Gypsy and Grace Update

Thought it was about time I posted some updated pics of Ginger's bubs Grace and Gypsy. The girls are 2.5 weeks old now, and from what I can tell of their 2-week-old coats, I think we're going to end up with some funky, fluffy Abyssinians here! Very much like our 5yr old Custard (who is also had a pedigree longhaired dad and an aby mum!).

Grace started out as the weaker of the two surviving girls, but she's currently gaining faster than her sister! And if there's trouble to be gotten into - you can bet that Grace is in the middle of it! :P








Gypsy is a little more subdued, and actually let me get a few different angles when taking her photos. Her colours are just stunning.


Gypsy at 2.5 weeks.

Both Gypsy and Grace are currently unclaimed, so if you're thinking that these little ladies would fit into your family let me know! All their information can be found on the 'Available' page.




These are just a few pics I managed to snap Yesterday afternoon after the mammoth weekly Friday Cage Clean out and piggy weigh-in (which literally takes me ALL day! lol).


I like to let the girls run around while I'm cleaning as they get to explore the fully enclosed yard in supervised safety, and you can just see the delight in their little faces as they find scattered kids toys to hide under, and extra juicy patches of grass to munch...


... but it meant that by the time I got them all rounded up, and back inside, they were exhausted! Guinea pigs naturally have a nap time in the middle of the day - and in all the excitement, my lot were running laps instead! It was so cute to see them lazing about like pampered princesses!

Weigh in

[Bonnie and her BIG 2 week old baby girls!]

The weigh in for Saturday the 10th Dec 2011:


*** Liam's Love Shack ***
Liam is 950g (gain 25g) - 35wks (8m)
Crumble is 1085g (gain 5g) - 1yr
Elodie is 750g (gain 20g) - 19wks (4.5m)


*** Romeo's Roost ***
Romeo is 525g (gain 55g) - 10wks (2m)
Lavender Mist is 705g (gain 35g) - 17wks (4m)


*** Malakai's Quarters ***
Malakai is 800g (gain 70g) - 18wks (4m)
Molly is 665g (gain 50g) - 17wks (4m)


*** Violet's Arrangement ***
Violet is 720g (gained 55g) - 21wks (4.5m)
Pooh Bear is 1040g (same) - on loan


*** Girl's Mansion ***
Alba is 940g (loss 15g) - 41wks (9.5m)
Alice is 890g (loss 10g) - 44wks (10m)
Chloe is 470g (gain 20g) - 10wks (2m)
Custard is 925g (loss 70g) - 4.5yrs
Delilah is 790g (gained 35g) - approx 1yr
Galaxy is 995g (gain 15g)- 48wks (11m)
Ivy is 590g (gained 25g) - 11wks (2.5m)
Jasmine is 480g (gain 30g) - 12wks (2.5m)
Leilani is 1125g (gained 95g) - 25wks (5.5m) -(Pregnant, due approx 30/12/11)
Lotus is 575g (gained 40g) - 11wks (2.5m)
Millicent is 785g (gain 75g) - 19wks (4.5m)
Nixie is 305g (gained 70g) - 4wks (1m)
Peppa is 1180g (gained 65g) - 1yr -(Pregnant, due approx 6/1/12)
Phoebe is now 750g (gain 25g) - 34wks (8m)
Ruby is 1020g (same) - 38wks (8.5m)
Sparrow is 1005g (gain 25g) - 36wks (8m)
Subi is 1160g (loss 10g) - 2.5yrs
Tabitha is 345g (gain 30g) - 6wks (1.2m)
Tigerlily is 525g (gain 65g) - 10wks (2m)
Twizzle is 600g (gain 15g) - 11wks (2.5m)
Xeraphina is 480g (gain 35g) 9wks (2m)
Yeti is 870g (loss 20g) - 27wks (6m)
Zinnia is 560g (gain 5g) - 11wks (2.5m)


***New Mums***

Rafia is 580g (lost 215g giving birth) - 14wks (3m) - (nursing)
Juji is 120g (gain 10g) - 1wk
Jairo is 130g (gain 25g - 1wk

Ginger is 935g (gained 90g)- 38wks (9m) - (nursing)
Gypsy is 115g (gain 35g) - 1wk
Grace is 120g (gain 40g) - 1wk

Lulu is 600g (gain 25g) - 15wks (3.5m) - (nursing)
Anthea is 175g (gain 50g) - 2wks
Amity is 160g (gain 40g) - 2wks

Bonnie is 935g (lost 35g) - 28wks (6.5m) - (nursing)
Bella-Donna is 245g (gain 60g) - 2wks
Bethanie is 235g (gain 50g) - 2wks


Another good week. Nearly everyone gained - and most importantly the babies gained. This is Ginger and her girls at 1 week old. I rarely actually see Ginger feeding them herself (which might explain why she gained so much even as a nursing mum this week!?), but it looks like Gypsy and Grace are finding other nipples nonetheless!

No new pregnancy confirmations yet. Millicent has been with Malakai for about 7 weeks now, and there's just the hint of a belly swelling at the moment, so I thought I'd pop her back in the mansion cage as I know she prefers it there. She climbed straight up the ramp and took over the upstairs section. I should know in a fortnight or so if that swelling is baby-related or food-related!




Malakai has proven himself with Peppa's pregnancy confirmed last week, so at least I know he's figured out what to do with his little 'weapon'. Having the girls pregnant during summer is definitely not ideal though, but when there is only a limited window of opportunity for a female to have her first litter, and that's when it falls, you have to weigh the risks of too early/too late first pregnancy versus the season. I choose to provide extra comforts/additional TLC - ie. have them live inside in aircon/constant access to cool water/trimming any excess coat as I personally feel the risk of pregnancy too early/late is greater than the risk of the weather. (Please keep in mind that this is just MY opinion though, and there are many who would disagree and prefer to breed later in the animals life).


And just for good measure - I thought I'd add an updated pic of Elodie (Malakai's sister), now 4 months old. She's growing up so beautifully!

Ginger's Bitter-sweet Birth

I was holding Ginger at about 11am this morning. She was huge, but her pelvic bone wasn't anywhere near full dilation yet. So I left her hanging out with Ripley, and took the kids out to the shops for an hour.

When we got home I just happened to glance over and see something brown and fluffy lying down next to Ginger. At first I thought it was Ripley - then it occurred to me that it must be babies. Babies that weren't moving.

I left all the shopping on the floor and quickly checked what had happened. It looked like the scene of a massacre: dead guinea pigs and blood and placentas everywhere. And a very bewildered looking Ginger sitting in the middle of it all. I quickly checked some of the still babies - they had the sacks over their faces and back, broken away around their tummy/paws, probably from struggling for air.

Two babies were moving. One was still partially in her sack, but her face was clear - probably a stroke of luck that saved her life. The other was already sitting up, and mostly clean. And was probably the first born. Two of the three dead babies were still warm. I had JUST missed it.

*** If you'd rather not see dead guinea pig babies, it's probably best to stop scrolling now ***




These three were perfect. The first was a little boy, looked like he was a gold and gold agouti Abyssinian (85g). The middle one was a little girl, ginger and white smooth coat (70g). And the third one was a big tri-colour girl (100g). All really good sized babies, and a beautiful mix of colours too.

There really is nothing more devastating than watching a mumma pig's tummy grow, and feeling the babies alive and well, kicking away over the long 9-10 weeks of a guinea pig gestation. Then loosing perfectly healthy babies simply due to bad timing!

If nothing else, this litter has just reiterated that even though I've been doing this for a LONG time, it doesn't mean I can prevent unnecessary deaths - even when they are preventable!



The two surviving girls have been named Gypsy and Grace. They're still not out of the woods yet, and Grace in particular is still looking quite fragile.


Grace:

This is little Grace, she's a white Abyssinian coat with cream/cream agouti eye patches. She weighed in at 90g. She was also the only baby cleaned properly, so I think she was firstborn.





Gypsy:

This is Gypsy. She's a mix of ginger, golden agouti and white. She has a stunning Abyssinian coat as well. She weighed in at 100g. All babies were really good sizes, and were almost half a kg in total.




And when I was taking photos of the girls this afternoon, I noticed that they both have a little patch of colour on the backsides as well! Too cute!