guinea pig breeding?

Question
Hi there
I have four guineas at the moment 2 males around 8 mths old and two females around 8 weeks old. need breeding advice. i would like each female to have one litter. i need advice on when is best to breed them, at what age and wether to let them both have pups at the same time or seperate. Also will they live together in single sex groups when they leave the mum?
any advice would be greatly appreciated
thank you  

Answer
Hello, sorry it has taken me so long to answer your question. I try to be as prompt as possible. Ah, so your females are only 8 weeks old. Based on fact and personal experience, they should be at least 6 months old before they are able to be bred, unless you want to risk the life of your pig. I reccommend against doing it any earlier with a female because just like a human, if you give birth before your body is matured the babies can come out with birth defects, and deformities and/or you could both lose your female and her babies. Make sure though that you breed them before they are a year old, because if your pig has not had a litter by then, she has a higher chance of dying because her pubic bones may not spread enough for the birth. I personally reccommend not breeding past almost 10 months because by the time she gives birth she'll be almost a year. A guinea pig's gestation is anywhere from 60-75 days. The males, they say anywhere from 5-8 months, but I don't really see a problem with breeding a male up until he's around 3. A female, as long as she gives birth before a year, can also continue to produce litters until about age 3. I reccommend not breeding more than twice a year. I reccommend, if your're going to keep them together, they get placed in a cage with their males at the same time. This will place there due dates closer together SOMETIMES. Keep in mind a pig goes into heat approx. every 18 days, and they can go into heat at different times. One pig could be pregnant within hours of being placed with a male, and the other may not get pregnant for a couple of weeks. However, if you want to breed them the same time, keep them in seperate cages after they have concieved. If one of the pig's didn't get pregnant until a couple of week later, she could have her litter prematurely. I'm not sure what it is, but if one pig goes into labor and gives birth, chances are the other one will too if they're in the same cage together. Not sure what causes this. I'd even set them in their own LARGE, and by Large I mean at least 2 ft. by 4 ft cages, in seperate rooms. REMOVE THE MALE BEFORE AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOUR PIG IS PREGNANT! SHE GOES INTO HEAT AN HOUR AFTER GIVING BIRTH! Meaning, she can become pregnant while nursing, and the male may accidentally kill one of his babies trying to mate with her. My question for you is now, how long have you owned guinea pigs? If you have only had your pigs for a couples of weeks, up until I'd have to say, nearly 6 months, please do not breed unless you are absolutely certain you can make a commitment like this. Are  you planning on keeping all of the babies? Keep in mind, that a guinea pig can have up to 8 babies, although average litters are between 2-4. If not, have you located homes for the babies? I was dumb when I first started breeding, and I ended up getting stuck with 16 pigs  for several weeks. You wouldn't believe how fast they went through food and hay. I went through 40 pounds ( maybe 15 kilos) of food in 2 weeks. The babies will sit in the food bowl and urinate and deficate, so the food needs to be replaced almost daily. I was constantly filling up water bottles, and I went through those big bags of pine shavings in a week, just because 2 of my sows gave birth. It is a messy, time consuming process, but it is an experience of a lifetime. I'm urging you, if you've only owned your pigs for a couple of months, please don't breed until you are absolutely sure you want to take care of your guinea pigs for a lifetime. Having to do all of that work is a turn off for most people concerning guinea pigs. I'd hate for one of your pigs to give birth and  you end up not wanting any of them. However, I am not trying to dissuade you from breeding. I just want to give you a heads up on what to expect so you're not asking yourself, 'what did I get myself in to?!' The guinea pigs can sometimes live together in same sex groups, although sometimes the males will fight. Multiple males can sometimes be an absolute headache. If they're brothers and they've known each other from birth, it should be fine. Although, there still can be "domestic violence". The girls don't really have that problem, although every once in a while you may run across a dominant female, that will stop at nothing to get her way. When your pigs give birth, I reccomend, not disturbing her. Usually they'll give birth during the night, but if you do see her in labor don't try to help her unless she is has been in labor more than 40 minutes. If that's the case rush her to the vet immediately. The babies are already dead, and you may lose your sow. If any still borns come out, give her a chance to nudge and clean them, but if they havent moved within a few minutes, dispose of the body. Allow her to eat the after birth, as this produces lactation so she can feed the babies. Your pig, when pregnant, will look like she swallowed a watermelon sideways. Try not to hold her as much in her last couple weeks, as you could hurt her. To tell is she's going to give birth feel her pubic bones. They should be a finger's width apart. This can happen up to a week before she gives birth though. Try not to handle the babies for the first few days after they're born. It upsets the mother, and make sure you keep them warm when you take them out. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I've written down everything off the top of my head. Please check out my past questions as well, as I've had several breeding questions. Books, and the internet are another good source for breeding tips and info. I wish you and your pigs the best of luck and a lifetime of joy and happiness. :)