Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

General Caring for newborn pigs

my4boys7

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 29, 2018
Posts
5
Joined
Sep 29, 2018
Messages
5
So I recently found out my new male is actually a pregnant female (I'm thinking I got her pregnant and my male is not the dad based on her size amd how long we have had her) ive been researching and talking to anyone and everyone for advice on caring for momma Mouse (my 7 year old named her, thankfully he picked a neutral name [emoji38]) Anyways I just realized I haven't really done any research on caring for the babies. So a few questions coming to mind:
At what age should I seperate babies from mom? Different for male and females? Can females just stay with mom? -I've read males by 3 weeks but whata ideal? What about female babies?
Is there a weaning process?
Is there an age babies should still stay together before they are rehomed beyond the time they need to be with mom?
I bought a bag of oxbow young guinea pig food for momma (shes also not quite 3 months old) is that good enough food wise along with orchard or meadow hay and fresh veggies? Is there a certain food thats better than others for the babies?

Everything ive read seems so simple and straight forward I feel like I'm missing something. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!! I recently was able to start feeling little kicks and I'm beyond excited. Little Mouse seems to be handling it well too.




Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
Any of the pups can leave mom at 21 days, but only the males have to go then.

Mom will wean them, you don't have to do anything. The babies can eat whatever mom eats.

But three months is a criminally young age for a sow to be having pups. Be sure you're supplementing her with vitamin C and extra calcium foods -- parsley, alfalfa hay in addition to the meadow hay, etc. The calcium she needs for her own body will be going to the pups, and there can be devastating consequences. I know of one sow whose hip joints just dissolved, leaving her with very little mobility and strength in her hind legs. Make sure she has unlimited pellets.

Also, very young sow can sometimes have problems delivering the pups. It would be worthwhile to get an x-ray when she's about eight weeks along to make sure there's not one very large pup that could block the birth canal -- that would result in her death and that of any unborn pups. A good exotic vet could check her out for you and tell if she's apt to be able to deliver normally.

There are some links in this reference you should probably read: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...inea-pig-is-pregnant-And-how-far-along-is-she
 

Soecara

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Posts
1,985
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
1,985
Females can stay with mum for as long as you like. I personally tend to separate off female pups at 6 weeks of age if I don't intend to keep them with their mothers permanently.

Male pups must be separated from all females, including their sisters, when they are three weeks old. This is because male pups reach sexual maturity between 3.5 and 4 weeks old, so separating off at three weeks means you are leaving them with mum for as long as reasonable without risking another pregnancy.

If she has a male pup that you would like to keep with your existing male you can go ahead and introduce the baby boar to your adult boar on the same day you take him away from his mother.

Guinea pigs are born highly developed, eyes open, all their teeth, etc. and capable of eating solid food as soon as they are born, so they don't quite have a weaning process like some other animals do. I remember once I was there when one of my sows gave birth and one pup ran away from mum as soon as she had finished cleaning him and was straight into eating a piece of hay while his mother was busy giving birth to his sibling.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

Squiggles
Replies
5
Views
603
Guinea Pig Papa
Guinea Pig Papa
Guinea_Pigs_Are_A_lifest
Replies
2
Views
390
Guinea_Pigs_Are_A_lifest
Guinea_Pigs_Are_A_lifest
Top