No weigh in this week.

After last week's drama's with three births, and multiple deaths, it was decided that the less contact I had with the main group of girls (especially while hand-feeding/medicating Yeti's boys every few hours) the better. I can't risk transferring pneumonia to the mansion cage - the girls would be wiped out within weeks. At the moment it's strictly feeding via sterilised containers and no lap time/cuddles. A bit sad, but I'm not risking it!

So far so good with little Dante and Dash. I've seen them both suckling from Crumble (shown above having a snooze with little Safari), but Dante still thinks I am his mum.

I've never seen anything quite like it. All I have to do is walk into the room and he's standing on his back legs, nose in the air, squeaking like a maniac and following my every move. I sit next to his enclosure and pull back the cover and he comes sprinting, squeaking all the way and just about tumbling over himself in his hurry to get to me. Usually I'll pop my hand in to give him a boost, and he'll launch himself into my lap. But yesterday he managed to scale the side of the cage on his own and flop head-first into my skirt! It didn't even slow him down... he was frantically chomping on the syringe within seconds.

He has come such a long way from the sleepy, still, dehydrated little baby of a few days ago. I don't know why Dash doesn't do the same behaviour, as he's getting the same amount of contact with me - but he does the normal 'run away' thing when I attempt to scoop him out for a feed.

All I can say is that little Dante has stolen a piece of my heart. I'll try and capture his enthusiasm on film to show you if I can. In all my years I have never witnessed this kind of behaviour from a guinea pig before in my life... he's more like a teeny, tiny little puppy dog!

RIP Yeti and Simba

RIP Little Simba (26/1/12 - 28/1/12)

I woke this morning to firstly find that Simba had been trampled on by his mummy Crumble (she has just been really silly lately, and I think he was just too tiny to get out of her way). So that was a more than crappy start to the day. Yeti was still alive though, so there was some hope. I called the vet and we got her in for an emergency visit.


(Yeti as a little bub)

Sadly it was just too late, and she didn't survive long enough to even have an X-ray. The vet thinks it was a pneumonia, which could have been bought on by our disgustingly soggy weather for the last 2-3 weeks, the stress of birth (she may have been a carrier of the bug, and the stress/lowered immunity from the pregnancy/birth may have been enough to allow it to take hold), and/or the change of bedding for a few days this week when I ran out of dry fleece (used supposedly dust-free wood shavings).

Her boys are now fighting for their life as well. The vet didn't think their prognosis was good as they are so young, and have been exposed to Yeti. But I weighed them both this afternoon, and little Dante is now 65g (up 10g in 24hrs!) and Dash is a decent 110g (up 20g since birth on monday). So I'm trying to remain optimistic. I have antibiotics for them both, critical care and milk... and they're eating fantastically... all we can do from this point on is try.



RIP Yeti - May 2011 to Jan 2012.

Two litters in 12hrs!

A LOT has been happening here over the last 24hrs or so. We've had two litters (Crumble yesterday, then Alice this morning), we're dealing with all the flooding (which has meant trying to find temporary homes for all the pigs inside the house), almost running out of food (due to the constant need to change bedding/clean cages with all the soggy rain), Dante failing the thrive/suckle and needing hand feeding, Yeti not seeming herself (I'm yet to put my finger on what it is, but if she makes it through the night we'll be off to a specialist vet first thing in the morning), and the rest of my every-day life with two small kids and a household to keep together!


These are Crumbles two little men - Simba (sheltie) and Safari (texel). Both purebred, both agouti, both gorgeous! They were born at approx 8:30pm last night (thursday the 26th Jan 2012) - I walked in halfway through and had to help get Simba out of his sack!


Simba:

Simba is the runt, weighing in at only 65g. He's a mix of red and golden agouti and will have the long, thick sheltie coat of his mum when he's all grown up. He's still a little wobbly at the moment, but will stay inside with me until I'm confident he's ok.


Safari:

And this is Safari, the bigger of the boys weighing in at 85g. He is a cream agouti texel, and will look a lot like his daddy Liam when he's all grown up.




