I knew that would get your attention 
It is almost true. Fatpig is due her babies imminently. They are her second (unplanned) litter due to total incompetence (not mine 
)
The first time she had babies, she had 4. All advice said that we should leave GP and her babies alone for 24-48 hours without disturbing them. After 48 hours we found 1 dead baby (which by the look of it had not been living at birth, or certainly not for long) and 3 lethargic babies, which I rushed to the vets. Sadly one died en route to the vets :( The other two I hand reared, and fed every 2 hours through the night for the next 48 hours, then 4 hourly etc. They were even smugled into a pre-planned hotel room with us for a holiday
I need to know what I should do this time when fatpig has her babies. They are all living in a hutch directly outside of my lounge window. However, past experience suggests that even with them under surveillance, I will not be able to see the babies as they will stay in the bedding area and I'm therefore unlikely to catch them feeding from mum (or not)
I could bring them inside, and put them in a catbasket, which is where they lived last time - and theoretically I could watch them to check they are feeding.....only I am very pregnant myself and so would need catbasket on table next to me, in eyesight of dog.
The disadvantages of bringing them inside if they are feeding well, is the rehabilitation back to outside - i have 2 male piggies who live indoors, and fatpig is not mine, she belongs to a business which I own, and would have to go back outside when we know her babies are able to fend for themselves.
WWYD? feed them yourself? Let mum have 24hrs + to see if she does? bring them in? Leave them outside?
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Small pets
teeny tiny baby guineapigs.
Shelium · 11/11/2012 20:04
soooo, fatpig had 5 babies last night!!! sadly two did not survive. one was still fetal shaped (and MASSIVE) so i'm guessing he died in the birthing process, or just before. The other seemed very thin and long :(
The three surviving are so lovely, and seem healthy and happy. We've had them out to check them over and to check they are energetic and not lethargic. They seem fine, and are currently snuggled with mum :)
We have decided to move the hutch into our kitchen (which is cool) overnight, and back out again each morning. When they are returned to where they came from, they will be in an undercover cellar area with washing machines - but with no door, so cool, but not freezing. They are in a big nest of hay, and they have newspaper placed over the top to keep the area smaller and warmer.
I will prob keep them here for the week to check all okay, as I'm well aware one piggy might get less milk than the rest. There are other people who have offered to have them for me, but I don't trust anyone else to make sure they survive
will upload pics when have them out properly later in the week. Thank you for your help :)
.They are a good size by the looks of things (I know your DD probably has tiny hands)
They look alert and interested.
It might have been that she just physically couldn't carry 5 piglets 
She'll have her work cut out with three as it is (the expression on a sows face when their piglets dive under the mums tummy. They stand on tiptoes. It's a 
face ) 
they are a good size
I haven't yet seen fatpig feeding them, though she scarpers whenever the lid is raised on her hutch, so I guess I'm unlikely to. The fact that the 3 babies run away when mum does is enough to let me know that they are healthy enough to be left alone for now.
Hutch and pigs safely esconced inside for the night :)
babypig number 3 has a part ridgeback - he is definitely a boy pig. I think the others may be girls. The mum is smooth, with a slight swirly head bit going on. Dad is a spiky, scruffy, almost long haired creature with a lovely nature :)
I will try and find a pic of fatpig, who is now slimpig - I am jealous of her shape shrinking ability! there is no WAY I look that good 3 days after birth
Baby pigs all healthy, babypig 1 has a gammy eye, but one.of her last litter did too, and he recovered fine. I wipe it with cooled boiled water once per day, and that seems to be enough to keep it open. It still looks blind at the mo, but iirc, the last one looked blind for weeks, and then suddenly the eye cleared, so I'm not too worried. Today the babypigs started to eat they are all squeaky and wriggly little things that all walk in a line to a tomato, lick it and run away! too cute.
We will probably keep the girl pigs, as one can live with fatpig, and one with her sister. Fatpig and sis used to live together, but sis got ill (anyone remember sockpig?) and I had to bring sockpig home to nurse back to health, and now they hate each other :( so a new friend for each of them should go down well (i hope)
My friend wants the ridgeback boy.
still slim for a piggy, but out of a sock, and back in a hutch, eating and drinking normally. Thank goodness, it took 6 months!
Sadly, she is now quite scared of people, after being a very sociable pig. I guess I betrayed her trust. Hopefully she'll get over it soon
5 is loads! She must have some kind of super fertility gene I read somewhere that if you halve the amount of nipples a mammal has, that's their average litter size and total number of nipples is (supposedly) maximum, give or take. GPs have two like humans
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