Sexing rescue piggies

[bletulle91]

I work at a vet clinic (for cats and dogs) and one of our old employees found about 20 guinea pigs that were dumped on a trail that she goes running at. I told her to catch what she could and bring them to the clinic and I would figure it out.

Long story short, I ended up with 11 guinea pigs, 3 of which were heavily pregnant. I separated the 2 I knew were males as soon as we got them home, but some of the teenagers have me confused and we now have 8 babies that are 2 weeks old. I took pictures of everyone except the confirmed makes and mommas. If you have any insight on what the rest are it would be so helpful so I can pull any males that are hiding and know which babies will need to be separated when that time comes. Please let me know if you need any better angles for anyone. Some were not the most cooperative lol. Thank you so much!

I'll have to attach the rest of the pictures in a comment

 

[bletulle91]

The remaining photos

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

I so hate piggy dumping. So good that you are helping to save as many as you can. Sadly, it can sometimes take an extra generation to get the mess fully sorted.

These are the genders I am rather sure of with just a look on the outside:
Boy: 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Girl: 10, 12, 13, Crackers
Would prefer a closer look at the slit: 1, 3, 4 - I suspect that 4 is a girl and the other two more likely boys but I am just going by gut instinct, and that is not good enough. You may confirm my guess with the hands-on test.

Normally, I prefer to take my time but you will need results as fast as possible, so I would recommend that as the next step you feel all babies for the presence or absence of a tiny penis shaft under the skin, about the size of a broken basmati rice corn. In babies this is often the gender clincher but it is the one sexing check we cannot do ourselves.
Start with the boys - you should be able to feel the penis shaft in all of them. It is tiny but distinctive. If you wish to, do the dads first - you cannot miss theirs.
Then do the girls, they should all be soft in that area (the same as their mamas).
Lastly tackle the ones which are not quite textbook and see whether you can get further by feeling.
This picture here shows you exactly where to feel. The penis shaft is tiny but distinctive.

This should give you a double confirmation, so you can be sure of the gender.

I sincerely hope that this helps you?

You can for the time being keep dads and sons together in a larger group if they go together without fights and then see which are pairing up best if you are looking at finding homes for them all. The girls all go in one big group.

Any babies that are still doubtful we can then have a closer look at the inside of the slit and as a last resort whether you can express a penis by gently pushing the penis shaft toward the opening between the leg (not always possible with babies).

I think that this is the best way forward to get results for as many of them as quickly as possible. Sexing is unfortunately not always as easy as a quick look. The diversity is much larger than textbook pictures, as you have found out yourself.

 

[bletulle91]

Thank you for your input. My friend that helped yesterday is going to try to come back over today to get some more pictures and to help try to palpate the penis ridges.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your input. My friend that helped yesterday is going to try to come back over today to get some more pictures and to help try to palpate the penis ridges.

It really helps if you are two people - one to hold the babies and one for the feelie bit. It's helped me with sexing my own babies (all from already pregnant sows). If you still have concerns, then we can do more gender sign spotting.
The conformation of the inside of the slit is usually much clearer than the outside but thankfully the majority of your babies is pretty textbook.

And yes, I am willing to give a second opinion on any remaining babies.

We are here for any questions.

PS: We also have the most extensive information resource on guinea pigs, the link which you may want to bookmark. Our guides are based on our nearly 20 years of collective forum experience and literally tens and tens of thousands of questions and own personal long term owners experiences. We have tested all the tips and tricks that still make the rounds online as to whether they really work or not. The guides format allows us to update and add to our collection.
Comprehensive Owners' Practical and Supportive Information Collection

 

[bletulle91]

Unfortunately my friend wasn't able to come help, she will this weekend though. We'll get some better pictures of some of them. 6 & 8 you thought were males. I went back to check them a couple days ago and I couldn't feel a penis ridge (they're also starting to get bellies on them like they may be pregnant). I was able to feel a penis ridge on one of the babies. So I'll post pictures of them again too. Is it better to leave the slit natural or try to spread it a little when checking?

 

[Wiebke]

Unfortunately my friend wasn't able to come help, she will this weekend though. We'll get some better pictures of some of them. 6 & 8 you thought were males. I went back to check them a couple days ago and I couldn't feel a penis ridge (they're also starting to get bellies on them like they may be pregnant). I was able to feel a penis ridge on one of the babies. So I'll post pictures of them again too. Is it better to leave the slit natural or try to spread it a little when checking?

Please spread it as the slit inside is a lot more gender differentiated. How old are your babies now?

Boars start making babies from 3 weeks onward (but the really big ones can catch their mothers out at day 16, hence our weight qualifier of 250g) and sows have their first season typically between week 4-6.