3 Points To Think About Before You Breed Cavies

Not every cavy enthusiast wants to try their hand at breeding guinea pigs. After all, it can be a difficult, time consuming experience, and certainly isn't going to make you rich. On the other hand, it brings other rewards in the form of a strong bond with your cavies, and a fantastic sense of satisfaction.

If you would like to try your hand at rearing cavies, it is crucial that you think long and hard before jumping straight in. Here is a list of a few essential things to consider:

The Age Of Your Guinea Pigs

You must only mate your animals once they've matured to the proper age. Mating them too early can cause complications down the line, which can put your pets at risk.

A good rule of thumb is to wait until your sows are 5 months old before mating them. Pregnancy can be particularly tiring after 10 months, and also brings various complications, so this should be considered to be the maximum age. Boars can be mated from 4 months old.

Mating, Pregnancy, And The Birth

It is important to keep your boars and sows separate until they are old enough to breed. Once they do, you can just put them in the same cage. You should keep males apart, as they can become territorial and begin to fight, but you can put more than one sow in with each boar.

You can tell when a sow is pregnant because she will no longer be interested in the boar. At this stage you should move the mother to a cage with no males, so that she can give birth in peace. You must give her a cage big enough to hold the sow and all of her babies.

Looking After The Pups

An average litter contains around 3 or 4 pups, but they can be as big as 7, so ensure you have plenty of cage space to hold mother and babies. They require enough space to run around and develop into healthy adults.

Occasionally a sow will reject one of her babies. In these situations, it becomes your responsibility to rear it. Although this can be a difficult and demanding task, you will develop a very special bond with this baby, making it a very satisfying experience.

By: Pete L Matthews

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Once the pups are born, you'll need to feed them properly. Make sure you give your guinea pig vegetables on a regular basis, to help protect against vitamin c deficiency. To find out more about these and other guinea pig foods, visit Pete's website, where he shares almost 20 years experience of owning cavies.