Found Some Old Photos!

Mom was looking through her photos the other day, and she found an old album of pictures I took of some of the pigs! They were taken almost a year ago and include pictures of Pig, Emma, Snow, Regina, Mr. Gold, Rumple, and Punzie. The American girls and Punzie would have been about 2-3 months old at that time and Pig would have been about 4-5. Here are some of the pictures: (Note- many of the pictures are blurry, most of the pictures on this blog are taken by my mom, and I'm not the best photographer)

Pig

Rapunzel

Emma

Emma 

Regina

Regina

Regina

Snow White

Mr. Gold

Rumplestiltskin

I also found a picture of Feedsfour as a baby, although the one of Big Savings is still missing:

Another Piggy Pair!

Hooray for another piggy pair! I recently matched up Robin Hood and Molly, and in February-ish she will probably have a litter. Maybe if we're lucky she'll have them for February 14, Robin's birthday! I don't have any good pictures of her currently, but I do have many pictures of Robin.

Three More Piggy Pairings!

We have three more pairs of breeding piggies being bred. In January our caviary will hopefully have some new babies to sell, show, and breed. Also, we think Cher Sparklepants is pregnant, so we can expect a few babies from her soon.

IPP Feedsfour x Cutie Pie's Thing One

(Thing One is the one on the right, I think)

IPP Dangerous Beans x Nativefox's Choking Hazard

Nativefox's Seabreeze x Nativefox's Dreamwalker

Kline's Cher Sparklepants x Kline's Robin Hood

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving, and I'll make sure to post when one of these sows has her litter!

No Babies for Emma...

Emma will not be having a litter like we planned on. We think she reabsorbed the baby, or maybe miscarried it. She cannot be bred again as she is one year old and could get hurt being bred for the first time after a year.

Emma

Cher Sparklepants, Rock Diva

We bought Cher at Riverton Fair. Mom had been looking at her on drop off day because she was so shiny. We visited during the fair and we were talking to the breeder (the same breeder as Robin, the American girls, and Pig). She said that she was trying to get her bred but the only boar she had available for her was her brother. She said if we wanted she would sell her to us, since she knew we had Robin Hood. Mom was eyeing her, so we ended up buying her- but, of course, everyone in my 

4-H group thinks I made her buy Cher.

Kline's Cher Sparklepants is an American Satin. She is golden agouti, red and white. We are planning on breeding her to Robin Hood and then breeding a boy baby back to her to get Satins.

Rapunzel, Mama of Seven

I walked down to the basement, half asleep. I look into Rapunzel's cage. "That's odd. Guinea pigs don't get hiccu- she's having contractions!" I looked closer and saw a wiggly pink baby next to Rapunzel. I run up the stairs to find Mom. "Punzie'shavingherbabies!" I say. 

On November 3rd, Rapunzel, mother of the show-stopping Big Savings, Dangerous Beans, and the not-quite-show-stopping-but-still-good-quality Feedsfour, had a litter of four. We think all of them are sows.One of the little girls had a corneal abrasion, which we freaked out about at first because we thought she was blind. Thank you, Jan Silva, for helping us identify and treat the corneal abrasion. 

There are three black and white babies and one orange and white. Their father is Rumplestiltskin, a cream and white boar, but none of the babies have cream, which I found interesting. I will be selling at least two of these babies.

Rumplestiltskin x Rapunzel

IPP Donut Enter

IPP Darling Clementine

IPP FullMoon Cakes

IPP Panda Chow Mein

Rest in Peace, Regina

Early this morning, Regina passed away while in labor. She looked dehydrated, so we tried to get the fluid into her when she started having her first baby. It was a broken with colors similar to Nightwheek's, but it did not survive. She kept having either contractions or mini seizures a few minutes apart, and in a little while she had a couple more, about an hour apart. She kept having contractions (or seizures) after that, for a couple hours. We think she would have had 5 babies, but at around 1:30 in the morning on the 23rd of October, she passed. Here is Regina and her relatives, with pictures:

Regina, 10/21/14

Regina and her boyfriend, Robin Hood

Regina and her sisters, Snow White and Emma

Regina's daughter from her first litter, Nightwheek

Molly

"Your daughter was eyeing my pigs, by the way," she said. My mom looked over at me. The breeder we were talking to took out an American sow whom she said was a broken lemon agouti, chocolate, and white. "She's 25$, but I'll lower it to 15$ for youth."

