Delilah's Progress

It was four months ago that Miss Delilah arrived at the caviary. She had been found, heavily pregnant in a pet store, delivering her bubs only days after she was taken home by a fellow piggy lover. Two weeks after this, Delilah and her baby daughters arrived here so they could be cared for and rehomed. Delilah was in pretty good condition, but was quite thin. I was just blown away by how unusual her coat was... and now even more so!



Four months of conditioning has meant that her coat is now Super thick and considerably longer than before too.





It kind of has a soft, dense under coat, with a longer wirery top coat. She's the closest thing to a 'Swiss' guinea pig that I've seen here in Australia. And I really wish I knew what her origins were!



If any other Aussie guinea pig people have any other experience with coat's like this, I'd love to hear from you!

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!

Yet more piggies!

Today was quite a busy day! ALL the pigs got grass time, which meant my lawn was a scattering of puppy pens, shade blankets and hidey houses! ALL the cages got cleaned out... which is quite a mammoth task. Sprout's cage and Malakai's cage got re-located to behind the mansion cage (as we've had a bit of trouble with noise, smoke, and heat on the other side of the yard). AND - 6 new girls were dropped off!

We have a rescue mum and her babies (Delilah, with Suri and Sadie): mum is staying here but the two week old babies will be looking for new homes. We have two new curly babies from a local breeder who need a little TLC due to a mange mite/fungal skin condition (Tabitha and Xeraphina). And another little rescue girl who will be travelling up to Hervey Bay next week to meet her new family!


Delilah, mumma piggy:

I am so bewildered by Delilah, she looks like she might be a texel x, but her coat is incredibly course, much more like a rex than the softer fur of a texel. She is quite unusually coloured as well. She's a blend of ginger and beige/gold, in what looks like an argente patterning (most noticeable around her face).

[Argente is a similar coat marking to the Agouti. Where the agouti is a darker hair base colour with a lighter tip (black base, white tip: silver agouti), the argente is a lighter base with a darker tip, or two very similar tone colours (beige base, gold tip)]


Then, on top of all that, I think she might be satin. Or at least carry some satin ancestry. She definitely has a real shimmer/satin effect to her coat, and it has the same hollow-shaft look as I've seen on other Satin-breed guinea pigs I've owned in the past. I will admit that I don't have as much experience with the satin, and it has been over a decade since I've owned a satin rex. So I could be mistaken - just going by my observations!


Delilah really does have some awesome colouring, and some unusual fur though. I'm unsure of her age/origins due to her rescue status, but it will be interesting to see what happens as she re-gains a bit more condition here, and if her coat thickens out even more!?




Suri:

Suri is one of Delilah's daughters. She is a cream agouti and cream smooth coat. Her fur does have a distinct wiggle through it (mum's influence I'd say), but I don't think it will get curly. It may end up with a bit of length to it though. Daddy pig is unknown. (It's probably safe to assume he was agouti though!).


Suri will be available for adoption from the 25th November. Email me at eleb2000@hotmail.com if you think you have a spot for her in your family.





Sadie:

Sadie is Delilah's second daughter. She is a very richly coloured golden agouti and gold Abyssinian girl. I'd say that she probably looks a lot like her dad (considering the agouti colouring for both her sister and her, and the funky rosettes had to come from somewhere!).


It's impossible to tell what her coat is going to do in terms of length. Delilah is a mid-length pig though, so it's quite possible that her babies will have a bit more length than usual as well. Sadie is looking for her new home too, and will be available to meet her new family from the weekend of the 25th. Email me at eleb2000@hotmail.com if you think you have a spot for her in your family.






Xeraphina:

Xeraphina is the most interesting colour and the most interesting coat-type! It's a little tricky to say what she'll look like once her mites are treated (she's missing a fair bit of hair), but I'm pretty excited to watch her get better, and for her coat to grow back in. Her hair really does look like a pretty blonde colouring. Not quite cream, not quite buff...






Tabitha:

And this is Tabitha - also suffering from a bit of hair loss, most likely due to mites. She's been treated as well and we now play the waiting game to watch her coat grow back in. If the curls on her rump are anything to go by, she will be stunning.


She's a golden agouti and gold texel x. So it will be interesting to see how much length she ends up with as well.





'Flick' - Little Abyssinian x that will be heading up to Hervey Bay: