can the father be with the babies

Question
Can a female guinea pig be with the male right away after giving birth? I took her away from him. I was afraid that maybe he would eat the babies. If i can not put him back with her and his new babies when would it be ok to do so?

Answer
Hi Crystal,

It would be very unusual for a male to eat the babies, but he might accidently trample on them. Most importantly, he would have tried to mate with the female straight after she gave birth, and this is not recommended as two pregnancies so close together can result in complications. So you did the right thing in taking him away.

You will need to keep the male away for quite a while, as it would not be a good idea to breed him and the female again for another four months. The best thing to do will be to wait until the babies are weaned, and put a baby boy in with him so he isn't lonely. This can be tricky - so ask me for more advice nearer the time.

The babies will drink from their mother until they are three weeks old, but they will also eat solid food so make sure you put extra veggies, hay, and dried mix in the cage. At around two weeks old you will be able to tell which are boys and which are girls, so you will know who can move in with dad, and who'll be staying with mum. The males become sexually mature at four weeks of age, so you'll need to take them away from their mum and sisters between three and four weeks of age.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions, just ask!

Jenny.