"Do you want her, Izzy? Mom asked. "Yeah..." I responded. I can never say no to a new pig. "Thanks! Does she have a name? I asked, turning to the breeder.

"My husband named her Molly."

Molly was 12 weeks old when I bought her at STORRS. I was marveling at the amount of pigs and breeders at the show when I saw a set of cages. In one of them was Molly and another sow. I glanced over to the side, and there was a big sign that said FOR SALE. Near the bottom of the list of animals being sold, there was 'American Sow, Lemon Agouti Broken.' I looked back at the pigs in the cage, and sure enough, one of the sows was partially yellow.

Right now Molly is here at home, hanging out with my brother and his piggy, Nightwheek.

Picking Your First Piggy- Picking the Breeder

        After you pick the Breed, Variety, and sex, you need to choose a breeder. Here are some breeders and their websites:

Americans:
Jan Silva, Nativefox Caviary
Susan Kline
American Satins:

Abyssinians:

Abyssinian Satins:

Coronets:
Jan Silva, Nativefox Caviary
Peruvians:
Jan Silva, Nativefox Caviary
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Peruvian Satins:
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Silkies:
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Silkie Satins:
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Teddies:
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Teddy Satins:

Texels:
Jan Silva, Nativefox Caviary
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
White Cresteds:

Your First Piggy: Picking the Sex

        The sex of your first guinea pig is important for a few reasons. Most importantly is that sows cannot be bred for the first time after one year. Their pelvic bones start to fuse together, so the sow or the babies could get hurt and even die. If you get a sow as your first pig, and then breed them to a boar later on, then this is likely to happen. A boar is usually the best first pet for someone who will want to breed someday.

My First Cavy

Your First Piggy- Picking the Variety

        After your pick the breed, you will want to pick a variety. Varieties don't make a very big difference in breeding or showing, but they do, of course, make the guinea pig look different.

Broken. Broken pigs have two or more colors in splotches. Any colors can be combined to create a broken piggy. Examples:

A Broken White and Orange Cavy

A Broken Beige and Lilac Cavy

A Broken Chocolate, Orange, and White Cavy

Self. Self piggies are completely one color. They can be any color. Examples:

A Self Red Cavy

A Self White Cavy

Agouti. Agouti cavies have an even ticking pattern of one tip color and one base color, and a belly band.

Solid. As far as I know, although I do not completely understand solids, solids are a lot like agoutis. However, solids do not have belly bands.

Tortoise Shell. Tortoise shell cavies are basically brokens with red and black patches. They have dark eyes.

Dalmatian. Dalmatians are white with spots of any recognized self color.

Dutch. Dutch are supposed to have a white background with any recognized color as the color for the markings. The requirements for Dutch are very specific, so they are hard to breed.

Himalayan. Himalayans are supposed to be white with markings on the nose, feet, and ears.

Tortoiseshell and White. TSWs are basically brokens with white, red, and black. Example:

A TSW Cavy

Tan. Tan pattern cavies have markings that are to be black, chocolate, blue, beige, or lilac.

Your First Piggy: Picking the Breed

        When you pick your first guinea pig, you will want to start with picking the breed. There are currently 13 breeds of cavy that are showable in the ACBA, and a few that aren't accepted, which will not be mentioned here. The breeds are:

American*. This breed is the easiest to groom and the most common. Americans are always good starter piggies.

Abyssinian*. Abyssinians are easy to groom but very hard to breed because their rosettes don't always turn out quite right.They are good pets, though.

