My guinea pig gave birth and she ate her babies. Is there something wrong?

[cantfindmysocks]

I really don't know what to do. I know it's not common for them to do this so what would make her do it? How can I check her to make sure there weren't any complications? I don't know her age but I know she's young bc she's small. She also looks skinny now and not in a "just gave birth" kind of way. When I got her she was pregnant (that was before I knew) so I don't if she was like this before. She eats her veggies and her hay fine but she doesn't always eat her pellets and sometimes I don't even give her her pellets bc they're still there from the day before. Should I still give her any amount of alfalfa hay even though she won't be nursing?

 

[bpatters]

How do you know she ate the babies? Was there bloody evidence that she had given birth? Were there any parts of the pups left?

 

[cantfindmysocks]

Sorry I forgot to put that part in. She only ate parts of them around their heads.

 

[magicpiggie]

Could it be possible she was licking them?

 

[bpatters]

Sometimes a very young sow will appear to "eat" the pups. Most people think it's an attempt to open the amniotic sac that goes awry, and it seems to happen more often on premature pups that wouldn't have lived anyway. They don't move, so the mom doesn't get any hints that she's biting the pups. And you're right, it's very uncommon.

She should be getting the same food that any young pig would get. Unlimited quality, plain hay pellets (we recommend Oxbow or KMS Hayloft), unlimited long strand grass hay (timothy, meadow, orchard, blue, brome), and roughly a cup of vegetables, of which red or green leaf lettuce and bell pepper should be the staples. Young pigs need an extra source of calcium until they're about six months old. They can get that by either alfalfa pellets, or some alfalfa hay to supplement the grass hay, or by a couple of sprigs of parsley per day.

 

[cantfindmysocks]

One of them looked like she was maybe being rough while licking but part of the other one's jaw was gone.

 

[cantfindmysocks]

Sometimes a very young sow will appear to "eat" the pups. Most people think it's an attempt to open the amniotic sac that goes awry, and it seems to happen more often on premature pups that wouldn't have lived anyway. They don't move, so the mom doesn't get any hints that she's biting the pups. And you're right, it's very uncommon.

I wasn't there for the birth but from the parts that were gone make it look like that's what happened. I still have a lot of alfalfa so I will mix that in with her Timothy. How can I get her to eat her pellets? She doesn't eat them that often and it's concerning me.

 

[bpatters]

What kind of pellets are they?

 

[cantfindmysocks]

They're Oxbow pellets.

 

[magicpiggie]

Stupid question but: Are the pups alive?

 

[cantfindmysocks]

They are not alive

 

[Comely Guineas]

Were they alive before she started to 'eat' them? or were they stillborn?

 

[bpatters]

They were almost certainly stillborn. If they were alive, they'd have moved away from her after they were bitten.

 

[librarychick]

Sometimes this happens with young/first time mums in all sorts of mammals. I foster pregnant cats and it's something I've seen happen with a stillborn or malformed newborns.

I'm glad your girl made it through the delivery ok. She'll be fine -despite being a herbivore this is a natural behavior, and won't harm her in any way. It is upsetting to see, and I've very sorry you had to deal with it. Keep a close eye on her for a few days, treat yourself kindly as well, and it'll be fine from now on.

*hugs*

As far as the pellets, you'll have more luck getting an answer if you post in the food forum - but I've had good luck with chopping bits of something my pigs do like up very tiny and mixing them into the pellets. You could also try using a food processor to break the pellets up, soaking them in water, and adding a bit of pureed pepper or fruit to sweeten it. Once they get the taste of it they tend to do ok, but getting past their initial "No! It's poison and I WON'T eat it!" they get the hang of it.

 

[TurdineBaby]

I was looking after a pregnant sow once. The situation you went through was possibly the same as mine, a miscarriage. The sow prematurely gave birth and the babies appeared eaten. They were hairless and missing some body parts (it appeared). There were five of the poor things.
The mother was fine, the babies were buried and I rehomed the mother.
But from what your describing, it sounds like a similar situation.

 

[cantfindmysocks]

I haven't had access to the Internet for a couple days, but thank you sosososo much to everybody who commented with their help! It's very much appreciated

 

[cantfindmysocks]

(forgot to put an update in the other comment) She is doing well. She's still very active and talkative. She's wheeking a bit more now bc she's hungry I think so I will definitely be trying things to get her to eat her pellets.