Breeding!

Question
I have 2 pigs and am going to breed them, but first i have some questions
1.can the baby males go in with their father at the right age?
2. can the female babes go with their mom?
3.is there a special BREEDING diet!?

THanx (please help)

Answer
Why do you want to breed?

There are inherent risks involved in breeding and there are too many homeless guinea pigs in shelters and rescues. Many are euthanized every year.

Please read these websites and make an informed decision:

http://www.cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm
http://www.cavyspirit.com/responsiblebreeder.htm
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/breeding.html

What breed are both guinea pigs? Do you know their histories? Are you sure they are not roans so you won't end up with lethal whites? Are you sure they do not have poor genes and carry things like heart issues, or malocussion? These often don't show up til much later.

Are you prepared to lose your sow and any babies? There is a 20% your sow will die.

Do you have a good cavy vet and an ER vet on hand? Are you prepared to pay $300 for an emergency spay if needed? Can you spot the signs of toxemia? Are you prepared to handfeed your sow and any sick babies if needed for hours on end?

Breeding is more than just tossing two opposite sexed pigs together. Or at least it should be. It sounds like you still need to do a lot of research before you make the decision to breed them.

You need to make sure the male is not in with the female when she gives birth or you will backbreed her. You need to sex the babies and remove any males at 3 weeks. They can go with Dad, but you need a large enough cage (see www.cavycages.com) . Any female babies can stay with mom.