Baby guinea pig sows - difficult to find....

[CherryMaple]

We would like to get 3 baby guinea pigs. We have done a lot of research into how best to look after them and bought a large C&C cage. Other owners have said that sows will get on much better than boars. I have contacted our local Cavy Club, and everyone is keeping their sows. There are only boars available. Can anyone advise how best to find sows?

We’re looking for baby pigs, not rescued adults. Our last pet was rescue, and we had a bad experience. We need to get babies this time - it’s non-negotiable.

I’m not looking for general guinea pig keeping advice - we’ve already read a lot and spoken to owners - just where to get them. However, if people would like to set me straight on thinking sows are the best option, that would be great.

Thanks

I'd phone around the rescues, especially the established charities because they do sometimes take in pregnant females and will need a home for the babies once they are weaned.

We have two boars which we have had since they were just over a week old but that's unusual, they were orphaned and so we took them as foster guinea pigs and hand reared them. They are bonded well but that's because they have been together for their entire life, perhaps you could find a pair of boars who are brothers and collect them from the rescue when they are 6-8 weeks old (before they get their mother pregnant!)

Ours sleep cuddled up together even now they are nearly a year old, they always have done. If we get one out of the cage (a large C&C like yours, great choice there OP) then they shout for each other.

Have you tried pets4homes.co.uk?

Thanks so much @twinguineas - I will call the rescues. If we had young brothers, would they continue getting on well for life? Is there a chance they would stop getting on well in future? We are hoping to keep the 3 living together, and ideally wouldn’t want to have to separate a boar if they fell out?

Thanks @JimbosJetSet I looked at Pets4Homes yesterday because I couldn’t believe the breeders had no sows. I would say the picture was the same - young boars and any females were adults.

Ours are currently going through their 'teenage' years and so far they are fine. Occasionally one will raise their head at the other which is them showing they are dominant but then they just stop and eat some more hay, I can't see that changing to be honest because they are at the age when they would start to fight if they were going to.
The main thing we have done is to make sure they each have somewhere to retreat to, they have several places to hide but usually they are near each other.

They are like the fish on Finding Nemo - "Oh look, hay"

Boars of the same age may fall out when they hit their “teenage” years, it would be better if there was at least 6 months between them.
We have sows, and they are messier than boys - they will wee and poo all over their cage, as opposed to one or two main patches.
A neutered boar with a couple of sows might work?
It’s not the best time to look for guinea pigs, they were a very popular lockdown pet, so you may have to be patient if you are set on baby sibling sows.
Please don’t buy from Pets at Home or similar, they buy from backyard breeders and encourage very cruel practices. If nothing else, they are not very good at “sexing” their pigs so you may end up with more than your bargained for!

Boars of the same age may fall out when they hit their “teenage” years, it would be better if there was at least 6 months between them.

I agree, it only works with ours because they have always lived together and so know no different. I wouldn't do it with unrelated boars.

There are some awful backyard breeders out there who really don't have a clue. One we saw was breeding guinea pigs in his house having only just set up and hadn't got a clue what to do with the guinea pigs; they were doing it to make money (good luck with that!) Our local pet shop have a regular breeder who they use who we have visited from time to time when we have fostered pigs who need some extra care, they are very good but not all of them are. If you find a breeder who loves guinea pigs and does it out of interest rather than as a money spinner (it rarely is as lucrative as they think) then you can be on to a good thing.

There's no guarentee that sows will be harmonious either though.

Our boars have been soppy love sponges , but all the sows I've rescued I've asked for feisty ones

I know when I got pigletty GP3 ( 6weeks) the Rescue had taken an influx of boars all ages .
They had some very tiny piglets ...all the sows were reserved .

So yes there always seems to have been a shortage of females .

Two of my girls were ex breeders from a rescue of 240 ( hoarder ) they were under a year old , bit wild at first but lovely .
Sadly many will go straight into breeding the next generation then be 'retired' at 2-3yo once they've served their purpose .

There's a lot of pressure to Go Rescue . Adult , established piggies are lovely but you have to accept sometimes the damage is done . None of mine were cruelty cases but there was an element of neglect in some .

DD was 9yo when we got her first pigs , we weren't bothered about their temper too much . All our piggies were from Rescues and lived good lives with us .

But getting piglets means that somewhere along the line the chance for the older ones to get a home gets nudged along a little bit more .

They are like the fish on Finding Nemo - "Oh look, hay

To be honest , part of their charm is the fact they are as thick as mince

They are the most gentle little animals ever (even bitey little GP5 was more a gnawer than a gnasher )

We always said it was a good idea GP6 was jaffa he came from a very shallow gene pool !

@70isaLimitNotaTarget

They are like the fish on Finding Nemo - "Oh look, hay

To be honest , part of their charm is the fact they are as thick as mince

They are the most gentle little animals ever (even bitey little GP5 was more a gnawer than a gnasher )

We always said it was a good idea GP6 was jaffa he came from a very shallow gene pool !

We had one exceptionally bright piggie who would have needed arm bands in the gene pool but most have been spectacularly dense but lovely with it.

&0 you might remember the size of twin guinea pigs when we first fostered them, here they are today after bath time.

I've got 3 boars, 2 are the same age and 1 is 18months older. I always have 3 and have never had problems.

Would you recommend them for a 4 year old? He’s desperate for a pet and is a gentle giant. Was between guinea pigs or rabbits, but we’ve never had either before.

We got ours from a local farm park. We'd been visiting most weeks for years (cheap and cheerful day out if you get an annual pass), so were friendly with the staff in the animal barn. We could clearly see that all their guinea pigs were well looked after, as we'd been seeing them constantly and they were very healthy. Our first pair we'd met at just a couple of days old, as we used to visit the animal barn just before closing every Saturday and the staff let us meet new babies earlier than other visitors. They've just died now, after 4.5 years in our care 😢😢.

Just bought 2 more baby piggies from the same farm park. We didn't get to meet these ones early but we know and trust the staff there and felt comfortable getting them.

The only rescue in our area that takes small furries closed over lockdown and I don't think they're taking in any more as they can't afford to set up again. So rescue piggies, while they would have been our preference, were just not viable for us to get, as there isn't a rescue anywhere near us.

@OverTheRainbow88

Would you recommend them for a 4 year old? He’s desperate for a pet and is a gentle giant. Was between guinea pigs or rabbits, but we’ve never had either before.

Rabbits are not a good pet for small children, they are strong, heavy and can deliver a hard kick.

I would say guinea pigs but, as always, only if you are prepared to look after them yourself. Guinea pigs make great pets.

@MsAwesomeDragon

We got ours from a local farm park. We'd been visiting most weeks for years (cheap and cheerful day out if you get an annual pass), so were friendly with the staff in the animal barn. We could clearly see that all their guinea pigs were well looked after, as we'd been seeing them constantly and they were very healthy. Our first pair we'd met at just a couple of days old, as we used to visit the animal barn just before closing every Saturday and the staff let us meet new babies earlier than other visitors. They've just died now, after 4.5 years in our care 😢😢.

Just bought 2 more baby piggies from the same farm park. We didn't get to meet these ones early but we know and trust the staff there and felt comfortable getting them.

The only rescue in our area that takes small furries closed over lockdown and I don't think they're taking in any more as they can't afford to set up again. So rescue piggies, while they would have been our preference, were just not viable for us to get, as there isn't a rescue anywhere near us.

You do know that a photo is obligatory don't you?

Sorry! They're incredibly shy at the minute and I haven't managed to get a decent photo yet. I'll attempt it later on tonight. They are very fast though!!!

@twinguineas

Thank you! Will do lots more research.

@OverTheRainbow88 Rabbits are not a pet for children. I love my rabbits, but they are strong, escape easily, can do serious damage if they bite, and will scratch. they can be quite clever as well.
Guinea pigs are much more docile, but easily hurt because they don’t defend themselves, so you need to be careful around kids. Apparently broken ribs etc are relatively common because kids squeeze them (a friend is a ver).

@MsAwesomeDragon

Sorry! They're incredibly shy at the minute and I haven't managed to get a decent photo yet. I'll attempt it later on tonight. They are very fast though!!!

No rush!

I agree, guinea pigs are great pets for kids. They're cute and furry, make lovely little squeaks, etc but they aren't too demanding. Do make sure you want them too though, as a 4yo will NOT be able to do the looking after in any meaningful way (maybe feeding them if you've already chopped the veg). I would also say smaller children should be sitting down and stay sitting while petting them on their knee with adult supervision. Ours definitely do not like being picked up and carried around, but love sitting on a lap being hand fed basil and parsley while getting stroked.

twin I remember a photo of them on the palm of your hands .

They look like Two Hand Hogs (with a fair bit of overhang )

For a 4yo , get them involved with the cleaning and re setting their bedding and choosing fresh veg .
I saw lwafy sweetcorn in the supermarket , I used to buy it for my piggies from the market . Really fresh , lots of leaf, usually 3 for £1 .

4yo could keep a little note of yesterday they had xyz, today they'll have abc . See what they love (parsley) and what they don't ( kale -lots of sighs and only if starvation is imminent)

lwafy in what parallel universe does that spell 'leafy' ?

Thanks so much to everyone for all your comments. So what should I do? I need a plan.

I was thinking if I got two baby sows, and then a baby boar - which I could keep separately in an adjoining C&C cage so they could get to know each other. Then when he was ready after neutering, they could all move in together. Would that work?

I totally appreciate that there is no guarantee that any pigs will get on, but I’d really like a group of three living together and want to give this the best possible chance!

Baby boars would be easy to find, but I would not want a situation where they were bullying each other and had to be separated. Isn’t there a high chance of that if I go for boars with no sows? I read today that a neutered boar with sows is the happiest mix.

I need a plan.... Help!

@twinguineas your pigs are beautiful!

Thank you 70 and Cherry

Cherry we hand reared them as they were orphaned so we've had them since 10 days old. They are long haired pigs which are a lot of work but they are worth it. We had planned to foster them until they were strong enough to be rehomed but then I fell in love with them lockdown happened and we had to keep them.

[quote OverTheRainbow88]@twinguineas

Thank you! Will do lots more research.[/quote]
C and c style cages are the best ones, you can make them quite cheaply if you do it yourself, I can find you a link