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How Old is too old to safely give birth?

chrisshane09

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I found a Himalayan Female that is needing to be relocated on Craigslist. I would like to help the piggy, but I was also thinking about breeding her. I love the Himalayan breed, and I think this could be a neat experience for me. The owner says she is 8-9 Months old, but I read that Females shouldn't give birth after 7 months, because it increases the chance of complications during birth. I want all piggies to be safe and healthy.

I have 2 boars that I have been caring for, for the last 6 months. Lenny was bought around six months ago. And Carlos was bout about 2 months after that. I am thinking of breeding Lenny with her.

I have been reading up on everything, but I don't want to start this process if it's not safe.
 

PiggieWigglies

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By the time she would give birth its too old, sorry :(
 

chrisshane09

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So, it's a no go then?
Too unsafe.
 

bpatters

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@chrisshane09, we don't give advice on breeding pigs. This is a pro-rescue, pro-adoption site. Pregnancy and labor is very hard on both sows and pups, and guinea pigs are often carriers of genetic diseases that result in deformed, blind, deaf pups if they even survive birth. What might be a "neat experience" for you may turn into a nightmare if yo wind up handfeeding lethal white pups all their lives, as well as taking them in regularly for tooth trims.

Please do not breed guinea pigs. If you want to see one give birth, look it up on youtube.
 

chrisshane09

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I understand that this might be a pro- adoption site. But not giving any information at all doesn't really help anything. it just produces more ignorant owners. I'm not asking how to, I'm asking if it's safe for her. Guinea pigs are bread all the time. It's not like if you do it you are condemning them. I get that there are risks. But, not ever pig is going to die every time. There wouldn't be pigs around if they weren't bred. and no, I am not condoning the Mass breeding stores. I just want to do this privately one time, for the experience and knowledge.
 

pinky

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Guinea pigs are euthanized all the time due to the large number that are bred and unwanted. To intentionally breed more for your own personal experience is irresponsible. Individuals who breed for their own pleasure add to many of the unwanted guinea pigs already looking for homes. I don't understand how you'd personally benefit from breeding a guinea pig. Exactly what type of experience and knowledge are you looking for? If it's the birth process that's so interesting, there are plenty of videos of guinea pigs giving birth. There is no benefit to the guinea pig and, quite to the contrary, you'd be putting her at risk. If you want multiple guinea pigs, there are plenty of unwanted ones that are at risk of being euthanized in shelters. Rescues are an excellent source if you want to know more about each one's personality. They tend to know a lot about each one. You've hit the nail on the head when you added that guinea pigs are "bred" all the time. That's the problem.....
 

chrisshane09

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Still didn't help, just shamed me for even thinking about it.
Thank you though.
 

CavyMama

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There are many guinea pigs in need of homes (including Himalayan). Breeding manufactures MORE pigs when there are already so many in need of homes. It compounds the overpopulation problem which is another reason we take the position we do.

You signed up on this site back in May. This is something you should know by now.

You will not get any breeding advice here.
 

chrisshane09

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I only considered because I have been looking for over a year for a Himalayan, through four different towns. So, in my area and pretty far beyond There aren't any.
 

CavyMama

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So perhaps consider a different breed and expand your search. You can also look on Craigslist and on Petfinder.
 

Princess_Piggie

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As has already been pointed out, the site is anti-breeding for multiple reasons, however the main reason is that it's detrimental to the sows health. They're fragile animals whose bodies just don't handle the birthing process particularly well.
We don't provide information on how to breed to discourage breeding, because it's causing so many sows pain, and can produce lethal pups. As a side note, breeding white guinea pigs is a dangerous sport because they can often carry the roan gene and be hiding it; meaning you'd end up with lethal pups, which would be adding to the list of poor piggies that are blind, deaf, and can't even eat on their own.
Please don't purchase a sow with the intention of breeding, or adopt one for it, because you'll just be adding to the long list of guinea pigs that desperately need homes. This site intentionally flags pigs that are put up for sale on craigslist, if they're put up by breeders. If you want multiple guinea pigs, there are plenty in rescue centres that need homes.

You could also look around for a pregnant sow in a rescue center, if you desperately want a baby pig, and adopt one of the babies.
 

CavyMama

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As a side note, breeding white guinea pigs is a dangerous sport because they can often carry the roan gene and be hiding it; meaning you'd end up with lethal pups, which would be adding to the list of poor piggies that are blind, deaf, and can't even eat on their own.

Pigs that carry the roan genes are not white. The lethals that are produced are white. Roan pigs are usually have black/white marking.
 

