Bad Feed

We recently got a bag of food that looked really bad.  The picture above shows the food from the bag we were using in the top right and the freshly opened bag on the bottom left.  The date codes were very recent and the food came from a reputable source.  The pellets were inconsistent in color and had large chunks of unformed food mixed in.  This is a good indicator that the food had gotten wet and was moldy.  Never feed food that looks like this to your animals.  There is an excellent article on feed issues in Domestic Rabbits (the ARBA magazine) from April 2014.  Always give your feed a good once over before giving it to your animals!

post by : Melissa.  Cavy cuddler, Financial backer, cage builder, part-time cavy medic, and final arbiter of all decisions made (AKA Mom)

How To Make Guinea Pig Toys: Three Simple Toys to Make for your Piggies

Toy #1:

Cardboard Ball

These toys are great to stuff with hay, carrots, kale, and other treats. Your guinea pigs will love them!

You will need:

A cardboard tube

Scissors

Treats

1. Cut four small round strips of cardboard from the tube.

2. Put one of the strips inside the other, so they overlap.

3. Put another strip inside those two.

4. Place the last strip the same way.

5. Stuff treats inside it through the cracks, and you're done!

***

Toy #2

Hanging Toy
featuring Thing One

You will need:

A cardboard tube

Scissors

Ball of twine

Treats

1. Cut two round strips of cardboard off of the cardboard tube.

2. Cut a hole in each side of one of the strips.

3. Cut a piece of twine from the ball of twine.

4. Tie a knot in one end.

5. Put one side of the strip of cardboard onto the twine.

6. Take a thin carrot slice and poke a medium sized hole in it.

7. Put the carrot slice onto the twine. String the twine through the other hole in the cardboard strip.

8. Cut holes in the other piece of cardboard, same as step 2.

9. Tie a knot in the twine, right near the top of the other cardboard strip.

10. Repeat step 5 with the second cardboard strip.

11. Take another carrot slice and repeat steps six and seven.

12. You can substitute carrots for most treats, such as kale or apple. Hang the toy in your piggies' cage and they will happily start eating away!

Toy #3

You will need:

Scissors
Two cardboard balls (Toy #1)
Ball of twine
Treats

1. Take one cardboard strip off of each cardboard ball.

2. Cut a hole in each side of both strips. Put the strips back on.

3. Cut a piece of twine from the ball of twine.

4. Tie a knot in the end of the twine.

5. Put both cardboard balls onto the twine.

6. Stuff treats inside of both cardboard balls, hang it on your guinea pig's cage, and you're done!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Everything's been really busy around the caviary!

At the STORRS show on 3/1/15, we brought home seven- SEVEN!- extra piggies! First was Nativefox Tecumseh, a little baby Peruvian boar from my Texel mentor. She had been planning to surprise me, and it turns out Mom was in on it! (I'm surprised Mom managed to keep the secret for that long. When she got PEW, he was meant to be a surprise but she ended up telling me maybe half an hour after she put him on hold.) I can't describe the expression on my face when she gave him to me. "But... but... how much is he?"

Nativefox Tecumseh

Next was Cutie Pie's Poe Boy and Cutie Pie's Lenore. Poe Boy was planned, Mom had bought him about a week before from the breeder and the breeder was going to deliver him to the show. When mom went to pick up Poe Boy, she said:

"Hey, want a sow for him?"

Cutie Pie's Poe Boy

Kline's Rufus

Cutie Pie's Lenore

Later in the day, while we were waiting for them to FINALLY start judging cavies (who knew there were so many holland lops?), `one of our breeder friends came up and tapped Mom on the shoulder. Shes led her over to a box of piggies and leaned in, grabbing two little boys. Of, course, Mom decided to buy them.  Later, she ended up going back and getting another.  They became Dad's boys and they built them a cage up in the living room. They're named Bill, Ted, and Rufus, after characters from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.
"And together they are... the WYLD STALLYNS!"