Coronet. Coronets have some grooming required. They make good pets or good show/breeding pigs if you have the proper time to groom them.

Peruvians*. Peruvians take a decent amount of time to groom. However, like with the Coronet, they make good piggies if you have the time for them.

Silkies*. Silkies require a little less grooming time than Peruvians, but still take up a lot of time. They can still be good pets, but must be cared for every day.

Teddy*. Teddys are another short haired breed. They do not require much grooming, so they are also good starter pigs, but they aren't as common as Americans.

Texel. Finally, a breed I know a lot about! Texels require a LOT of grooming every day. One breeder I know told me when I asked about her Texels and Peruvians that "Texels are the hardest breed to groom." However, the breed as a whole has many very sweet piggies that could be kept as pets if they were clipped down every few months.

White Crested. These pigs are basically Americans with a single rosette on the head, or the short haired version of the Coronet. They are pretty easy to keep.

*Satins. The breeds marked with a * also have a second identical breed called a Satin. These breeds are called American Satin, Abyssinian Satin, etc. Satin is identical to its non-satin counterpart except for a few things. Firstly, they have "sheen," which makes them look shiny. Secondly, I have been told that sometimes have health issues and do not live as long as other pigs.

What to Bring to a Show (Besides your piggies, of course)

Extra Travel Cages. Always bring extra holes in case you come home with more than you left with.

Business Cards. Bring business card for your caviary in case someone is interested in cavies that you didn't bring to the show. That way, they can call or email you and arrange to get the animal.

Grooming Supplies. If you bring your grooming supplies, you can groom the piggies that are farther back on the judge's list. You should bring, according to the breed:
Peruvians, Coronets, and Silkies: Comb, Wrapping materials
Texels: Squirt bottle, Scissors, Seam Ripper
Americans, White Crested, Teddy, Abyssinian: Nothing.

Show boards. If you have a long haired breed (Texels optional), then you must bring your piggies up to the table on show boards.

Extra Blankets. Bring these in case you want to cuddle one of your pigs. Just don't mess up their fur!

Notepad and Pencil. You will probably end up talking to other breeders, and if they give you tips, you should write them down for when you get home.

Pedigrees. If you want to register an animal, you need to have their pedigree. Also, you will want to sell an animal with their pedigree, and it will look better if you give them the pedigree there instead of sending it to them when you get home. You are also less likely to forget.

Cage Covers. Shows are often pretty early in the morning, which means it will be cold. Cage covers will help your guinea pigs stay warm until it warms up a little bit.

Treats. Shows are stressful for your animals. Bring treats such as carrots or kale for your cavies to make them a little less stressed.

Standard of Perfection. You can use the Standard to try to judge your pigs before they go to the judge's table. This is good practice for if you decide to try to become a registrar or a judge.

Show Results: Bethlehem Fair

All of these results are what I think happened, but, as I did not watch the judging, these results may not be completely accurate. If you watched the judging and/or are one of the participants, please let me know of any errors in the comments.
Breeders:
Susan Kline (Americans)
Louise Burr (Americans, American Satins, Texels)
Friend Y (same one from the 4-H Fair) (Pet)
Awards:
Americans:
BOV AOM: Robin Hood
BOV TSW: Louise Burr (pretty sure)
Other BOVs: Unknown (I didn't watch the judging)
Best Senior: Robin Hood
Best Intermediate: Unknown
Best Junior: Unknown
BOB: Robin Hood (that's his second leg!)
BOS: Louise Burr (I think, but it could be Susan Kline)
Disqualified/Bumped: Emma (the note on her comment card said (and I quote) "This is not a TSW, it is an AOM.")
American Satin:
BOV: Unknown
BOC: Unknown
BOB: Louise Burr
BOS: Louise Burr
Texel:
BOV Broken: Seabreeze
BOV TSW: Big Savings
BOV Self: Choking Hazard
Other BOVs: Unknown
Best Junior: Unknown
Best Intermediate: Big Savings
Best Senior: Seabreeze
BOB: Big Savings
BOS: Seabreeze
Best of Show
BIS: Big Savings
RIS: Robin Hood (Never knew before this show that the Best in Show and Reserve in Show could be the same sex)
Best Junior: Unknown
Best Senior: Seabreeze
Best Intermediate: Big Savings

Show Results: Bridgewater Country Fair

All of these results are what I think happened, but, as I only watched part of the judging, these results may not be completely accurate. If you watched the judging and/or are one of the participants, please let me know of any errors in the comments.

