Pregnant sow, thought she was a boar, help!!!

[MyLittleGuinies]

So I have four guineas (Grimis, Hamburgaler, Ronald and FryGuy) , each set of two are in thier own 2X5 cages. Well, Ronald and FryGuy have been housed together for 3 months.... and I just realized that FryGuy is not a GUY its a GIRL and she is HUGE!!! Skinny little front and round tight tummy....about the size of a softball.... I know for a fact she is prego and not just fat. I am just not sure what to do....he pelvic bone has already seperated, I can feel the two bones right under her butt. I put her in a seperate store bought cage (I had it before I made the C&C cages)... I am giving her fresh water, pellets and veggies. (i just realized this yesturday. I try and pick them up everyday and dont know how I could've JUST realized how big she is. I dont know what to do and ANY advice I can get would be helpful!!! I am not really prepaired for a litter of 8 so hopefully it will be a small liter. Remember this was an ACCIDENTLE PREGNANCY. I know how many homeless piggies there are out there (as I have rescused 2 myself) and did not intentionally breed the two. Someone had misinformed me about the sex of my two guineas. Also, know that after the pups are born and after 3 weeks of weening I have to take the males out so they dont back breed the mother (aka: FryGirl) How do I tell a female from a male? PLEASE HELP

[SurfingPigs]

You've done everything right so far, so good going! You may want to double-check the sex of your remaining pigs.

Yes, keep FryGirl (cute names, by the way) away from everyone for the time being. Most guinea pig pregnancies go by without a hitch, but you should have a cavy-savvy emergency vet on standby in case she has problems during labor.

Info on sexing can be found here: Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig

Lots of other questions/answers about pregnancy can be found here: http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction_faq.html

If you don't have some already, I would get some alfalfa-based pellets and being feeding them to FryGirl; the babies will need these as well.

Best of luck and keep us posted!

[bpatters]

Ditto SurfingPigs. You're headed in the right direction -- just keep going!

[MyLittleGuinies]

I have got a vet lined up but how will i know if there are problems going on?? I have seen many human births but never an animal (except for my cat when I will 9)

I am a worry-wart right now and cannot help but think something is going to go wrong. Thank you for the links, I will look them over.

[SurfingPigs]

To be honest, the birthing process will probably go something akin to this:

>Piggy is there, fat, uncomfortable, and very pregnant.
>Urgent matter calls your attention
>Next time you check piggy, she is sitting there with a bunch of furballs around her

Pig labor looks a bit like the pigs reaching for poops to eat. Mom will hunch up, grunt a bit, and reach down and help piggy out. Mom will clean each baby and will typically eat any stray placenta.

The bullet points on the following link list signs that intervention is needed: http://www.guinealynx.info/labor.html

But, like I said, more often than not it is an uneventful process and hopefully everyone will thrive.

[boofp]

Good luck just pray

[Roo99]

Since you are mostly prepared for the birth, and you have some links about how to deal with FlyGirl's pregnancy, it might be good now to go ahead and figure out what to do with your babies. Maybe see if anyone close to you is in need of a buddy for their pig. I know that not everyone has the time to rehome their guinea pigs by themselves, so maybe you could enlist the help of a local rescue. They might have some prospective adopters in need of a few pigs, and you never know who is ready to rescue!
Best of luck to you,
Roo

[petgal49]

Or you could just keep them all

[Crystalkate]

You could do a search on youtube for guinea pig births. It will help you visually prepare...especially if you catch it in action. Good luck!!

[sidhashair]

This video on Youtube is one of clearest ones I've seen for guinea pig births,

Most first time mums usually (but not always!) only have smallish litters (1-3 I think), so hopefully you won't have eight extra pigs when the time comes. I wish FryGirl and you (take a deep breath, be calm) the best of luck though!

[MyLittleGuinies]

OHMYGOSH!!! Got home from work and SHE WAS IN LABOR---- FOUR PIGGIES!!!! I dont know how I didnt notice she was prego till 3 days before delivery....I feel so bad....I hold her and see her everyday!!! WOW THEY ARE SSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOO CUTEE!!!!! FOUR PIGGIES IS A LOT!!! I am super pumped right now....I havent had the mum very long so she is still shy and wont let me very close to the babies, she is guarding them but its only been about 20 minutes since her delivery....any advice on how to clean? There is a blood, and 3 little sacks of blood (placintas?) I thought she was only supposed to have one......?? I was not ready for today to be the day so now that they have arrived I have NO CLUE what to do.... AHHHH SO EXCITED

[bpatters]

Each pup has its own sac, and sacs are not placentas. The last placenta should be delivered a few minutes after the last baby -- they will be flat and bloody, and up to an inch across.

The mom will eat the placentas, but if she has not done so after a few hours, you can remove them from the cage. She may also eat the bloody bedding unless it's fleece.

She should clean the babies, but it she doesn't, you can take a soft towel and make sure they're all dry.

SurfingPigs gave you this link a few days ago -- if you haven't read it already, do so now. http://www.guinealynx.info/labor.html

[sillylittle]

Congrats! Take pictures as soon as you can, piggie babies are the cutest things ever!It doesn't seem like anyone has mentioned this yet, but this page (Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig) should help you with sexing the babies.Are your other 3 males, and you just had them all in pairs, or did you have "two" males and two females? Hopefully, if they are all boys, at least one of the babies is a female so you will have a companion for FryGirl without needing to go through the adoption/dating process. And even if you dont keep all 4 babies, you can home your 3 guys together. I wish you luck with rehoming or keeping, whatever you decide is best for you. And I can't wait for those cutie pigtures

[algrif40]

Oh congrats! My boar had babies too! I had two boys except not so much for oneof them!. I realized she was pregnant the day before she gave birth so don't feel bad. I was getting worried that"he" had a tumor! then the tumor kicked me. haha Juju had four babies too. I ended up with four girls. So daddy Harry was fixed and now they are one big happy bunch. I kept them all and dont' regret it for a second! They are two months old almost and the light of my life, next to my human kids, of course! I'm just having trouble with names still. Pictures please!