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Hi all

Fionna

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Hi I'm Fionna,

I've done that thing you probably warn people to never do... gave into my teenage daughter who saw some piggies at a pet shop and let her/me come home with three today. I breed chickens so luckily there are heaps of hutches and cages around, bedding etc. I have been scrolling the internet, printing and reading all the info I can find to make sure we do right by them. Unfortunately the pet shop told us boys would get along and girls would fight?! So we got two boys and a girl they had left (well, I'm pretty sure it's two young boys and a female). Already I think we have a problem there from what I have read. We have the space and time to let them have babies and am willing to have multiple houses to manage them if needed. So, on a steep learning curve and enjoying all the lovely pictures and people who obviously love their little pets.

Thanks for any advice anyone might have....
 

Aleks

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So you're planning on breeding the pigs..?
 

scruffytufty

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girls and boys will make babies!!!! i dont think how you worded it you are planning to breed...but please seperate :D
 

bpatters

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Welcome to the forum.

You're (unfortunately) right... :) We don't reommend buying pigs from shops -- they're often inbred and poorly cared for, if not downright ill. Pet store employees also often give out poor information, and they were wrong on all counts on what they told you about pigs. Males can live together quite well, as can females, but two males and one female together is a recipe for disaster. Almost no one I know of has managed to integrate two males in a group of females, whether there's one female or many. It usually works ok the other way around -- multiple females to one male.

However, we are a strongly pro-rescue, pro-adoption, anti-breeding forum. There are simply too many unwanted guinea pigs in the world to add to the population. Additionally, most casual breeders have no idea of the genetic problems common to guinea pigs, so they wind up with inbred, deformed pups, some of whom don't even live until birth. Your daughter can learn about birth from some other species. Besides, guinea pig pups aren't snuggly like kittens and puppies, so the newness and cuteness common to other small animals isn't the same. They're skittish and shy and hard to catch.

My advice is to turn your pigs over and compare all their private parts, and then separate them by genders. If you have trouble figuring out who's who, see Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig.

One more downer word... We strongly recommend keeping guinea pigs inside rather than in an outside hutch. They're safer, for one thing. Also, since they're prey animals, they tend to hide illness and pain very well, and you're much more likely to recognize that something is wrong with them if they're where you see them several times a day. We've also seen many reports of people in the British Isles who've lost their outdoor guinea pigs to marauding dogs and other animals. And this is just my own opinion, but I'm not sure why anyone wants a pet that's not kept with them -- otherwise, it's just another chore in a busy day to keep them fed, watered, and cleaned. (That brings me to another point -- you shouldn't put them in a cage with a wire bottom -- too much risk of bumblefoot and injury.)

OK, sermon over. We'd like to see some pictures, please!
 

Cavy Treenie

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Make sure that the hutches don't have wire bottoms and that you DO NOT use cedar bedding. They need to be kept indoors and male and females (obviously) need to be separated. Other than that welcome!
 

Fionna

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Thank you all, we are rethinking how we will do this and planning a new houseing set up. :)
 

RodentCuddles

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Welcome!

Like the others said, please change your plans of letting them breed..you'll just become another irresponsible back yard breeder and we don't need anymore; But the fact you've joined to learn more about piggy care means you want the best for your piggies.

If you find out you do have different genders separate them as soon as you find out, sows have a 1 in 5 chance of not making it or something going wrong and you also wouldn't wont to risk back-to-back breeding!
 

SheWolfSilver

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Welcome to the forum! There is a ton of information here and it is all very helpful. If you will just research and ask question your piggies will be very healthy and happy.
 
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