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I think she is worn out

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piggybaker

piggybaker

Adult Guinea Pig
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The mother pig and babies i am foster in at the moment, something odd is happening i have never witnessed before, The mum is curling up similar to a squirrel and going to sleep,

I removed the babies this morning about 10.30ish to give her a rest, she spent about half an hour fretting as to where the Abie's where but then settled down and had a good hour at least nap.

I have just put the babies back in with her and they are suckling off her again, from what a gather from Button's these babies where 2 weeks when i got them so they are now 4 weeks ish, do you think mum is just tired and should i remove the babies now?
 
One of mine curls up like a squirell to sleep, he's a boy and just a bit old bless him. Do you think its just the way she sleeps or does she seem a bit depressed? How many babies are there, maybe leave one with mum for company and take the others out?
 
i think she had 4 but i believe there where problems with the others, she came to me with two, she just appears tired and sleeping, with her eyes closed something i didn't think guineas did that, well not with out another guinea around
 
All mine sleep with their eyes closed :) and one of them lives alone, the one who curls up :) i think if it were me i'd leave her for a bit and see if she gets any worse but i dont have experience with mums and babies sorry! x
 
yes, but they seem to be pestering her all the time, and she gobbles greens down like its going out of fashion, so she has a good supply of milk,
 
Awwww bless ;D

Does she have lots of milk coming out of her or is she dry ? ? If you dont know then maybe theres no milk but they keep trying to get some :P
 
no theres plenty of milk i have checked her myself as the babies where on her for some time so when they finished i gave her a squeeze and she had nice stuff there
 
Hi,
I would certainly be giving Mum time out with another adult. I usually put a castrated boar in with mine as they are great with the babies but a friendly sow is good too :) I'm sure you know that boys should be taken out now too.
So, I would gradually be making the mum and pups spend more time apart and getting mum inroduced to an adult pig. Perhapsalso give her more feeds a day and some of those without the babies, so good food and more frequently, perhaps four fresh food feeds instead of two. :)

Four wheeks is quite 'old' for a baby guinea who would have been weaned from mum in the wild, perhaps she just doesn't have the'energy' to do the weaning at the moment?!

Are the babes in good condition?
 
Sorry just seen they are both sows, still try the time apart though-gradually :)
 
yes the babies are nice and plump, i have no concerns about them at all, just mum, i do have a friendly sow i could pop in but i only have a Nero 3 cage, that could be a bit squished, as they are living indoors at the mo until they have enough strength and fat, enough to live in the shed with the others,

do you think it is to early to take away the babes?


god i just had a horrible thought, supposing it is the wood shavings?
 
Change her bedding then, are they scented? I wouldn't go near them I'm afraid :-\

If you take the babies out and put in a sow then as long as there ok space isn't an issue for half an hour or so I don't think. Better to be happy than have lots of space with no friends :)

Just take the babies out gradually. I usually leave mine in till 6 wheeks (sows) but they spend a lot of time away from mum and mum has a friend in with her. I usually put a castrated boar with any preggy sows that come in because the combination seems to work well (but only if mum gets on with him ::) ). So after the birth there are 2 adult pigs.
 
yes will take them off the shavings, was just using it as i had run out of news paper used the last of it yesterday morning so they have only just been on saw dust for over just 24 hours,
 
Saw dust is good actually, but newspaper, no, because it can poison them.. because they chew it, the ink is bad for them.... I've always used sawdust... All mine are healthy and happy!
 
Sawdust isn't recommended, it is too fine and as guinea pigs like to forage they could inhale the particles and become ill. newspaper is fine the ink doesn't poison them mine have been on newspaper underneath fleece and it has never caused a problem.
 
I'd never use sawdust again. It causes all sorts of problems! I wish pet shops would stop selling it. Newspaper is perfectly fine. It wont harm them if they eat it.
 
actually it is horse bedding, big flakes, it is something i only use in an emergancy,
 
Hi Emma,

Oh yeah I read you had them on shavings actually I have a huge bag left but can't touch them because I get blisters even when wearing gloves. It's just when Giddy mentioned sawdust, I just wouldn't want anyone to see the post and think it was ok. Maybe it is recommended in other countries, I don't know. We all do things differently I guess. :)

I can't see me getting on with Sawdust, I think my nose is suffering with the readigrass! ::)
 
Well i have guineas come and stay at the hotel i run and rabbits too and although i say to my customer not to keep them on woodshavings it seems to be what they want to use
 
:-\ maybe it's the cheaper option for them? I used them when I didn't know any better but upon coming here there are loads of alternatives. I used to get excited by a bag of megazorb! ;D

Still, it's good to try and educate, if people don't take that advice on board then we can't do anything about it. :)
 
sounds right to me, What is this megazorb stuff you lot keep going on about, I have NEVER seen it.,

and also mum seems to be much perkier today, think i will remove babies again this afternonn for a couple of hours give her a break
 
WOW, lots of you dont support sawdust, well, all I know is that the ink in the newspaper (by the way I'm an australian) caused death for poor old fluffy, Neridas (freind) Guiena pig... so i dont use it, saw dust we have all been using, Neridas bred them for over 4 years and has never had a problem with the freshly made sawdust at PetStock PetShop... but, your right, we all have different oppinions on things. ;)
 
WOW, lots of you dont support sawdust, well, all I know is that the ink in the newspaper (by the way I'm an australian) caused death for poor old fluffy, Neridas (freind) Guiena pig... so i dont use it, saw dust we have all been using, Neridas bred them for over 4 years and has never had a problem with the freshly made sawdust at PetStock PetShop... but, your right, we all have different oppinions on things. ;)
 
sorry i posted to, the computer mucked up, so i posted 2 by accident! :(
 
Just for reference, I rang all the major UK newspapers to inquire about the inks they used before I got my pigs. I only got answers from the Guardian, the Independent and the Evening Standard (so also the Metro) and they all use vegetable or soy based inks which are non toxic and animal friendly, much like those used on Chubes. Also my local paper the Farnham Herald uses soy ink if that helps anyone. :)
 
I do not think lead based printing ink has been used for a few years now,so all newspapers should be safe.
 
Peggy eats tons of newspaper if I don't keep an eye on her, and she is fine. She'd rather eat newspaper than hay or veggies. ::)
 
Hi them, i hadn't seen this post til now. poor lily. i did say when i gave them to you that we were a bit suspicious as to how good a mum she was; just to update you all, she originally had 4, she rejected one at about 10 days, i took him on and he did really well for a couple of days but sadly died. She then rejected another at 2 weeks, luckily he or she was a bit stronger and is still doing ok. So when I handed them to them there was lily and the 2 babies. Its strange because mistle seems the total opposite. my minis are 3 weeks old now, and seem to be completely weaned. mum hasn't shown any milk for the past week really, despite a really healthy veg intake. the babies all seem content on pig food and veg. guess sometimes its just the individual sows.
I hope lily is feeling better, George my foster boar sometimes curls up too and i have seen some of the others do it. Once again a big thank you them for taking these guys on, and i think you have now found a home for the 2 little girls.
let me know how lily is xx jess
 
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