young mother

Question
OK, I have been giving the pregnant sow
"check ups" (holding her on my lap seeing if the babies are moving around & looking her over) & she does fine with this, I was wondering, do the babies start to move around less as it gets closer to the due date?
Also, she hasn't been eating that much.
(I mean she is eating, just not as much as my other pigs) Is this normal or OK?
She has water & food accessible to her at all times, & we give her veggies, alfalfa & timothy (which she seems to like better) she also has a mineral block.

Thanks from me & Pudding,

Dani

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Followup To

Question -
Hi Kat,

My question is about the care of very young pregnant guinea pigs.
We have a guinea we got from a pet store on Sept. 1st,(she was housed with 2 males)
she is 2&1/2 months old right now,
& from what I already know,
I'm guessing she is due in about 3 weeks.  I think 3 months old is awfully young to have a 1st litter, she's pretty small too,
& I can feel 2-3, (maybe even more)
pups inside her. Is there any certan food or fruits & veggies we can feed her, any vitamin supplements we can give her to help her to have an easy & sucsesful 2nd half of pregnancy,
& delivery? Any other advice for her care
would be much appreciated!
Thank you!

Dani


Answer -
Hello Dani,

Your right, she is a bit young. It's not the best situation, but in piggies too young is better than too old. Hopefully everything will go smoothly (and likely it will). Kale is excellent for pregnant piggies because it has vitamin c and calcium, both things they need more of when they are pregnant. Switch her to alphalpha hay if you haven't already which she should stay on until the pups are weaned and actually, at her age she should still be on alphalpha anyway. The pups should stay on alphalpha until they are a few months old. Try not to handle her too much after she starts showing (which she should be if she's due in 3 weeks). Try to keep her stress level at a minimum. If you have children, stress to them how important it is not to make any loud startling noises in the room the piggy is in. Try to keep her in a room where people will be but out of a direct traffic flow (not by a door in that case). Make sure she has plenty to eat and drink. Extra vitamin c rich veggies and fruits are important right now. Also, read all you can about pregnancy before she delievers so you can be ready if there is trouble. I'll give you some links to get you started. If possible, try to have someone stay with her at all times until she delievers, that way someone will be there if there is trouble. Unfortunantly for most people that's not possible because of work or other responsiblities but if it is, it's advisable. I'm going to send you a link about a very distressing birth. This is not intended to scare you but gives useful advice for helping mom if there is trouble and taking care of pups if mom doesn't break the sacks or they aren't breathing. I'll seperate it from the other links and you can decide if you want to read it or not. Good luck! I hope everything goes smoothly for you and your little girl.

http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html

http://www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/breeding.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/2517/pregnant.htm

http://www.lienanimal.com/z_guineapreg.pdf

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/pets/guinea-pig-faq/section-8.html

Little Soli's Story
http://www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs/breeding.html

-kkat

Answer
Hello Dani,

Typically the pups will move less very close to kindling (delivery). They get larger and don't have quite as much room. As long as they are still moving, they are ok. Sometimes they will seem to stop a few hours before delivery. It's normal for her to eat less, but the food still needs to be available. If she has cagemates, make sure they are not eating her share before she can. Later in pregnancy, the pups push against their tummies and they can't eat as much at a time. It sounds like the time is getting very near. Good luck. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a smooth delivery.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs