Hi,
So I have 8 guinea pigs. 4 boys and 4 girls. Yesterday I had to rush my daughter to hospital and when I got home one of my boys run door had come loose and they had escaped. One of the boys had managed to get through a gap between the grass and bottoms of the girls run and had joined them in their run. The other was sat next to the girls run. How likely is it that I have 4 pregnant girls? I’m very worried as although one has previously had babies the other 3 girls haven’t and they are over 2 years old now. Is there anything I get from the vets to prevent pregnancy?
Hi!
I am very sorry for your predicament! These things always happen at the most inconvenient of times - when you are in a hurry and have your mind on other more pressing concerns... I am sure that you are going to sort out the lock on the boar's cage/hutch first thing! Anyway, I hope that your daughter is OK!
Unfortunately there is no abortion pill for guinea pigs. You have to basically start a 10 weeks pregnancy watch like good welfare standard rescues do with their own incoming sows over 4 weeks of age before they can be put up for adoption.
Your chances of a lucky escape depend on how close to a season your girls were and how long your boy has been with the girls. Sows come intp season roughly every two weeks, but the sudden presence of a boar (and their hormones) can trigger a spontaneous season a few days early; especially in younger sows so you can never quite tell. It is however rather unlikely that all sows were at that stage, and if you are lucky, none were in the critical phase.
A vet scan/x-ray at around 6-7 weeks in a sow you have specific concerns about (that is the stage when baby balls/the major weight gain normally happens) should bring you clarity.
Thankfully at 2 years of age sows are still in their natural pup bearing age, and the majority of births is going well in our forum experience even in first time mothers; the risk of complications is slowly rising but it is not yet critically so. Unlike what breeder myths suggest, it is a very gradual process that is becoming a real concerns more in older sows of 3-4 years and older. A sow is not fine to breed until 8 months and at risk of her life the day after. However, a birth can unfortunately go wrong at any time; and because of the large size of guinea pig pups, the risk is overall higher compared to medically unsupported human births (and very much so to supported ones).
Please take the time and read our comprehensive information. At the top you will find our diet advice which is crucial for minimising the risks you can influence and maximise the chances for healthy pups of an ideal size for a smooth birth.
Key is actually a good general grass (and not alfalfa hay) based diet with very little pellets and a balanced veg mix. At this time of year, fresh grass is rich in vitamin C and - if your girls are used to eating it - should be ideally part of their daily diet; because of its richness it counts towards the veg allowance rather than the hay allowance as it would in high summer or winter. Most of the nutrients are actually already covered by a good general diet and we haven't seen any difference in births from surprise babies or those on pregnancy watch. However, you can add a handful of alfalfa hay a day for any sow you suspect or know is pregnant in the last 3 weeks when the real pull on mummy's reserves happens.
Alfalfa/lucerne, which is a much richer legume and not a grass plany) is great for neglected rescue/basically fed breeder sows but in well kept pet piggies it is not as crucial as the extra amounts needed are actually already mostly provided in a good general diet and the extra amounts are truly minute! Especially with adult/older sows you do not want to end up with whopper babies that could cause problems during birth. What you are aiming for is healthy but ideal-sized babies. The health comes from your good general diet and care in the coming weeks and the ideal size from not making the mistake to panic and throw the kitchen sink at your girls!
Here is our comprehensive information. Please bookmark it and use it as a resource you dip back into as you go along. Unfortunately it is going to be a long wait with nothing showing until June at the earliest (and hopefully nothing showing at all)!
Pregnancy, Mother & Baby Care Guides
Please keep any questions, concerns and updates in the coming weeks to this dedicated ongoing support thread. This allows us to refer back and tailor any advice to your specific situation/avoid any confusion or contradictory recommendations. We are jumping between lots of different threads in a day, never mind a couple of months so it helps both parties to have all the relevant information together and ready to access again for best support. Thank you!
