Please move them into the coldest room in your house first if they come from straight outside and then slowly get them to their final destination. Temperature jumps that are too large and sudden can kill! However, in this cold weather, the pups and mum should be in the warmth and not go outside again until the spring.
A sow comes into season within hours of giving birth. You will have to assume that she is pregnant again and you will have to really take good care of her as back-to-back prenancies are very hard on sows, especially if they come on top of a large litter! The chances that things go wrong for her and a second litter are much higher.
You will also have to separate any baby boars at three weeks old or about 8 1/2 ounces of weight to avoid brother/sister pregnancies. The earliest documented sibling pregnancy is 24 days.
You can handle the pups from day one. They should be active from the beginning and have their eyes open. it is important that you weigh them. The ideal weight is 70-100g, although it is often lower in bigger litters. Pups under 50g and in large litters need extra feed. Most rescues on here put in a plate with wholemeal breadcubes soaked in full fat goats milk. Alternatively, mushed good quality hay based guinea pig pellets will do. Any pups under 50g will need hand feeding, little but often as much around the day as you can provide. Please weigh mum and pups daily during the nursing period to make sure that all are thriving.
Mum will still need double the amount of vitamin C and extra calcium for the pups' bones, ideally in form of veg like peppers and broccoli and alfalfa hay.
Here are links to the best medical website for guinea pigs for more information. You can safely assume that the vet's receptionist has no idea of guinea pigs!
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html, also links faq and labor
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html#pups
http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm
Unless you have a
minimum of 1 square metre
per boar , I would not try and reintroduce daddy with another stable boar group. He will not like being demoted to bachelor status and you can well end with a lot of single boars that won't tolerate each other if things go really haywire!
There is a very good chance that with six pups, you have got some baby boars. They can move in with their daddy after three weeks and one can stay on as his companion.
If you need help with rehoming all your babies to good and home checked homes, we are willing to put you in contact with a reputable rescue.
