Dutch:

© Lothlórien Caviary

Every now and then we pair new couples.

But before we do that, the guinea pigs have to meet certain standards...
1. Our sows have to be at least 5 months old before we consider them ready for breeding. For boars (whose efforts are somewhat shorter and less strenuous...) behaviour is our guideline, rather than a specific age limit or weight limit, to determine when they are ready for breeding. Between 4 and 5 months old they are usually mature enough to approach the sow in the right way, but there are a lot of individual differences, so younger or older age at first mating also happens.
2. A sow has to weigh at least 750 gram to be considered for breeding. The animals usually continue to grow after breeding, so this weight limit is predominantly important for a first litter.
3. Sows usually get about 2 litters a year. This is however merely a guideline, if a sow needs more time to recover, she will be allowed to take a longer break, and if a sow gets fat she will be put in breeding sooner. Obesity has dangers of its own and having a litter prevents a sow from getting too fat.
4. Both the sow and the boar definitely have to be healthy and of good character!

When de guinea pigs have reached these standards, the fun can start! Every litter is exciting all over again: What will these new pups look like?

On november 26th Hobbit got Mairen for a long stay visit. The old man still knows a thing or two about courtesy and I hope the results will be nice. UPDATE after 3 months (!!!) no pregnancy to be felt. Therefor she moved over to Soleil om march 3th. Because of her age I will leave her there only until april. Shouldn't she be pregnant by then, then I'll be forced to sell her as pet. UPDATE 2 Mairen was still not pregnant end of april. She moved to a pethome. End of may she will be palpated to be sure she isn't pregnant. When not, I'll remove this couple from my website.

Gaia didn't get pregnant an earlier mating and was re-mated to Forest of Fangorn in february. Let's see if she wants to carry his babies.

On january 31st Soleil (now proven silvercarrier) got Loëndë as partner. I do hope Loëndë is carrier of non-agouti, then she might get solid silveragouti's.... UPDATE 3 months later still no pregnancy. I placed Loëndë to her father Forest of Fangorn, a reliable breeder.

Lord of Lórien was placed to two sows right after weaning. We'll see when he feels old enough to approach them in the right way ;-) Here he is with Valanya.

Lord of Lórien was placed to two sows right after weaning. We'll see when he feels old enough to approach them in the right way ;-) Here he is with Erendis.

On march 25th Narsil and Belladonna Took were mated. I'm expecting brindle, magpie and magpie sable. Small chances for BEW.

Although I'm not yet sure if his attempts will bury fruits, I have seen Lord of Lórien perform his boarly tasks in april. Now that the young fellow knows how to breed, I placed Elenya with him on april 22nd. Elenya is only 4 months, but 950 grams (!).

New approach. Soleil has had different sows but so far he bred only Annatar here. So I placed Annatar back in his pen on april 22nd, hoping they'll mate again.

Soleil had Varda Elentári as mate on april 22nd. Varda Elentári has had babies before, so it doesn't matter all that much if it takes longer.

Forest of Fangorn usually is a quick breeder... I hope Heryn is willing to receive his babies!