Weigh in

The last weigh in for 2011, Saturday the 31st Dec 2011:


*** Liam's Love Shack ***
Liam is 925g (gain 45g) - 38wks (8.5m)
Ivy is 685g (gain 15g) - 14wks (3m)
Elodie is 865g (gain 40g) - 22wks (5m)


*** Romeo's Roost ***
Romeo is 620g (gain 20g) - 13wks (3m)
Lavender Mist is 725g (gain 10g) - 20wks (5m)
Zinnia is 605g (loss 35g) - 14wks (3m)


*** Malakai's Quarters ***
Malakai is 840g (gain 20g) - 21wks (5m)
Galaxy is 1065g (same)- 50wks (11.5m)- (Pregnant, due approx 27/1/12)


*** Girl's Mansion ***
Alice is 1035g (gain 40g) - 47wks (11m)- (Pregnant, due approx 27/1/12)
Bella-Donna is 405g (gain 55g) - 5wks (1m)
Chloe is 580g (gain 50g) - 13wks (3m)
Crumble is 1235g (gain 115g) - 1yr - (pregnant, due approx 4th Feb 2012)
Custard is 960g (loss 15g) - 4.5yrs
Delilah is 865g (gained 15g) - approx 1yr
Ginger is 940g (gain 5g)- 41wks (9.5m)
Jasmine is 565g (gain 30g) - 15wks (3.5m)
Lotus is 655g (gained 20g) - 14wks (3m)
Millicent is 980g (gain 100g) - 21wks (5m)- (Pregnant, due approx 15/1/12)
Molly is 745g (gain 25g) - 20wks (4.5m)
Nixie is 405g (gained 25g) - 7wks (1.5m)
Phoebe is now 815g (same) - 37wks (8.5m)
Pollyanna is now 445g (gained 35g) - 8wks (1.5m)
Ruby is 1065g (lost 25g) - 41wks (9.5m)
Sparrow is 1085g (gain 35g) - 38wks (8.5m) - (Pregnant, due 22/1/12)
Subi is 1145g (lost 25g) - 2.5yrs - (Possibly miscarried, not sure at this stage)
Tabitha is 455g (gain 20g) - 9wks (2m)
Tigerlily is 610g (gain 15g) - 14wks (3m)
Twizzle is 690g (gain 15g) - 14wks (3m)
Violet is 810g (gained 50g) - 24wks (5m) - (Pregnant, due approx 15/1/12)
Xeraphina is 590g (gain 10g) 12wks (2.5m)
Yeti is 995g (gain 45g) - 30wks (6.5m) - (Pregnant, due approx 22/1/12)


***On Hold/Adoptable***

Lulu is 640g (gain 15g) - 17wks (4m)
Amity is 310g (gain 95g) - 4wks


***New Mums***

Peppa is 1265g (lost 305g (of which 180g was baby)) - 1yr - (nursing Leilani's bubs)
Leilani is 775g (lost 475g (of which 435g was baby!)) - 28wks (6.5m)- (nursing)
Pudding is 85g (lost 15g) - 3days old
Puddles is 90g (same) - 3 days old
Promise is 95g (gained 5g) - 3 days old
Peanut is 50g (lost 5g) - 3 days old
Panda is 100g (same) - 3 days old





Well, the babies are yet to really gain much weight. But they are only 3 days old. I have noticed in other litters that there can be a little drop in the first few days. Peppa delivered a HUGE 180g, 15cm long baby girl this morning. But she was stillborn. I do not know if she died during labour, or if Peppa left her in the sack after her birth... she was a perfect replica of her mum, but wasn't cleaned at all. I think the shock of having to give birth to a newborn the size of a 2-3week old was too much for poor Peppa. She has however, taken some of Leilani's litter under her wing. I watched her this afternoon, and she's taken a particular liking to Promise and Peanut. You can see Peppa and Promise in the photo above. It is a tragedy to loose Peppa's baby girl, but a blessing to have her helping with the nursing of Leilani's bubs (none of them seemed terribly interested in my supplemental feeds).


[Little Peanut enjoying the mountain of grain!]


[Puddles and Pudding in the big cage]

We had a huge day today on top of this morning's sad find. All cages were cleaned, all piggies weighed, Bonnie, Jairo and Alba went to new homes and Panda and Puddles met their new family and were put on hold. I got some updated pics of the proud new daddy Malakai (shown at the very top of this post and below) and discovered that Violet's pelvis is already starting to dilate too. So we might have yet another litter within the week.



The last piggy left for adoption now is Lulu. She was due to meet her new family tomorrow, but they have had to let her go due to unforeseen circumstances. If you think you might have a forever home for little Lulu, let me know at eleb2000@hotmail.com.

Lulu's baby girls - Amity and Anthea

I've had Lulu inside for the last few days. I thought she might have delivered around the same time as Bonnie (tuesday), but she didn't. So I've been patiently waiting, and watching and trying to keep up with her crazy appetite.

Last night I checked her and she just seemed different. Hard to say what it was, maybe a little more lethargic/relaxed - depending on how you look at it? I decided to bring her birthing box into the bedroom, so I'd hear her if she started to go into labour during the night. I heard something at about 5:30am, and sure enough - she'd gone into labour, but done it all without me! lol. There were two very wet, very big babies snuggled up next to her.


We all went back to sleep for another hour or so, then I weighed and sexed them this morning - two little girls!



This is Anthea. She weighed in at 110g (a VERY healthy runt!). She's jet black with a golden band part way around her middle.






And this is Amity. She weighed in at 120g. I weighed Lulu as well, and she's only 585g now. That's the equivalent of an average 60kg woman giving birth to a 12kg baby. (not 12lb, 12KG!). Lulu has done incredibly well - and unassisted too. Guinea pigs are incredible!

Amity is a roan guinea pig, meaning she's probably best not bred with. She is has stunning markings though, and will make a gorgeous pet.

I am so glad I decided to bring Lulu home from the pet shop for the duration of her pregnancy, she has been a joy to have around. Amity, Anthea and Lulu will all be available for their new homes in the week before Christmas. I would strongly recommend that if you are planning a guinea pig as a Christmas gift, do your research now and make sure you're prepared (cages, water bottles, food, knowledge!). I've seen too many 'impulse purchased' guinea pigs go to homes where the basic knowledge about what they can and can't eat was still unknown. (I have some information on the top of the blog (or click here), or a quick google search will help immensely too.

If you are interested in any of these gorgeous ladies, feel free to email me at eleb2000@hotmail.com. Their adoption fee will be $25 each, and the babies will come with a birth certificate, and all three will come with a bag of our grain mix.

Weigh in

The weigh in for Saturday the 12th November 2011:

*** Liam's Love Shack ***
Liam is 930g (gain 35g) - 31wks (7m)
Sparrow is 1025g (gain 70g) - 32wks (7.5m) (possibly pregnant, waiting to confirm)
Yeti is 870g (gain 45g) - 23wks (5.5m)


*** Sprout's Pad ***
Sprout is 910g (gain 5g) - 32wks (7.5m)
Otis is 335g (gain 125) - 5wks (1m)
Romeo is 400g (gain 70g) - 6wks (1m)


*** Malakai's Quarters ***
Malakai is 730g (gain 40g) - 15wks (3.5m)
Millicent is 650g (gain 80g) - 15wks (3.5m)
Peppa is 1090g (gain 140g) - 1yr (possibly pregnant, waiting to confirm)


*** Violet's Arrangement ***
Violet is 605g (lost 20g) - 17wks (4m)
Pooh Bear is 1000g (lost 50g) - on loan


*** Girl's Mansion ***
Alba is 950g (gain 60g) - 37wks (8.5m)
Alice is 850g (gain 85g) - 40wks (9m)
Bonnie is 1250g (gained 160g) - 24wks (5.5m) - (Pregnant, due approx 2/12)
Chloe is 320g (gain 60g) - 6wks (1m)
Crumble is 1100g (gained 45g) - 50wks (11.5m)
Custard is 1010g (gained 20g) - 4.5yrs
Demi is 420g (gained 50g) - 7wks (1.5m)
Elodie is 715g (gained 35g) - 15wks (3.5m)
Galaxy was 950g (gain 95g)- 44wks (10.5m)
Ginger is 1355g (gained 260g) - 34wks (8m) - (pregnant, due approx 2/12)
Ivy is 465g (gained 75g) - 7wks (1.5m)
Jasmine is 365g (gain 45g) - 8wks (1.5m)
Lavender Mist is 665g (gained 25g) - 13wks (3m)
Leilani is 875g (gained 15g) - 21wks (4.5m)
Lotus is 455g (gained 70g) - 7wks (1.5m)
Molly is 615g (gained 25g) - 13wks (3m)
Ruby is 970g (lost 10g) - 34wks (8m)
Sheba is 1010g (gain 20g) - 42wks (9.5m)
Subi is 1195g (gain 30g) - 2.5yrs
Tigerlily is 430g (gain 35g) - 7wks (1.5m)
Twizzle is 465g (gain 60g) - 7wks (1.5m)
Zinnia is 440g (gain 60g) - 7wks (1.5m)


***Re-homing/Foster Pigs***
Rafia is 685g (gained 100g) - 10wks (2.5m) - (pregnant, due approx 8/12)
Lulu is 720g (gained 80) - 11wks (2.5m) - (pregnant, due approx 5/12)
Olivia is 305g (gain 45g) - 5wks (1m) - (On Hold)
Tabitha is 205g (first weigh in) - 2wks - (treating for mites)
Xeraphina is 340g (first weigh in) 5wks - (treating for mites)
Flick is 590g (first weigh in) - 10wks - (On Hold)

***New Mums***
Phoebe is now 725g (lost 360g) - 30wks (7m)- (gave birth, nursing)
Noah is 90g (gained 15g in the last two days!) - newborn
Nixie is 95g (gained 5g in the last two days) - newborn

Delilah is 735g (first weigh in) - approx 1yr (nursing)
Sadie is 175g (first weigh in) - 2wks
Suri is 190g (first weigh in) - 2wks


And, we're almost at capacity again! It seems that as quickly as my babies find wonderful new families, and my foster pigs waddle off to new homes, more piggies end up taking their place! I can't claim innocence there though, I do love to meet new pigs, and help those that need a bit of assistance.



The two new girls from yesterday's intake are doing a lot better this evening than they were this morning. I woke up to find this mess on Xeraphina's back - she was compulsively biting into herself. The most logical explanation for this is simply that the ivermectin treatment I administered yesterday has exacerbated the mange mites, and she's now itchier than ever. Hopefully the drug will start killing off the bugs very soon and some of that itchiness will subside. I must admit she's been very good this afternoon, and the wound doesn't look so raw any more.

So while my quarantined newbies stayed inside in air-conditioned comfort, the rest of the pigs were getting some grass time. I've moved Sprout and Malakai's cages and positioned them behind the mansion cage to try and avoid whatever it was about their old position that seemed to be stressing them out. So far so good too - both cages had good gains this week - making up for lost time!



I also gave a select few girls a taste of supervised free-ranging while our puppy dog was locked in the now empty side-yard with a big bone to keep him happy. Bonnie loved it - and is getting quite large now! Not as large as Ginger though, who gained an incredible 260g this week. That is a new record for us. You can feel every last gram of that too when you pick her up. Either she's a little further along than I guessed, or there are a LOT of babies in there...



Lulu's really bulked out in the last week or so too. Her fungal infection has completely cleared up as well. All she needs to do now is feed those growing babies of hers!



Oh - and I couldn't end this week's weigh in without this awesome shot of Bonnie and her mum Subi together! Colour-contrasting fat bottoms!

Lulu's ear - 5 days later

These are some photos of Lulu's ear that I took yesterday. You can see how much the fungal infection has cleared up since we first got her. And that was only 5 days worth of treatment.



All I did was bath her in Malaseb, used a bit of betadine on the ear for the first day or so - it didn't seem to be responding to that, so I pulled the big guns out - canesten cream! I think the skin was quite dry/sore/damaged too, and the canesten has moisturiesed it a bit as well. She'll need the cream for at least another week or two, even after the skin looks normal again. Just to make sure the last of the fungal spores are killed and it doesn't come right back again.

She's starting to calm down a bit more too, which is nice to see. She's so patient with me while I fumble around trying to get cream on both sides of her floppy little ear. Her babies are among the most active I've felt in a mumma piggy too (which could also be due to the fact that she's so little, and the skin is so stretched already that there's not much between my hand and their little feet!).

She's a lovely little girl and will make an awesome, gentle pet when the whole 'baby thing' is over! ;)

Lulu - pregnant pet shop rescue pig

I had avoided going into our local pet shop over the last week after my impulse purchase of Lotus last wednesday... but curiosity got the better of me today, and I had to have a peek and see if they still had pigs. The first ones I noticed were some stunning long haired boys. Then I spotted a lonely little girl in the other cage. When the assistant lifted her out, I knew it was the same girl who'd been there last week - and I'd thought she was pregnant then too.

A quick belly check and I confirmed my suspicions - she was maybe 5-6week pregnant, and only about 10-12 weeks old at most. I decided it was one of those moments when I'd been given a second chance to help out, and to walk away again would have been wrong. So we scooped her up and brought her home.


I've called her Lulu, and she's a dark blue/grey (not quite black) and cream classic smooth coat. She is riddled with lice and has a nasty fungal infection on her ear that goes right into the canal. She's quite a timid little thing, and really protested at being fungal washed and treated. But I had to weigh up the risk of not treating her before she gives birth, versus the risk of the stress of the bath. Hopefully I made the right choice.



She will be in quarantine for quite a while I'd say, but once she's looking healthier and her babies are born/weaned, she will need a new permanent home herself. Feel free to let me know (eleb2000@hotmail.com) if you're interesting in offering this little lady a place to call her own.