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Pregnancy Leia is rather pregnant, Should i separate her from the herd or not?

Gowroo

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Evening All!

So 4 weeks ago I rescued 2 lovely little girls who are 14 weeks old living with my other ladies who are 10 months old.

2 days ago Leia and I were having a cwtch on the sofa and I noticed she had become heavily pear shaped - in like a week! (She has a lot of hair) I took her to the vets today and my worst fears were acknowledged that she was indeed pregnant and quite a way on the path to motherhood.

Now what's a good way to put this... HELP? The vet was nigh on USELESS! (We shall be going to another vet now that Cardiff GP Rescue have suggested somewhere) I don't know how long she has got left but the vet thinks it wont be too long as the babies feel pretty fully formed.

She is back in with the gang and getting on munching and waddling around but do I just leave her to it or do I get a whelping pen etc? What do I do guys? I have read up quite a bit about the actual birth and praying she hasn't got down with a roan etc but how can I help her whilst she is pregnant?

Any help any of you have to offer, it would be greatly received. God help my kids when they have their own as I'm freaking over my baby guinea pig! Why cant people learn to sex piggies properly!

Many thanks to you lovely boys and gals out there!

Txx
 

sugarandspice

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Leaving her with her herd can't hurt, as it stresses the pregnant pig even more than she already has on her shoulders. Make sure the other pigs aren't too rough with her though.

It can't hurt to add a little alfalfa hay to the hay rack to add some much needed calcium.

Pigtures? :)
 

Starthecavy123

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Yes it would be your safest bet.
 

bpatters

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Don't separate her. Most adult guinea pigs are great with pups, and some sows will help clean them after they're born. Do keep an eye on them after the pups come, as an occasional sow will be jealous of the pups and try to nip them unnecessarily. Nipping is how they teach the pups to behave, but you don't want an adult pig to harass them.
 

Gowroo

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Great! Ill keep her with the gang. Thanks for the advice guys. Alfalfa has been added to the hay rack and as you can see Leia is completely ignoring it and eating form the Timothy hay rack. I'm sure she'll work on it!

piggie munching om nom.jpg

I just wish I knew when she is due. I worries I will be out when she pops and something might go wrong and I might not be there. I know loads of you have gone through this and probably think I'm over acting but I'm super nervous for her. I know I just need to leave her to get on with it as guinea pigs have been spawning for thousands of years but I just want her to be OK.

But again thanks for the advice!
 

bpatters

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She doesn't need alfalfa hay. What she needs is extra calcium. You can give her that by feeding her alfalfa hay OR alfalfa pellets OR vegetables that are high in calcium. A sprig or two of parsley will accomplish the same thing.
 

Gowroo

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She has had extra spinach and parsley with dinner tonight so we'll keep adding a little more of that in her diet. She seems a little jittery tonight. Wander about nibbling on this, nibbling on that..

She is getting pretty big and there was definitely a bit of movement this evening but cant hear any teeth chattering yet. I just wish we knew when she is due. Apart form the pelvic bone can anyone suggest any other "ready to pop" symptoms i should be looking for?

Thank you for all the suggestions so far!
 

Kate Upton

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How did your piggie get on?
 

Gowroo

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She still hasn't dropped! It has to be soon as she is MaHOOSive! He little tummy is almost touching the floor when she is scurrying around. She has started to slow down a little and now drags all the food she wants to outside her bed so she can recline and eat. I'm just hoping for her it isn't much longer as it can't be comfortable being so large. She doesn't like being handled for obvious reasons but I did hold her today just to make sure the pups were still wriggling which they are - with force!
Just hope all goes well and I can update with pigtures of the mini pigs soon! :)
 

Kate Upton

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Awwww bless her!! Keep us updated and I definitely want pictures :) Christmas babies!
 

Gowroo

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Just think of all the Christmassy names we can come up with! I do hope they are girls as they can stay with the heard. (Going to need a bigger cage). So very excited at the prospect of Christmas babies!
 

PiggieGuinea

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Nother thing to watch out for is harrassment to the pregnant mom. The hormonal changes may signal another pigs alarm. This happened to me. My pregnant sow ended up with a nip on her ear and scratch on her nose, as wll as lots of chases, so I took my oldest sow (3 years) out. This cleared the problem right up.

But if you are going to do this, take your trouble sow and a buddy out, and keep the mom and a buddy in. If you have 3 pigs, seperate the trouble sow with a few grids
 

PiggieWigglies

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Awh, how exciting! Im sure the babies will be beautiful little Christmas piggies. There are lots of Christmas names too! Mistletoe, Holly and Ivy, Chestnut, etc. You should put up pigtures when you get the chance
 

Gowroo

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Leia's Pups came yesterday morning, about 6.30am!! She didn't come out to eat so when I lifted the hidey house she darted out and i found a little white and red baby, weighing in at 68g and a rather large red baby with a little white blaze on her nose 89g. Sadly the little red pup wasn't breathing and despite best efforts we couldn't get her back. So sad! Its just a shame as little Chestnut was so beautiful.


BUT Mamma Leia is back to fighting force and its awesome to see how much all the girls are helping out with the little one who we have names Martha!

Pigtures to follow! :D
 

Gowroo

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Kate Upton

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Oh my gosh she is adorable!! I'm sorry for your loss of the other piggy but glad you have one that's fit and well. She's very cute!!
 

Inle_Rabbit

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That is a cute little baby!
 

Gowroo

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Cheers guys! She is such a little ray of sunshine! The 4 older girls seem to have a new lease of life since she arrived, its popcorn central. She is doing really well and in 4 days has put on 14g!
photo 1(1).jpgphoto 2(2).jpgphoto 3(2).jpg
 

Gowroo

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Mum is certainly very much an Aby but as for the father, she was pregnant when we got her so don't really know anything about him, but looking at the little one there must be some texel in their tree. We were very surprised as we were expecting an aby, like litter mate that didn't make it. I wasn't aware you could get different piggies in one litter. But we love her greatly!
 

Mama2piggies

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She's a gorgeous girl and so tiny!
 
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