Advise and help needed please

[Valine]

Good evening everyone thank you for accepting my request to join my name is val and I am new to owning guinae pigs I bought 2 for my daughter for her birthday back in March and they are amazing friendly little fluff balls called peppa and poppy. My friend was rehoming some of her piggies a few weeks ago as she was over run she's not good at sexing them, we rehomed another girl Coffee and was told by an apparent expert I can just put coffee in the hutch with the other two and things will be fine... Long story short I'm not sure things are fine. There's a lot of rublestrutting a lot of chacing and the 2 older piggies seem to occasionally nip out at coffee and seem to be terrorising the poor girl to the point of her hiding in the corner and wheeking whenever they approach her now.

To add to this I have recently discovered coffee is pregnant I'm assuming about 6 weeks as she's starting to show and I can fee the babies, I am worried if she has babies in the hutch with peppa and poppy they will kill the pups, I don't know what to do and no matter whoever I'm asking they keep saying ohhhh they will be fine just leave them too it.. Asi said I'm new to piggies and to now have a pregnant one who for the past 3 weeks iv been trying to make the piggies get along with each other which seems like its not going too well my anxiety is through the roof. Sorry for such a long first post but I'm a very worried piggy momma....

TThanks in advance for replys x

 

[Siikibam]

Hi there. Piggies average pregnancy can be around 72 days. So I don’t know if the pregnancy would be showing much now at 6 weeks.

When introducing a new piggy it has to be done on neutral grounds. The other two piggies will be feeling as if Coffee has invaded their territory. I would introduce them on neutral ground - hay only - and then thoroughly clean out the hutch. Also Coffee squealing is likely submission. She’s saying she understands her place in the hierarchy.

You will have to move her and babies indoors once she’s had them. Babies can’t regulate their temperature and it’s cold now (I’m assuming you’re in UK). Have a read through the threads I’ve linked below. I’ll ask your thread to be moved to the pregnancy section. All posts about Coffee should be made on this one for continuity.
This one is particularly important
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-and-nursing-diet.109377/

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/

 

[Valine]

Hi there. Piggies average pregnancy can be around 72 days. So I don’t know if the pregnancy would be showing much now at 6 weeks.

When introducing a new piggy it has to be done on neutral grounds. The other two piggies will be feeling as if Coffee has invaded their territory. I would introduce them on neutral ground - hay only - and then thoroughly clean out the hutch. Also Coffee squealing is likely submission. She’s saying she understands her place in the hierarchy.

You will have to move her and babies indoors once she’s had them. Babies can’t regulate their temperature and it’s cold now (I’m assuming you’re in UK). Have a read through the threads I’ve linked below. I’ll ask your thread to be moved to the pregnancy section. All posts about Coffee should be made on this one for continuity.
This one is particularly important
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-and-nursing-diet.109377/

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/

Thank you

The piggies are already indoors I have a hutch in living room I also still have the cage that peppa and poppy were in as babies aswell, would you suggest seperating for now and trying to reintroduce on neutral ground, would it work as they have been together for about 3, 4 weeks now.. I was going to seperate once coffee had babies for a while anyway she could be further along than I think I'm only going on what iv read online about pregnancies In guinae pigs as I said I'm new to all this wasn't expecting a pregnant piggie first time round lol xx

 

[Wiebke]

Good evening everyone thank you for accepting my request to join my name is val and I am new to owning guinae pigs I bought 2 for my daughter for her birthday back in March and they are amazing friendly little fluff balls called peppa and poppy. My friend was rehoming some of her piggies a few weeks ago as she was over run she's not good at sexing them, we rehomed another girl Coffee and was told by an apparent expert I can just put coffee in the hutch with the other two and things will be fine... Long story short I'm not sure things are fine. There's a lot of rublestrutting a lot of chacing and the 2 older piggies seem to occasionally nip out at coffee and seem to be terrorising the poor girl to the point of her hiding in the corner and wheeking whenever they approach her now.

To add to this I have recently discovered coffee is pregnant I'm assuming about 6 weeks as she's starting to show and I can fee the babies, I am worried if she has babies in the hutch with peppa and poppy they will kill the pups, I don't know what to do and no matter whoever I'm asking they keep saying ohhhh they will be fine just leave them too it.. Asi said I'm new to piggies and to now have a pregnant one who for the past 3 weeks iv been trying to make the piggies get along with each other which seems like its not going too well my anxiety is through the roof. Sorry for such a long first post but I'm a very worried piggy momma....

TThanks in advance for replys x

Hi!

For pregnancy support, please open an ongoing support thread in our specially monitored pregnancy section and take the time to read up on our comprehensive advice. Bring your pregnant sow indoors; piggies are not hardy, and the immune system of pregnant/nursing sows is on overload while babies do not yet have a working immune system. A good general diet with some extra small tweaks is key to boosting survival chances and minimising birthing risks in those areas that you can influence. You won't usually see much until 6-8 weeks depending on the size of a litter. That is also the time a vet scan or x-ray can determine a pregnancy safely.
Pregnancy & Baby Care Guide's

Guinea pigs DO NOT kill babies. That is an urban myth. What happens is generally that a distraught mother will bite deep into the flesh in a futile attempt to revive dead or dying babies of hers. Our diet recommendations and good care should help minimise the risk of dead-born or dying babies and highly stressed/neglected mothers in usually cramped hutches, which are at the bottom of these kind of horror stories that make the rounds online. it is worth taking the time to read them as we have written them specifically for owners without experience. We have left out all the plain wrong, outdated, unhelpful or misleading breeder advice and are concentrating on what you can do and should look out for.

Any introductions/bonding/re-introductions have to always happen on neutral territory (i.e. an area that is not part of any piggies' regular territory) to prevent the newbie being seen as an intruder/reacting more aggressively because they are on the back foot as an intruder into already occupied territory. Please take the time to read our very helpful bonding guide and the other links you have been given in previous posts.