Kline's Ted

Kline's Bill

Last was Pepper, Lenore's sister. The breeder came up to us while we were (still!) waiting for the Texels to be called up and said:
"Want another sow?"

Cutie Pie's Pepper

When the Texels were finally judged for show A, there were four broken Int. sows. FullMoon got 4th in the class, Donut got 3rd, and Clemie got 2nd. 1st was taken by one of my breeder friend's sows. who went on to win Best of Breed and Best in Show. The judge said Pig Who Shall Not Be Named  was promising and gave her Best Junior of Breed- I'm excited to see how she does at the next show!

Show A started shortly after. Some of the breeders had already left because it started to snow. Clemie took Best Opposite of Breed. Pig Who Shall Not Be Named got Best Junior again, same as last time.

IPP Darling Clementine

IPP Pig Who Shall Not Be Named

During the show, I sold IPP Jingle Belles to a future breeder! Her name is now Tulip and the breeder's planning to show her at the show in the 29th. She'll get to go head to head with her sister, Pig Who Shall Not Be Named!

IPP Jingle Belles

I also sold IPP Bite Size to someone who was looking for another pet boy.

IPP Bite Size

After the show was over, we packed up and headed home. The only bad thing about the show was that it was snowing, so we missed out on getting the UConn ice cream again!

*****

On Friday the 13th, Miss Little Piggy and Big Savings's litter was born! (For those of you who don't know, I lent Big Savings to another breeder, Sharyl, for a co breeding back in December, and this is his litter.) Three healthy little wheekers- two TSW sows and a broken red boar. The red boar will be named Kenny and he's on hold for a friend of the breeder. One of the TSW sows will be staying with the breeder and will be named Clementine. The other TSW sow will be coming here for my breeding/showing program and will be named  IPP Big Spender.

It seem our luck didn't last. On the 14th, Feedsfour developed pregnancy toxemia. She had one stillborn baby and was very lethargic. She still had more babies inside of her. We brought her upstairs and put her in a cage in my mom's room for the night. She made it through the night and had the two babies, both stillborn.

Meanwhile, things werent going so well at Sharyl's house either. Miss Little Piggy got mastitis. We went over to her house to help her treat her. When we came home, Feedsie had passed.

Feedsie as a baby

Feedsfour

That night, Molly had her litter. Four (thank goodness!) HEALTHY babies- a mismark boar, a black/cream/white sow, and two black and white sows. Molly did very well with her babies.

Molly's babies

Molly

The following morning, we got the news that Miss Little Piggy didn't make it. She was a gorgeous piggy and a great mama. Luckily, her babies survived. Panda Chow Mein, whom I sold to Sharyl a while ago, helped show the babies how to eat and drink like adults.

***

The more recent news is a lot less sad.  I set up a co breeding with Nativefox Caviary- she'll lend me her sow to breed to Rumplestiltskin (Boston Gold) and the sow will be sent back to her once she's confirmed pregnant. She'll get the first and third pick from the litter and I'll get second and anything else. There's a lot of risk, of course, but it's still exciting.

Also, I found a self sow from California, and Tulip's new owner is helping me set up transport for her! She'll be great to breed to one of the Things. Her name will be Sally.
***

Baby Explosion Coming Up!

Watch out, one more month and there'll be another baby explosion in the caviary! Mom and I think a couple of our sows are pregnant, along with Miss Little Piggy, our friend's sow who was bred to our boar, Big Savings. Miss Little Piggy will probably be the first to have a litter. Next will probably be Molly, who was bred to Robin Hood. Lastly, Feedsfour was bred to either Thing One or Rumpelstiltskin (we switched boars to make sure she got pregnant) and will probably go a little after Molly.

Philosophy

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

Anatole France

quick intro to me:  I am Melissa.  Cavy cuddler, Financial backer, cage builder, part-time cavy medic, and final arbiter of all decisions made (AKA Mom)

This is not a judgment on other breeders with a different philosophy. This is our philosophy. We came in to cavies after doing dog rescue for years. I can hear the gasps. We are not animal rights people. We are not vegan or vegetarian. We don't stalk breeders with plans to have their animals taken away by animal control. I don't care if you breed meat animals, reptile food, pets or show animals. If you take care of your animals and enjoy them we have plenty of common ground to be friends. Years in rescue have given us a bit different of an outlook than some breeders, however, and this post is to outline our philosophy.

