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| Guinea pigs for sale in an Ecuadorian market. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Pre-prepare.
First of all, you need to check that there are not too many other breeders in your area. This is the same as any business as if there is an oversupply you will not be able to sell all of your guinea pigs.
Make sure that you have a good knowledge of guinea pigs as you are going to have to talk a lot to potential buyers about guinea pig care and guinea pig habits. You will need to explain to them exactly how they need to care got their new pet. A great thing to do is to supply them with a list when they purchase a guinea pig off you. Another thing to remember to include on this list is what foods the guinea pigs can and cannot eat. This is a very important and useful thing to do as no one would like to poison their new pet by accident.
A huge amount of guinea pigs die each year due to improper care or simply because their owners have to breed too many. A good idea is to find some families or people that want to buy your new guinea pigs before you even begin to breed them. This way you know that your new guinea pig babies will have a secure and loving home to go to.
Mating
The age a female should be before she gives birth is at least four to six months.
You should try to keep your breeding as close to nature as possible. This will ensure healthy babies. The female guinea pig cycle goes for around sixteen days, although your female will only be able to mate for between eight and twenty-four hours of that.
How you can tell that a male is aroused is when he lowers his head and walks towards the female. This is not a random walk but one to entice the female to join his love dance. Guinea pigs will make a rumbling noise. This is a very specific noise and does not be alarmed if you hear it. The male's backside will also sway from side to side occasionally.
Some male guinea pigs will even perform a mating dance. In this case, they will place their front legs on any object available and move around trying to attract the female. These movements may include side to side waving, swaying, and wiggling. This can be a very entertaining spectacle to watch however this is actually a finely tuned process that has evolved over hundreds of years to produce the best results possible for the species. So if you feel the need to laugh maybe it is polite to leave the room.
When a female is interested in the male she will begin to squeak with a lot of excitement and anxiety. These squeaks will get louder as the male gets closer to her. Sometimes the female guinea pig will not be interested. This may be because she is not currently on heat or it might not be the right time in her cycle. What she will do if this is the case is snap at the male or even bite him. If he is very persistent she may even urinate in his face to discourage him.
If a female guinea pig is being really forward she may back up against the male. This is a sign for him to mount her. This is a very common event so do not be nervous if she seems to be behaving in a way you have never seen her behave. Don't worry the guinea pigs know what they are doing.
A male guinea pig can be used as a stud. In fact, a male guinea pig can mate with up to ten females in one period of time if they are all available to him in the guinea pig run. But really I don't think you need that many guinea pigs.
Fiona Bodington loves guinea pigs and has through her research compiled lots of helpful information about caring for guinea pigs. Article Source: EzineArticles |
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