Hey guys! Questions about Male Dominance issue

It's pretty much a given that if you have a male and a female together, they'll eventually have babies. Even if you watched very closely, you might not see them do the deed -- it only take a couple of seconds.

What gender are the babies, or can you tell yet? If one of them is a boy, he can go live with dad at 21 days. And most boars do just fine with babies.

If you don't have any boy babies, what about getting him neutered and putting him back in with mom? Wait three weeks after the surgery, if you do that -- the sperm are still alive and active for a couple of weeks after neutering.

I can't tell what they are yet. Still too young. With my others I couldn't tell until they were 3 weeks old. Still trying to figure things out. I have 6 females, 3 males, and the two ungendered babies.
I was thinking about getting him neutered but there are no exotic vets in the area that have any kind of experiance. I'm thinking I'm going to wait until we move down to Lousiana in a month to look into it more seriously if need be.
Thanks for the advice though!

I also am thinking about building a single large cage for my girls to run around in. I was going to build (with my boyfriends help of course) a large 3 level 2' by 4' cage made out of wood with ramps to all three levels. Would that be a sufficient size for 6 females?

Like bpatters said, if you put any unaltered male and female together it is a given that they will reproduce, and that pretty much goes with any animal. Why can't the dad go in with the other males? How big is your cage? If he fights with other males, it's probably because your cage isn't large enough.
Also, make sure to read the nutrition charts for Mama and the baby pigs, so they are getting the food requirements that they need.
The cages we recommend here are C&C cages, they are easy to make, clean, and access.
Look around here for cage size requirements and other info about C&C cages :Guinea Pig Cages, Your Cavy At Home

I currently build my own cages. Very similar to C&Ccages. For every two pigs they have a 2' x 3'

Take a look at Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig for pictures and ways to figure out if you've got males or females.

A bigger, flatter pen is really preferred for a herd. If you've got ramps, pigs can get trapped. The more pigs you have, the more possibility for trapping and squabbling (and nipping and ear biting and you-name-it) And with six pigs, that's not really much running room. Is there any way you could make it wider, but with lofts at either end?

Ditto the suggestion to make it with C&C. It sometimes takes several tries to get the configuration right for a herd, and if you build out of wood, it's not easy to redo. You also have to cover the wood someway to keep them from chewing it and peeing on it, which will smell terribly after just a short while.

Okay, I like the C&C Cages but my boyfriend doesnt like them. He wants to build one out of wood. But we definately are wanting to make it much much larger. Especially for the girls.

I've also built my cage out of wood. It's not going to be easy to change it around, so make sure the main level of the cage is big enough. For 6 females, I'd go with 20 sq.ft. or larger. You could make the cage 2.5 x 8 ft.

I have 2 pairs of males in an 18 sq.ft cage for each pair.

Would it do it I build a 3' by 4' bottom with a top that is 2' by 3'?

I need to find a way to strengthen it. We're moving soon and i dont want it to fall apart. Also, what is a good material for the base? I have cloroplast but its not big enough for the 3' x 4'. Its only a 2' x 4'

Normally you'd only count the main level as guinea pigs are ground dwellers and need room to run without the ramp being in the way. If you separate the herd into pairs or trios, you could build stacking cages with 3' x 4' for each pair or trio.

If your boyfriend is building the cage from wood, you can line it with kitchen flooring like vinyl or plastic tarp. I lined my cage with vinyl.

When are you planning to move? It would be easier to move a C&C, you'd just fold up the grids and the coro is very light. Much easier to move than wood cage.

Here's my cage before I moved.


I took the legs off for moving and attached new shorter legs at the new place.
(broken link removed)

lissie I LOVE that cage! OMG I WANT ONE lol. for real, something like that would be so awesome.

Thumper27 said:

lissie I LOVE that cage! OMG I WANT ONE lol. for real, something like that would be so awesome.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Basic biology and common sense will tell you that an unaltered male and female together will result in babies. Why...why in the world would you put a male and female together and not expect babies?

Well, what's done is done, I guess. Separate any male babies from mom at 3 weeks old because they can impregnate her again. Yes, guinea pigs can and will impregnate family members.

I know that much. Not trying to be rude but I'm not an idiot so I don't much appreciate feeling like you think I am. I'm just trying to get all the information so that my guinea pigs can be as safe and as comfortable as I can make them. I wanted to make sure of everything so I wasnt guessing because google isnt too much of a reliable source