A huge thank you to Izzy for all the work you've done in putting this article together for me. Your help is really appreciated!!
Hand rearing baby guinea pigs is something that anyone planning on breeding their pigs should have some knowledge of. There are any number of things that can go wrong in pregnancy and birth, and some sows may not accept their young – either just the runt or the whole litter.
Is it neccesary?
The first thing you need to think about when you have a litter born and aren’t sure whether the mother can look after them or not is if you really do need to hand rear them yourself, or whether the sow will be alright if you leave her with the babies for a few hours. I suggest getting advice from an experienced breeder or maybe a good small animal vet, if you’re not sure. Sometimes sows may die during birth, and in these cases, sadly, you won’t have to make a decision. If you have another sow with young babies, it’s usually far better to try to persuade her to adopt the orphans rather than hand rearing them, but if this isn’t possible then hand rearing will be your only option.
How to Feed -
Feeding baby guinea pigs is, I think, something that gets easier with practice! For the first couple of days it is best to feed them using a teaspoon – I put a bit of milk on it and tip it so that they can lap it up. When they are two or three days old I start feeding them with a small bottle. You can get these bottles at most pet shops; they are the ones that can be used for small puppies and kittens. You need to make a small hole in the tip of the teat with a needle, and test it on your finger. The milk shouldn’t run out too easily, but when you pull the teat it should come out. Piggies sometimes take a day or two to get used to drinking from a bottle, but keep trying and they’ll get there in the end! Tip the bottle but don’t squeeze too hard, it’s better to let them suck so they don't choke. You will have to give them quite a bit of encouragement to begin with, but once they’ve got the idea they’ll be pulling at the bottle before you tip it upside down! Make sure that they don’t suck air – when the bottle’s empty take it away immediately. When a feed has been finished, clean the bottle thoroughly with a bottle brush (bottle brushes usually come with the bottles) and hot water, and store safely until the next feed.
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Cleanup -
I feed baby pigs every two hours to begin with, little and often. After every feed you need to firmly wipe their bottom (I use a Q-tip) to encourage them to pass faeces. This is what the mother is doing when you see her vigorously licking her young’s rear end, and as you are their ‘mother’ you have to do this too. You also need to clean their mouths (use a warm moist washcloth, they are much too small and sensitive for a normal bath) and sometimes coats, as feeding can be quite mucky!
What to Feed -
Now, for what to feed! I have always used evaporated milk in the past; it can be bought in cans from supermarkets quite cheaply. This works well for me, but it isn’t the only option – there are various powdered milk formulas available in pet shops and from vets that are suitable for piggies as well as other young animals. Do not use ordinary cows’ milk. As well as their milk feeds, the babies should have dry food, hay, greens and water available at all times (see the Nutrition page.) They will start to nibble on everything within just a few hours of being born, and they should always have something available for when you’re not around. I give mine plenty of hay, and a small bowl of guinea pig mix. Greens should be introduced slowly, very small amounts at first which you can build up on as they grow. Like adult pigs, you can give them a water bottle, but you might need to help them out while they’re learning to use it – they would usually see their mother drinking from it and copy her. I just use my fingers to get water out, and they soon realised that something must be happening, so they have a go.
Other necessities -
Another thing that you will need to provide for the babies when they don’t have a mother is warmth. They would usually sit under their mother and share her body heat, so you have to provide something similar. I put a hot water bottle wrapped in a pillow case and a towel (the pillow case is just for if they manage to burrow under the towel, so they don’t burn touch the rubber and burn themselves) at one end of their cage. I also drape another towel over the same end of the cage, to help keep the heat in, and put a small cuddly toy or ‘sock pig’ on the hot water bottle for them to snuggle up to.
Interaction -
Interaction with you will be very important for the first few weeks of the hand reared pigs’ lives. Try to spend all the time you can with them, feeding, playing and keeping warm. Baby piggies seem to feel safe when they’re cupped inside their human mum’s hands, and you might find yourself having to keep still so you don’t wake them up! Hand reared pigs tend to lose some of the fear of humans that most guineas have. They’re friendly and love a cuddle, but that does not mean that you should ever hand rear a pig that has a healthy, capable piggy mother, as they are always better off with their own mum. If you can, introduce your babies to some friendly older pigs while they’re young and let them spend some time together, they can help teach the youngsters what being a guinea pig is about!
Piggies Izzy has raised - I have had to hand rear two litters in the seven years that I have been keeping and breeding cavies; the first was a litter of two, one boar, Mango, and one sow, Melon, as their mother had a very bad case of mites and was unable to look after them herself. The second was a litter of five little Rex, Tinkerbell, Smeegles, Gandalf, Hagrid and Jellylegs. Their mother wouldn’t accept them, and was aggressive towards them, so I had to intervene. Jellylegs died shortly after birth, after we had tried everything we could think of to revive him. The other four were fine for a week or so, and then Tinkerbell, the most runty of the four, died after a few trips to the vet. The other three were fine until it came to moving Smeegles and Gandalf out to the shed – they didn’t make it either, and I’m still not sure why. It was awful to lose them after weeks of caring for them. Hagrid, however, is still alive and well, living with Emma up the road.
Hand rearing pigs is time consuming and often frustrating, but when, a year later, you have a lovely, healthy adult pig who loves human company, it will be well worth the care and effort!