Then, I woke up this morning to find three BIG gorgeous babies running around after Alice. She did a brilliant job, and they were all clean and very active. Malakai makes some incredible babies.


We have two little boys and one little girl, Monty, M.J. (short for Michael Jackson) and Mirella.


Mirella:

Mirella weighed in at a decent 105g, (and wasn't the biggest of the litter). She's a gorgeous tri-colour girl just like her mum.



M.J.:

This is M.J. - the biggest of the bunch weighing in at 115g. He is almost exactly half black and half white! Very funky little dude.





Monty:

And Monty is the 'pretty' boy of the litter with his gorgeous cream and white fur and big dark eyes. He weighed in at 85g.

Yeti's Baby Boys

*** PLEASE NOTE THAT BOTH BABIES HAVE BEEN CLAIMED/ADOPTED ***


Yeti delivered three beautiful babies this morning at approx 5am. I found them just after 6am and the biggest one (a little 105g girl) was already gone. She was still warm and Yeti was still trying desperately to clean her/dry her, but it was too late. I don't know what happened, if Yeti didn't get the sack off in time, or if she came too fast? It's hard to say, but it is very sad as she was so perfect. The exact replica of her brother 'Dante', shown below.



'Dash'

This little man was the only one with a hint of white up his nose, and some cute little white toes. He weighed in at 90g. Both boys have the most incredibly dense, super curly fur. It reminds me of a steel-wool! It's a lot denser and a lot more course than we've had born here before. And I think that is Yeti's genetic contribution. Both boys look to have their mum's rosette placement too, meaning they'll most likely end up with alpaca coats (long, thick curls sweeping over the face).






'Dante'

Little Dante was the runt at only 75g. He's very strong and doing fine though. You can see the craziness of the curls better in the pictures of him. These boys will be spectacular adults.

Weigh in

(Molly is now confirmed pregnant to Malakai! Due approx 24th Feb)



The weigh in for Saturday the 14th Jan 2012:


*** Liam's Love Shack ***
Liam is 890g (gain 10g) - 41wks (9.5m)
Tigerlily is 640g (gain 20g) - 17wks (4m)
Isla is 645g (loss 5g) - 20wks (4.5m)
Indigo is 595g (loss 15g) - 20wks (4.5m)


*** Romeo's Roost ***
Romeo is 710g (gain 40g) - 16wks (4m)
Lavender Mist is 750g (gain 15g) - 23wks (5m)
Zinnia is 695g (gain 35g) - 17wks (4m)


*** Malakai's Quarters ***
Malakai is 855g (gain 10g) - 24wks (5.5m)
Galaxy is 1100g (gain 60g)- 1 year old


*** Mr Tex ***
Tex is 950g (loss 35g) - 2.5yrs


*** Girl's Mansion ***
Alice is 1215g (gain 40g) - 50wks (11.5m)- (Pregnant, due approx 27/1/12)
Bella-Donna is 525g (gain 25g) - 8wks (1.5m)
Chloe is 620g (gain 15g) - 16wks (4m)
Crumble is 1295g (gain 35g) - 1yr - (pregnant, due approx 4th Feb 2012)
Custard is 980g (gain 25g) - 5yrs
Delilah is 915g (gain 30g) - approx 1yr
Elodie is 965g (gain 30g) - 25wks (5.5m)- (pregnant, due approx 16/2/12)
Ginger is 1060g (gain 30g)- 44wks (10m)
Ivy is 760g (gain 60g) - 17wks (4m)
Jasmine is 600g (gain 15g) - 18wks (4.5m)
Lacey is 320g (gain 30g) - 5wks (1m)
Molly is 895g (gain 50g) - 23wks (5m) - (Pregnant, due approx 24/2/12)
Nixie is 505g (gained 15g) - 10wks (2m)
Phoebe is now 885g (gain 10g) - 40wks (9m)
Pollyanna is now 590g (gained 45g) - 11wks (2.5m)
Ruby is 1145g (loss 15g) - 44wks (10m)
Savannah is 900g (loss 30g) - 1.5yrs
Sparrow is 1240g (gain 20g) - 41wks (9m) - (Pregnant, due 22/1/12)
Subi is 1175g (gain 30g) - 2.5yrs
Tabitha is 555g (gain 35g) - 12wks (2.5m)
Twizzle is 745g (gain 15g) - 17wks (4m)
Xeraphina is 700g (gain 50g) 15wks (3.5m)
Yeti is 1105g (gain 45g) - 33wks (7.5m) - (Pregnant, due approx 22/1/12)



***New Mums***

Millicent is 755g (gain 15g) - 24wks (6m)- ( nursing)
Whisper is 145g (gain 50g) 1wk
Willow is 140g (gain 50g) 1wk
Winter is 105g (same) 1wk


Violet is now 650g (gain 5g) - 27wks (6m) - (nursing)
Henry is 170g (gain 45g) - 2wk
Hamlet is 160g (gain 50g) - 2wk


Peppa is 1035g (gain 30g) - 1yr - (nursing Leilani's bubs)
Leilani is 780g (gained 15g) - 31wks (7m)- (nursing)
Pudding is 240g (gain 45g) - 3wks
Puddles is 265g (gain 65g) - 3wks
Promise is 250g (gained 50g) - 3wks
Peanut is 160g (gained 45g) - 3wks
Panda is 265g (gained 50g) - 3wks



(Puddles and Pudding hanging out while Sparrow supervises from behind!)

So not too bad of a week at all. I was a little concerned that Winter didn't gain anything in her first week, especially as her siblings did... that being said though, she is the cheekiest, most active little newborn I've ever had here. The first night she was in the big cage with everyone, I opened the door to add some extra veg scraps left over from dinner and she came running out! She bumbled along the perimeter area while I watched to see which way she'd go - then she just popped right through the fence and was off for a stroll! Thankfully she wasn't moving very fast, and our yard is fully enclosed... but still! I've never had a baby just decide to run out the door like that before. So I think I can put the weight down to her preferring to run with the bigger babies (while her siblings snooze with mum!). We;ll see how this week goes, and if she'll need supplemental feeding.

Just waiting on Yeti and Sparrow's babies now... fingers crossed for some safe deliveries.

Texels texels everywhere! (oh, and a Peruvian)

Recently I was lucky enough to adopt a number of purebred and pedigree texels (and one orphaned peruvian!). These are the newbies:



I thought I'd get the little Peruvian introduced first... This little lady is 'Kumiko', and is a Peruvian with a few extra rosettes from Perfect Angel Cavies. She lost her mum at birth so has been lovingly hand-raised and is a very cheeky little miss!


This lovely lady is a Pedigree Texel named 'Glenjolie Savannah'. She is from the same stud as Liam, but not too closely related at all. In fact, she actually closer related to Phoebe, being her full Aunty.


And this is 'Lavender Vale Tex', a gorgeous silver agouti pedigree texel boar. He is the dad of the two girls directly below:



Isla is the daughter of Tex and Savannah. She is gorgeous beyond belief! I think she and Liam will have incredible babies.



This is the second daughter - Indigo. (also parented by Tex and Savannah)



And this little bub is 'Lacey', Tex's granddaughter.



This bub is 'Robyn's Nest Lacey' - who I've remaned 'Eirwyn' (as we already have a Lacey!).



And this is Eirwyn's mum 'Robyn's Nest Giselle'. She needs to re-grow her hair after her litter, but should be stunning once she's back in full coat.

Weight in with, well, trust me, you don't want to know how many piggies... :P

[Happy 5th Birthday to Custard!!! - this is her as a newborn, approx 3 hours old)

The weigh in for Saturday the 14th Jan 2012:


*** Liam's Love Shack ***
Liam is 8800g (lost 50g) - 40wks (9.5m)
Tigerlily is 620g (loss 5g) - 16wks (4m)
Isla is 650g (first weigh in) - 19wks (4.5m)
Indigo is 610g (first weigh in) - 19wks (4.5m)


*** Romeo's Roost ***
Romeo is 670g (same) - 15wks (3.5m)
Lavender Mist is 735g (loss 20g) - 22wks (5m)
Zinnia is 660g (same) - 16wks (4m)


*** Malakai's Quarters ***
Malakai is 845g (gain 15g) - 23wks (5.5m)
Galaxy is 1040g (gain 25g)- 1 year old! Happy 'approximate' first birthday to you too Galaxy! :P


*** Mr Tex ***
Tex is 985g (first weigh in) - 2.5yrs


*** Girl's Mansion ***
Alice is 1175g (gain 140g) - 49wks (11m)- (Pregnant, due approx 27/1/12)
Bella-Donna is 500g (gain 35g) - 7wks (1.5m)
Chloe is 605g (gain 20g) - 15wks (3.5m)
Crumble is 1260g (same) - 1yr - (pregnant, due approx 4th Feb 2012)
Custard is 980g (gain 25g) - 5yrs
Delilah is 885g (gain 25g) - approx 1yr
Elodie is 935g (gain 75g) - 24wks (5.5m)- (pregnant, due approx 16/2/12)
Ginger is 1030g (gain 35g)- 43wks (10m)
Ivy is 700g (loss 5g) - 16wks (4m)
Jasmine is 585g (gain 10g) - 17wks (4m)
Lacey is 290g (first weigh in) - 4 weeks (1m)
Lotus is 685g (gained 15g) - 16wks (4m)
Molly is 845g (gain 50g) - 22wks (5m)
Nixie is 490g (gained 30g) - 9wks (2m)
Phoebe is now 875g (gain 30g) - 39wks (9m)
Pollyanna is now 545g (gained 30g) - 10wks (2.5m)
Ruby is 1160g (gain 80g) - 43wks (10m)
Savannah is 930g (first weigh in) - 1.5yrs
Sparrow is 1220g (gain 80g) - 40wks (9m) - (Pregnant, due 22/1/12)
Subi is 1145g (loss 35g) - 2.5yrs
Tabitha is 520g (gain 20g) - 11wks (2.5m)
Twizzle is 730g (same) - 16wks (4m)
Xeraphina is 650g (gain 10g) 14wks (3m)
Yeti is 1060g (gain 30g) - 32wks (7.5m) - (Pregnant, due approx 22/1/12)



***New Mums***

Millicent is 740g - 23wks (5.5m)- (gave birth, nursing)
Whisper is 95g (newborn)
Willow is 90g (newborn)
Winter is 105g (newborn)


Violet is now 645g (loss 5g) - 26wks (6m) - (nursing)
Henry is 125g (gain 25g) - 1wk
Hamlet is 110g (gain 20g) - 1wk

(one-week update pic)



Peppa is 1005g (lost 45g) - 1yr - (nursing Leilani's bubs)
Leilani is 765g (gained 5g) - 30wks (7m)- (nursing)
Pudding is 195g (gain 50g) - 2wks
Puddles is 200g (gain 45g) - 2wks
Promise is 200g (gained 50g) - 2wks
Peanut is 115g (gained 30g) - 2wks
Panda is 215g (gained 45g) - 2wks

(looks like Leilani has been letting Peppa do all the feeding! She's gained... 5g! While poor Peppa's burning off the calories!)


[Romeo is currently one of the pigs looking for his new home]

You might have noticed some new names on the list... now stretching out our numbers to nearly 50! I got incredibly lucky after a years worth of searching for new pedigree texel lines in the right colours/quality - and was offered some recently. (more on the new texel's in a new post). This means that some of our pet-piggies will need to find awesome new homes. As much as it breaks my heart, ultimately I planned to work with the pedigree texels, and have been given an opportunity too. This just means that some new families get to experience the joy of having one of our pet-piggies in their homes... rather than us hogging them all! lol. (Visit the Available page for more information on who is adoptable currently).




