarantine cage.

Another thing we did when Ruby was VERY pregnant was make her an "elevator" lift to pick her up out of her cage for weighing and cleaning. We just cut the side out of a small cardboard box, lined the bottom with a soft towel, and lured her into it with a special treat, or gentle touches on her behind. You do want to be very careful with handling (and picking up) the mother when her belly is very large with babies.

I'll be thinking about little Marley, and the babies. I hope everything goes well for her. It sounds like she's in good hands.

Thanks very much. I'm both nervous and excited... nervous because I probably will not be present when she gives birth... hopefully nature takes its course and everything goes smoothly in that case. How soon after the babies are born can you look for their sex? I don't want to go pushing on the baby's stomachs right away. I know it really shouldn't matter for a while because they can all stay in the same cage for up to three weeks. But just wondering.

I might need help finding a guinea pig specialist vet in my area. I'm sure there's a ton since i'm in Northern NJ close to NYC, but it would be nice to find one that's not too expensive.

[clotho]

You can pick the babies up right away - the mom won't abandon them or anything.

I sexed the babies born to our foster piggie when they were only a few hours old. Of course I checked and rechecked until I was absolutely positive by the time they were 3 weeks old. I never fully believe a male is a male until I get a penis to pop out.

Guinea Lynx :: Sexing Pups