First and foremost our animals are bred to be loving companions. They are handled from birth. Sows are held frequently through pregnancy, feeling little baby movements in her belly is a joy. We even have a stethoscope because finding little heartbeats is fun, too. Texel cavies are not the best breed for this because of their lovely curls. Petting tends to frizz them and decrease the quality of their coat. You can't help the breed you fall in love with, so we make the best of this and don't let it stop us. Izzy does groom very often to try to make up for it, though. Coat on a texel is at it's best when they are young, however, this is the best time to handle them and get them used to being handled. We handle them constantly when they are young. Our biggest goal is to produce loving and cuddly animals. A loving animal is always easier to care for and enjoy than one that isn't, and after their show career is over they become pets (some with the side job of breeding the next generation).

We don't take ourselves, our animals or even shows very seriously. Dangerous Beans, Choking Hazard and Bite Size all say "the heck with being stuffy and boring, we want to have fun!". We tend to bring a bit of the crazy to the shows with us but as long as we are laughing and having fun we are doing what we set out to do. You really can't take yourself too seriously when dealing with animals, anyway. All that does is convince them that they need to pee on you or something to lighten the mood (tip: Bring some extra clothes to shows in case you need to change. Or use an apron. Everyone will understand about the random wet patch on your clothes, but it gets uncomfortable).

We strive for the highest quality show animals possible. Why? Because winning is fun. Umm. No, that wasn't it... Well, it is fun, but that isn't the reason. The reason is that a good quality show animal is put together correctly and is healthy. You can't have an unhealthy animal with long gorgeous hair, etc. Showing gives you a good review of your animals and compares them against others from other breeders. It tells you if your animal has the genes that should be passed on to create another generation or is maybe just best as a well loved pet. It is also a critique of your husbandry. Your care of your animals influences how well they do on the table and by comparing your animal to others you can see where you need to change your husbandry. It gives you a chance to learn from other breeders and sometimes even teach new people things. By showing you can be certain you are going to further the breed with your breeding plans, which brings us to...

Breeding with a purpose. Breeding should be by choice and that choice should be a carefully considered one. Our thought process on breeding goes like this:
1. Is the animal healthy and at a good age to breed?
2. What are the animal faults? What are it's strengths? Do we have an appropriate partner for it?
3. What do we want from this potential litter?
4. Do we have space and finances to keep them forever if needed?

If we don't have a good answer to all of those questions the animal is not bred. Every animal bred here (or even brought here) has a home with us forever. We accept returns with no questions asked. We don't expect animals to be sold. We like it when they sell - feed gets expensive and making space means we can breed again - but we do not plan on animals finding a new home. We are prepared for them to stay. This does mean that if you aren't buying from us at a rabbit show you will be interrogated by someone that is barely tall enough to ride the bumper cars at the amusement park. In another post I will cover the questions we have for potential homes. Most people at shows know us and know the care of the animals so they can bypass the third degree. Mostly.

Health Tip: Fur Mites

At some point in a guinea pig's life, they are bound to get fur mites. This isn't anything you did wrong, or anything wrong with the animal, it's just normal. Usually a long haired cavy with mites will have bald spots, and a short haired one might have larger-than-normal bald areas behind the ears. To treat mites, you can use Ivermectin. Use a syringe and drop a drop of Ivermectin behind each ear. Do a second dose in 10 days.

*We use Ivermectin 1% injection solution.  It can be purchased at most feed stores and tractor supply.  Some people use other products but this is what we have experience with and usually have on hand.  It is also used for a heartworm preventative in dogs and a mite treatment in our rabbitry. -Melissa, AKA Mom

Farewell, Orange One

Scout "Pig" passed away this Thursday. He most likely had an upper respiratory issue, maybe from the bug that was going around in our family. Pig was an awesome animal, and he was what got me into this hobby. I will miss him dearly. We used to call him "The Orange One" because he was a beautiful deep orange color.