Thought I'd quickly share this pic of Puddles (now 2 weeks old) with Whisper (2 days old)... half-brothers with the same dad. Isn't it amazing how much the coat grows in 2 weeks!

Millicent's gorgeous babies

I checked on Milli this afternoon, not expecting to find anything as she'd been quite content all morning. But sitting snuggled up next to her were three huge, fluffy, perfectly clean and dry little bundles of cuteness! I have no idea when she had them exactly - it must have been quick and silent is all I can say! What I do know is that she and Malakai make incredible babies! (all of which have been claimed/put on hold).





The only boy, 'Whisper' weighed in at 95g. He is 95% lilac, with just a touch of cream on his back. He has the stunning thick, rosetted coat of his parents, but hopefully will get a little more lift than Malakai, and have the hair grow over his face instead of away from it (like Milli). At this stage he looks very very promising.




This is the first girl 'Winter' (ironically named, seeing as she was born in the middle of summer... :P), she weighed 105g and was the biggest of the litter. She is a gorgeous mix of white, cream and a patch of lilac by her eye. She too looks to have a very pretty mix of rosettes.




And this is 'Willow', weighing in at 90g. She is an unusual mix of ginger, white and a 'dark lilac'. Not sure what else to call this colour. It's not quite slate, it's not quite taupe, it's not the lilac I'm used to... it just seems darker! lol. (if you know what this colour is referred to in the cavy world I'd be very keen to hear from you).

She too looks to have a brilliant coat, which will look amazing with those contrasting colours cascading everywhere when she's grown up!

Leilani's Litter - 1 week old

Updated pics of Leilani's litter as promised! In fact, here is 'Promise' at just over 1 week old. These guys are going to be FLUFFY!


Peanut at 1 week old - doing so well! So strong and so active. You'd never know he was born so twisted up!


My favourite (if I'm allowed a fav!?) - Puddles. This little boy is going to be a heart breaker.



First-born Pudding. The fatty-boom-ba of the group - and with such a gorgeous density to that colourful coat.



And lastly, Miss Panda. As the hair grows, her crest becomes even more funky! Such a pretty little lady.

Weigh in

(Bella-Donna and Xeraphina having some free-range time)

The first weigh in for 2011, Saturday the 7th Jan 2012:


*** Liam's Love Shack ***
Liam is 930g (gain 5g) - 39wks (9m)
Ivy is 705g (gain 20g) - 15wks (3.5m)
Tigerlily is 625g (gain 15g) - 15wks (3.5m)


*** Romeo's Roost ***
Romeo is 670g (gain 50g) - 14wks (3m)
Lavender Mist is 755g (gain 30g) - 21wks (5m)
Zinnia is 660g (gain 55g) - 15wks (3.5m)


*** Malakai's Quarters ***
Malakai is 830g (loss 10g) - 22wks (5m)
Galaxy is 1015g (loss 50g)- 51wks (11.5m)- (no longer appears to be pregnant. I may have been mistaken last fortnight as she is very pudgy!)


*** Girl's Mansion ***
Alice is 1035g (gain 75g) - 48wks (11m)- (Pregnant, due approx 27/1/12)
Bella-Donna is 465g (gain 60g) - 6wks (1.5m)
Chloe is 585g (gain 5g) - 14wks (3m)
Crumble is 1260g (gain 25g) - 1yr - (pregnant, due approx 4th Feb 2012)
Custard is 955g (loss 5g) - 4.5yrs
Delilah is 860g (loss 5g) - approx 1yr
Elodie is 860g (loss 5g) - 23wks (5m)
Ginger is 995g (gain 50g)- 42wks (10m)
Jasmine is 575g (gain 10g) - 16wks (4m)
Lotus is 670g (gained 15g) - 15wks (3.5m)
Millicent is 1030g (gain 50g) - 22wks (5m)- (Pregnant, due approx 15/1/12)
Molly is 795g (gain 50g) - 21wks (4.5m)
Nixie is 460g (gained 55g) - 8wks (2m)
Phoebe is now 845g (gain 30g) - 38wks (8.5m)
Pollyanna is now 515g (gained 70g) - 9wks (2m)
Ruby is 1080g (gain 15g) - 42wks (10m)
Sparrow is 1140g (gain 55g) - 39wks (9m) - (Pregnant, due 22/1/12)
Subi is 1180g (gain 35g) - 2.5yrs
Tabitha is 500g (gain 45g) - 10wks (2.5m)
Twizzle is 730g (gain 40g) - 15wks (3.5m)
Xeraphina is 640g (gain 50g) 13wks (3m)
Yeti is 1030g (gain 35g) - 31wks (7m) - (Pregnant, due approx 22/1/12)


