If you're a guinea pig owner you've probably entertained the thought of breeding guinea pigs as a hobby. This can be very fun and educational. If you decide to take on this ambitious hobby then you need to make sure that you have the time, the space, the money, and most importantly, the knowledge to do it correctly.

So let's start with learning all we can about breeding cavies so that you can raise happy and healthy cavy pups.

The Cavy's Reproductive Cycle

Male cavies, which are called boars, reach reproductive maturity between 60 and 70 days of age (2 - 2 1/2 months). Female cavies, called sows, will reach their reproductive maturity in about the same time frame, but can actually begin their estrous cycle in as few as 4 - 5 weeks. It is not uncommon for the father cavy to breed their own daughters even before they are weaned. If you're not attentive you could have more cavies on your hands than you anticipated! It is a good idea to separate the boar from the young female cavies for this reason. If young sows are bred at less than 6 weeks of age they will probably have a difficult time carrying all the way through the pregnancy, and may have stillbirths.

The Proper Age to Breed

The time-frame window to breed your female cavy is actually quite small. If you are going to breed your sow the ideal time to do so is between the age of 10 weeks and 6 months. You should never breed a cavy sow before the age of 6 weeks, and if the sow have never been bred before, you should not breed her after the age of 8 months.

The reason that they should not be bred after 8 months of age (if they have never been bred) is that by that age the female's symphysis pubis will have fused together and they will not be able to pass the fetus through the birth canal, and will usually die of complications.

The Cavy Pregnancy

A female cavy's pregnacy, or gestation period, can last between 59 and 72 days, averaging 63 to 69 days, depending on the size of the litter she is carrying. The bigger the litter the shorter the gestation period. The average cavy litter size is 3 or 4 pups, but can be as few as 1 pup, or as many as 6 pups. The pups are very well developed when they are born. When they are born they are fully haired, their eyes are wide open, they have fully formed teeth, and they can be nibbling on solid food right away. But they still rely on their parents for nutrition and warmth until they are fully weaned after 14 to 21 days.

The Birth of a Cavy

Cavie parents don't seem to be concerned about planning for the birth of their pups, in fact ehy make no preparation at all. Cavies usually go into labor in the evening hours and it comes on very suddenly. The sow will give birth to her pups by sitting up and leaning over, or by squatting. The baby cavies are born head-first, and are born 5 to 10 minutes apart. The entire birthing process last approximately 30 minutes. The new mother cavy will clean up the placenta and other tissues by eating them. It is a good idea to leave the mother and pups alone for several hours after they are born.

Weaning the Cavy Pups

As I already mentioned cavy pups are born very well developed and can actually eat solid food within days of being born. But they still need their mothers milk until they are at least 2 weeks old, and preferably 3 weeks old.

As much as you might want to you probably won't be able to keep all of the new pups in the litter. Now that you have a litter of weaned pups it is your responsibility to make sure that you find a caring and loving home that will provide excellent care of each and every one of them.

One last note: Before you plunge into the hobby of breeding guinea pigs you should ask yourself why you want to breed guinea pigs. Be completely honest with your answer. If your answer is that you want to make money then let me be the bearer of bad news: It is highly unlikely that you will make a profit, in fact you will be lucky if you even break even. Sorry, breeding guinea pigs is just not a money maker.