Breeding a cavy should never be taken lightly. These are animals that have long gestations and deliver large pups. It is a common misconception that cavies are easy to breed. Easy to mate, certainly, but the care for a pregnant sow is something that requires commitment and caution. My outline of breeding will be brief, as I believe that the breeding process should be undertaken only if one is fully aware of the risks it entails for the sow, and the responsibility one takes when the pups are brought into the world. The responsibility you hold means continually increasing your education on the subject. Besides this, in many countries there are homeless cavies that exist in massive numbers overcrowding shelters and for the large part, ending up abused or neglected, or on death row. Asides from that, when a pregnant sow is put through stress of any kind, including cleaning the cage close to delivery, she can get a condition called Pregnancy Toxemia which sends the sow into a downward spiral and eventually shuts down her entire body. You lose both the sow and the babies which is unfortunately the outcome of a large proportion of Toxemia cases. If the sow dies during delivery, you will have orphaned pups which are hard enough for the sow herself to rear. Pups do survive when hand reared, but there are many cases when the baby seems to be thriving only to take a turn for the worst. If a sow rejects her litter you will have to hand rear them. If she has complications with her delivery a Vet trip is a must. Vets can cost large amounts of money, especially when treating a sow in labor. Is breeding something you can really afford? Gestation/Labor A sow's gestation goes for anywhere between 63 and 72 days. As a general rule of thumb, a sow with a larger litter will deliver closer to 63 days, and a sow with a smaller litter (say 1 or 2) will deliver closer to 72 days gestation. A sow will generally go into labor for only a short period of time before she delivers. She will not take more than half an hour to deliver the pups. If your sow is straining for long periods of time with no babies appearing there is something wrong and she should be taken to a Cavy Savvy Vet immediately. Once the babies are born, the sow will clean and nuzzle the babies and sever the umbilical cord. She will also eat the afterbirth to stimulate milk production which will occur a number of hours afterwards. It is best to leave the sow to her business unless your interference is absolutely necessary (ie. the sow not removing the sac from the baby). Pups For the most part, pups will not need assistance as the sow will look after them. In the event that the sow has a large litter of 6 to 8 pups, a “Nanny” sow can be added to take the load off your sow. Getting the sow out for regular cuddles will also give her a much needed rest. Pups are mobile a few hours after birth and should be able to eat solid foods (well, nibble!) and can be weaned at 4-5 weeks. Boars (males) should be removed at 4 weeks to prevent impregnating his mother or sisters. Sows can be left in with their mother until removing them is necissary. Hand Rearing If you need to hand rear pups for any reason, you are taking on a huge commitment. When the pups survive it is most certainly worth it, but it can be a long and sometimes disappointing effort. In my experience, I’ve only ever hand reared one premature pup weighing just 40g at birth. He wasn’t a very healthy pup at all, and passed away a week into hand rearing him. However, I did a lot of research for this pup and came to the following conclusions: The first thing to keep in mind is that a Cavy’s digestive system is not able to digest Cow’s Milk properly so any formula that recommends this as part of the recipe should be thrown out. It is not a good start for any pup. Now, I’ve been told that many people (including Guinea Lynx) suggest a Pellet Slurry for babies. This is not advisable again, due to the digestive abilities of the baby. When the pup gets to an age where solid foods are readily taken in, Slurry will supplement that baby more efficiently than a formula. Young pups should be put on a formula made for baby animals. I use Di-Vetelact which is fantastic as it’s suited to baby animals including a dilution scale matched to weight. Being in Australia, Critical Care was not available to me which I’ve heard is a fantastic feed for pups. It is manufactured by the Oxbow Company and available in the UK, but I’m not sure about the US. Many Pig Guru’s recommend this for hand rearing so maybe it’s worth a try. Feeding the Pup The baby should be fed every one to two hours for the first few days then every two to three hours until the end of two weeks. If your baby is still strong after this time you can do one or two feeds during the night instead of every three hours. At this point you can assess whether or not to switch to Pellet Slurry. If the baby takes food like hay and pellets by himself he may be ready to move on to the Slurry. Many people use eye droppers for infant cavies, while others use a tea spoon. Whichever way suits your pup and gets him fed is fine. Just be sure not to get any fluid in his lungs as this can cause a quick onset of Pneumonia which is almost certainly fatal. Further reading: Breeding... Seagulls Guinea Pig Compendium - Breeding The Cavy Spirit - Breeding Guinea Lynx - Breeding Further reading: Hand Rearing... Seagulls Guinea Pig Compendium - Formulas Guinea Lynx – Hand Rearing Back to Basic Care  |