Princess_Piggie

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What I meant was, white pigs can carry the gene and not display it, because they're all white.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/4190-Lethal-guinea-pigs
'The enormous amount of white hair she had (due to other genes, which don't cause problems) completely obscured any signs of her having the roan gene. So any white pig, or any pig with large amounts of white could be carrying the gene' - taken from the thread on lethals on this site.
 

LuvCavysLuvCats

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@chrisshane09 I'm looking at this from two angles.

You've been a member since May. Plenty of time to know what this site stands for and what it's against, you really shouldn't have been surprised by the responses you got. Which by the way, were informative. They told you why it was too dangerous, which was your concern, no?

However, you did say if it was too dangerous you didn't want to do it, which as you've been informed, it is. So I gather from that you won't be breeding her?
 

labgirl5

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To add onto this, seeing as you said you "bought" your two boars (not adopted), I am assuming they're from a pet store. Due to this, and the sow you would get from Craigslist, you know nothing of their genetics, at all. Like everyone else had said, there is the chance of the lethal white babies, and many other birth defects having to do with crippled legs, paws, etc.

Take a look at this thread: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/39029-Consequences-of-Breeding-Genetic-Defects
 

foggycreekcavy

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I understand that this might be a pro- adoption site. But not giving any information at all doesn't really help anything. it just produces more ignorant owners. I'm not asking how to, I'm asking if it's safe for her. Guinea pigs are bread all the time. It's not like if you do it you are condemning them. I get that there are risks. But, not ever pig is going to die every time. There wouldn't be pigs around if they weren't bred. and no, I am not condoning the Mass breeding stores. I just want to do this privately one time, for the experience and knowledge.

No, it's not safe for her. 20% of guinea pig pregnancies ends in death. That's a one in 5 chance. So no, not every guinea pig is going to die every time. But do you want to take that chance?
 

Traysea

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You'd probably have to expand your search to further than 4 different towns. More like the tri state area etc. I had to go several states out to find my coronet pigs.

I am not sure about himi genetics at all and this website doesn't promote breeding. You would need to reach out to himi breeders or find a forum that is pro-breeding to see what problems would be in that breed specifically. The answer to your question about risk... there is a 20-25% mortality rate when breeding guinea pigs. It is higher if there is only a single baby in the litter and the baby mortality is higher if there is a large litter. Piggies only have two nipples to nurse. I don't know specifically about breeding himi's but you might need a himi carrier if you were trying to produce more himi's so the males you have wouldn't work to produce anything other than more americas if that is the case. So if your goal is to just possess a himi you may find you will lose her during the pregnancy, if your goal is to produce more himi's then you need look into the genetics. Also, on a moral/ethical standpoint if this is a rescue piggy, it shouldn't be bred or the very least the person you are getting her from should be told you are planning to breed her pet pig.

Bottom line is, all breeding is risky regardless of the age. What you could do if you are interested in just going thru a pregnancy and babies for the experience, is possibly look for a pregnant pig to foster or adopt. If you are looking to set up as a hobby breeder, this site isn't for that.
 

Soecara

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Yes that sow would be to old to breed, there is no "safe" age to breed a guinea pig at but the risk certainly greatly increases with age and if a sow is to give birth for the first time after the age of 7 or 8 months then she is at an extremely high risk of experiencing complications. Other people on this thread have already stated why breeding is bad so I feel no need to further elaborate that topic, however I will suggest you do research on the complications that can arise from pregnancy and guinea pig genetics.

You are correct in saying not all sows will experience complications but there is no way you can know beforehand which ones will or will not, even with proper care.
 

Traysea

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Updating my previous post, I asked around and was told since himi is recessive, you will not produce any himi babies unless your boy is a himi or carries the himi gene. So if your goal is to make more himi's the only thing you will produce is regular ol' carrier americans. And as you know it's very easy to find american guinea pigs, they are the most common breed in pet shops and rescues. So it would be putting the himi you finally found to own at risk for no reason.
 

Field-of-Dreams

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To answer your question, yes, she is too old.

I thought once as you did. Years ago I had two sows and thought babies would be so cool, so I put my male in with them. All went well, until a few days before delivery. Then one sow stopped eating. I thought she was in labor and was excited! Went out to feed our horses and when I came back in, she was DEAD. Pregnancy toxemia. It's real and it kills and by the time you realize she has it she's doomed and there is no cure.

So the 20% mortality rate was 50% for ME. The other sow delivered three boys just fine. BOYS. I had wanted girls, to keep with the mama, but nope, now I needed another cage (I wasn't selling) for them.
 
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