***On Hold/Adoptable***

Lulu is 675g (gain 35g) - 18wks (4m)
Amity is 340g (gain 30g) - 5wks


***New Mums***

Violet is now 650g (gave birth - 190g baby) - 25wks (5.5m) - (nursing)
Henry is 100g (newborn)
Hamlet is 90g (newborn)

Peppa is 1050g (lost 35g) - 1yr - (nursing Leilani's bubs)
Leilani is 760g (lost 15g) - 29wks (6.5m)- (nursing)
Pudding is 145g (gain 60g) - 1wk
Puddles is 155g (gain 65g) - 1wk
Promise is 150g (gained 55g) - 1wk
Peanut is 85g (gained 35g) - 1wk
Panda is 170g (gained 70g) - 1wk


It's so relieving to see how well Leilani's bubs are doing. I'm even really happy with Peanut's gain. It looks so much smaller than everyone else, but is on par for the same percentage body mass increase. I've got some one-week-old update pics of the bubs to post tomorrow too.


I've also discovered that some of the girls can get themselves up the ramp in the mansion cage, but don't know how to get back down. Poor Delilah was letting me know that she was stuck during the week, so I was trying to teach her how to get down. This is a shot I snapped while she was being stubborn and putting the breaks on. Ginger got really curious about what we were doing and jumped up onto the ramp shortly after this was taken too. (I still don't think Delilah knows what to do - but I think she's decided to just not go up there in the first place now).



And I snapped these shots of Chloe (lighter coloured texel x abyssinian/peruvian, 14 weeks) and Jasmine (Black/white Pedigree texel, 16weeks) during the week as well. I thought it was really interesting to compare their coats. If I didn't know better, I would have thought Chloe was the pedigree!

RIP Sahara

I am so sad to report that little Sahara did not win her battle for survival, and passed away this evening from what was probably a toxic combination of blood poisoning/retained placental infection, mange mites, incorrect diet/housing, some kind of growths or tumours and goodness knows what else.

She was a beautiful, gentle little lady, who even though she was probably in a lot of pain, never struggled or resisted. She spent her last 60hrs on earth nestled in amongst some fresh hay, fragrant grass and fresh veg. At least she isn't in pain any more.

Violets Baby Boys

Another week of constantly watching Miss Violet passed - watching for unusual behaviour, making sure she's comfortable, feeling her very active little babies kick and wriggle in her belly... Then I checked her first thing this morning - and NOTHING!

So I went about my morning, getting the kids fed, and changed and doing a bit of cleaning. I quickly popped back into Violet's room to put something away shortly afterwards - and there was a baby bobbing around next to her! A quick check and she'd JUST delivered two beautiful big baby boys - still gooey and wet!


( Here they are at 3 hours old: Henry is on the left, and Hamlet on the right)



Henry:


Henry is the bigger of the two brothers. He weighed in at a very good 100g. He is physically a lot bigger than Hamlet as well - you'd think there was a lot more than 10g difference between them.

Henry is a stunning blend of cream, cream agouti and white.





Hamlet:


Hamlet was the 'runt' of the litter at a very decent 90g. He is slightly darker in colouring with golden agouti, ginger and some tiny patches of white (on his head and under his chin).

The boys come from pedigree texel parents, but I do not currently have the dad's paperwork. If I can get this I will paper the babies, and they too will have a pedigree. If not, then they will simply be stunning purebred texels (with pedigree lines).