Breeders:
Susan Kline (Americans)
Louise Burr (American, American Satin, Texel)
Me (Americans, Texels)(Mom and my sister's piggies were actually mine)
Mom (Texels)
My sister (Americans, Texels)
Awards:
American:
BOB: Louise Burr
American Satin:
BOB: Louise Burr
BOC Junior: Nightwheek (My brother lent her to me for the show)
Texel:
BOV Broken: Seabreeze
BOSV Broken: Dreamwalker
BOV Self: Choking Hazard
BOB: Seabreeze
BOS: Choking Hazard (would have gotten BOB, and therefore BIS, if he weren't stained)
Disqualified/Bumped: Feedsfour (not a TSW)
Best of Show
BIS: Seabreeze
RIS: Louise Burr, American Satin Boar BOB

Show Results: Litchfield County 4-H Fair

All of these results are what I believe happened, but the results may not be completely accurate. If you watched the judging and/or are one of the participants, please let me know of any errors in the comments.

Breeders: (trying to keep things anonymous, here)

Friend Y- Peruvian, Pet

Friend P- Pet

Friend S- American

Me- American, Abyssinian, Texel

Awards:

Abyssinian:

Red BOV: Pig 

BOB: Pig (only because he was the only Abby there)

American:

BOV TSW: Emma

BOV AOM: Robin Hood

BOV Solid: Friend S

BOB: Emma

BOS: Robin Hood

Peruvian:

BOV: Unknown (not my breed, and i was watching my brother)

BOB: Friend Y

Texel:

BOV TSW: Big Savings

BOSV TSW: Feedsfour (Kinda funny, since shes not a TSW)

BOV Broken: Dangerous Beans

BOSV Broken: Mr. Gold

BOB: Big Savings 

BOS: Feedsfour

Best Of Show

BIS: Emma

RIS: Robin Hood

New Piggies Are So Much Fun, Introducing..... Thing Two and Thing One!

"Both for five dollars," the tag had said.

"Five dollars?" I couldn't believe what I read.

"What are the names given by you?"

"I call them Thing One and Thing Two."

"Thing One and Thing Two? What cute names!

My collecting of piggies will bring me to shame!"

Thing One and Thing Two are black Texel boars who i acquired at Nutmeg RBA Rabbit Show. Last year at this show we ended up with my first guinea pig, (creatively) named Pig, from a raffle. They are brothers, remarkably similar to Mr. Gold and Rumpelstiltskin. Mr. Gold is more bold (hey, that rhymes!), like Thing One, while Rumpelstiltskin is a little more skittish, like Thing Two. They were bred by Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies, so they are (technically) Cutie Pie's Thing One and Cutie Pie's Thing Two. (That's a mouthful.) Right now they are under quarantine in case they are sick from being at the show.

Piggy of the Night

Nightwheek is the daughter of Regina and Robin Hood. She was from our first American litter, and our second litter overall. She did not have any siblings, but was born with Dangerous Beans present, so she posed as almost a sister to her. She is a brown-ish color with red eyes, and a similar pattern to her father, Robin.

Nightwheek with her owner

\Night wheek is a very sweet piggy, but does not like being picked up. However, she loves being cuddled and if you pet her she will purr. She loves carrots and will wheek every night when her owner comes in with treats- and she always wheeks in disappointment if she does not get her nightly snack. She sometimes hangs out with the other girls from my caviary, and is very nice to them. She isn't the best partner for a show Texel, though- she will nibble their fur!

