Suzygpr
Senior Guinea Pig
A family of 7 came in recently comprising of mum, dad and 5 babies which were due to grow in number in the next couple of weeks. Mum was mated at a very young age and gave birth to a litter of five, a lot of strain for her little body. Sadly her mate was left in the cage with her when she gave birth and consequently she became pregnant again the same day. Even more strain for her as she was feeding such a lot of babies and forming the next litter too. She hadn't grown much since she first became pregnant as can be seen from her photo as she's not much bigger than her 8 week old daughter. Although she looks large is the photo below she grew to the size of a cushion with a little piggie head on it as the babies do most of their growing during the last two weeks and she grew too large to move her for more photos. I hadn't lost a female during or after birth but I knew the odds were stacked against this poor mum having a healthy and successful outcome.
Dad, Mick and his 4 baby boys
Melanie and her daughter Blanche
Dad, Mick is still at the rescue with one of his sons, Dick. They are just ready and waiting for their forever home to come forward. The other three boys have already been rehomed. The only daughter, Blanche, gave birth to a pair of big healthy girls and they are also hoping for the new home soon.
Melanie went on to give birth to a very large litter of seven, sadly as can happen with a large number of babies coming so quickly, she didn't have enough time to clean each one properly before the next one was born and two didn't get the sack over their faces removed in time and perished. I get up through the night to try to be with the mums when they give birth so I can help them clean the babies, this mum must waited until I had just gone to bed as the babies were clean and dry by the time I came to see her 2 hrs later. The very good news is that mum looked to be coping well and the babies were a good size and very active. I had real fears for this mum after all the stress her little body had been through.
Melanie coped amazingly well and the babies thrived.
One of the baby boys, Jones, is partnered up with Herbert, the other, Jackson, is with JohnnyPig waiting for his new partner as part of the Boar-Dating Service. Two of the girls have been rehomed with an old lady pig who came looking for new friends, leaving Melanie with Geri.
I'm very happy to say these girls have now been rehomed! A family that have homed from me in the past decided it was time to get more piggies after losing the last of their pigs a few weeks ago and hated the house being so quiet. Melanie and Geri are going to be spoilt silly and I'm absolutely thrilled for them to be going to such a loving home.
For a such a young piggie to have given birth to 12 babies in such a short amount of time is frightening and yet she is one of the sweetest and most trusting of guinea pigs. Despite being used and disposed of by their original owners they are all happy healthy pigs with a bright future. Very different from the one in store for them where they were, as the intended route for the babies was the local petshop who didn't want the babies as they were mainly white with pink eyes. The only market for them was as reptile food so they were placed in the free-ads where I saw them and arranged for them to come in.
So it's goodbye to my miracle mum, she will always have a very special place in my heart.
Suzy
http://guinearescue.blogspot.com/
Dad, Mick and his 4 baby boys
Melanie and her daughter Blanche
Dad, Mick is still at the rescue with one of his sons, Dick. They are just ready and waiting for their forever home to come forward. The other three boys have already been rehomed. The only daughter, Blanche, gave birth to a pair of big healthy girls and they are also hoping for the new home soon.
Melanie went on to give birth to a very large litter of seven, sadly as can happen with a large number of babies coming so quickly, she didn't have enough time to clean each one properly before the next one was born and two didn't get the sack over their faces removed in time and perished. I get up through the night to try to be with the mums when they give birth so I can help them clean the babies, this mum must waited until I had just gone to bed as the babies were clean and dry by the time I came to see her 2 hrs later. The very good news is that mum looked to be coping well and the babies were a good size and very active. I had real fears for this mum after all the stress her little body had been through.
Melanie coped amazingly well and the babies thrived.
One of the baby boys, Jones, is partnered up with Herbert, the other, Jackson, is with JohnnyPig waiting for his new partner as part of the Boar-Dating Service. Two of the girls have been rehomed with an old lady pig who came looking for new friends, leaving Melanie with Geri.
I'm very happy to say these girls have now been rehomed! A family that have homed from me in the past decided it was time to get more piggies after losing the last of their pigs a few weeks ago and hated the house being so quiet. Melanie and Geri are going to be spoilt silly and I'm absolutely thrilled for them to be going to such a loving home.
For a such a young piggie to have given birth to 12 babies in such a short amount of time is frightening and yet she is one of the sweetest and most trusting of guinea pigs. Despite being used and disposed of by their original owners they are all happy healthy pigs with a bright future. Very different from the one in store for them where they were, as the intended route for the babies was the local petshop who didn't want the babies as they were mainly white with pink eyes. The only market for them was as reptile food so they were placed in the free-ads where I saw them and arranged for them to come in.
So it's goodbye to my miracle mum, she will always have a very special place in my heart.
Suzy
http://guinearescue.blogspot.com/
Poor mum having back-to-back pregnancies! x) x)
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