From left to right: Rumple, Pig, and Gold

Pig and his "best friend" (more like mortal enemy) Robin Hood

Crantini Blast?

I recently found out that Mr. Gold has a brother-but it turns out it wasn't who we thought it was. When we bought him, he was caged with Rumpelstiltskin, whom we bought with him. We assumed that they were brothers. The birth of Feedsfour reinforced this theory, because Gold, the father, was orange and the mother was TSW while Rumple and Feedsfour both had cream. Theoretically, if they were brothers, Gold would have a good chance of carrying genes for cream.

However, that theory turned on its head when Dreamwalker came in June. I went to the website of the breeder to look at pictures of Dreamwalker as a baby and happened to look at a picture of the other boar in the litter, an orange and white. I compared Gold to the picture out of curiosity. Sure enough, they matched perfectly. Mom was skeptical, though- what are the odds that I'd buy a pig and unknowingly get his brother nearly six months later? Next to none. Eventually I bugged her enough that she asked the breeder, and she told her story. After she sold Gold to me, she became very sick and didn't get a chance to record what had  happened to him. He was one of the mysteries of her caviary. She sent me his pedigree and told me his real name: Crantini Blast.

Mr. Gold/NF Flashback/NF Crantini Blast

Rumplestiltskin/NF Biohazard

NF Dreamwalker

Health Tip: Corneal Abrasions

Sometimes guinea pigs get an eye condition called a corneal abrasion. In my experience I've only had two guinea pigs with corneal abrasions, and both of them were baby Texels. Sometimes the fur curls into the eye, giving it a corneal abrasion. I have also heard from experienced breeders that other breeds can get corneal abrasions from hay poke or getting bedding in their eyes. This can happen at any age in any breed, although it is most common in baby Texels. It is treatable, so don't panic if it pops up in an animal in your herd.
To identify corneal abrasions, look for a cloudiness in one or both eyes. They also may not want to open the eye/eyes with the corneal abrasion(s). You can use a guinea pig with normal, healthy eyes to compare to if you are not completely sure what to look for. Usually in Texel litters one baby with a corneal abrasion pops up every two litters.
Once you know an animal has a corneal abrasion, you need to know how to treat it. When I had an animal with one, I became scared because I thought she was blind. Luckily, my friend and mentor let me know what it was and how to treat it. You can use either Triple Antibiotic or vitamin A capsules. Either way, you treat it twice a day, morning and night, until the eye looks normal. To use the vitamin A capsules, you break them open and squeeze all of the liquid into the eye. Use one capsule per eye and make sure all of the liquid goes into the eye, especially if the animal is trying to keep the eye closed. To use the triple antibiotic, take a small amount of it from the tube with your finger and gently rub it on the eye. I like to hold the animal until the triple antibiotic has dried completely so their cage mate doesn't lick it off. My personal concern is that if they lick it off, the animal that consumed it might get sick because guinea pigs cannot have many antibiotics.
You should check all of your Texel babies (and your other piggies) for corneal abrasions often. Gone untreated, a corneal abrasion could potentially blind the animal. However, if you treat it, it should clear up in about a week and a half, depending on the animal, and the animal will live healthily.

Dangerous Beans x Choking Hazard

Dangerous Beans had her litter! I would say finally, but I can't, really- I wasn't expecting her to have a litter for a couple weeks at least! The boar may have still been in with Dangerous Beans, so she may be pregnant again, although I hope not. That's why you should remove the boar as soon as you know the sow is pregnant, even if cage space is tight. I realize that this was a mistake on my part, because I wanted to give her time to recover after having a litter.

Welcome IPP Baked Beans and IPP Cool Beans to the world! They are both broken Texel boars. 

Baked Beans, please be agouti!

Baked Beans

Cool Beans