Texels Always Come in Trios

We received our third trio of Texels in the middle of June. The breeder who we had previously bought pigs from started having health issues and was downsizing. She was offering some of her best quality guinea pigs, including a lot of Texels. We went to a show in Spencer, Massachusetts on June 15 to pick them up. 

The first cavy we bought was a Chocolate, Orange, and White Sow whom we named Nativefox's Seabreeze as her show name, and Belle as her barn name. She is very sweet, although she was, and still is, very scared.

Seabreeze

The second was Dreamwalker, a senior boar of the same pattern as Belle. He sired many litters for his breeder and is about a year and a  half old. He is also very good at posing, as he has gone to many shows.

Dreamwalker

The third piggy was a birthday surprise for me from my parents. Mom knew that I loved red eyed guinea pigs (even though they creep her out). The breeder happened to have a PEW (pink eyed white) whom she was going to keep but couldn't, as she was having health problems, as mentioned before. So my mother bought the PEW, but only told me that she had purchased Seabreeze and Dreamwalker. (She also didn't tell me the price of the guinea pigs....who knew someone could buy three guinea pigs for 150 dollars?) We named him Choking Hazard as his show name, or Captain Hook as his barn name, but normally we just call him PEW.

Choking Hazard

My First Litter

"Mom, Izzy, you guys might want to come down here..."
"Rapunzel?"
"Yup."

 Big Savings, Junior
My sister had come upstairs from handling her bunnies (her website is here) and told me and Mom to come down. She led us to Rapunzel's cage. I peered in. Inside the cage were three tiny pups. Rapunzel was still cleaning them up, but it seemed like she had gotten distracted, and one of the babies was having trouble breathing. Mom did not waste any time in taking the baby out of the cage and cleaning out its nose.

Dangerous Beans, Junior
Thankfully, the baby started breathing and all of the pups did great.
The next day, I held each of the babies for a while. There was one Broken Orange and White one, one Tortoiseshell and White one, and a Broken tricolor Black, White, and Cream. They were all Texels, and currently they are juniors by age, and some of them are intermediates by weight.

Feedsfour, Junior

Zippy Little Piggy

"Remember, Izzy, this time you can only get one, not three."

In mid-March, we needed a boar to breed with Regina. We ended up going back to the same breeder that we got the girls from, who happened to be the 4-H leader. we walked in and greeted everyone in the club. Soon i got to see the three boars, each almost as tiny as Rapunzel was. There were two with red eyes and one beautiful silver.

Robin Hood, full grown

I ended up buying one of the red eyed ones, who I named Robin Hood, who was Regina's boyfriend in Once Upon A Time. He is an American Broken Lilac/Beige, but he is shown in Any Other Marked (AOM) because of the red eyes. He was very zippy when I got him, however, and when I opened the cage, he ran right to the front and jumped out. Thankfully, he got calmer as he got older and now he is just as gentle as the other cavies. He is the daddy of the baby sow aforementioned here.

Not One, But Three

"Rapunzel needs a friend," my mom said. "Or two friends..." I countered.

We were both wrong.

Mom had sent me to a 4-H Meeting in early December, hoping for me to come back with an American sow so that Rapunzel would not be lonely. When I got to the meeting, the 4-H leader had a cage with three baby sows in it. One had red eyes and white and red splotches of fur, and the other two were also AOMs, but looked almost like TSWs.

Emma, full grown

Later in the evening, I waited outside while my sister texted our parents. I had begged her to ask them if I could take all three. The breeder said that she would allow it, as long as my parents were okay with it.

Snow White, full grown
Because I have awesome parents, I was given permission to take home all three. I named the TSW-like AOMs  Snow White and Emma (shown in the pictures above), and the red-eyed one Regina, after the evil queen from Once Upon A Time because my mom said that the red eyes made her look evil. Regina is now the mother of  one baby sow.