Breeding Guinea Pigs

The first thing that you need to know about breeding guinea pigs is that it always puts the female’s life at risk. About twenty per cent of all sows die giving birth to their young. Also, stillbirths and abortion are very common.

I spoken to several rescue shelter managers and guinea pig lovers who consider it unethical irresponsible to breed guinea pigs. The main reason being that there are already too many cavies are need of homes and loving owners. If you are breeding because you think it would be “fun” for you and your kids, then I strongly you to reconsider.

Many guinea pig owners have had the experience of looking in the cage one morning to find four piggies instead of one. It is even more surprising when they were convinced that they had adopted or bought a male.

All these factors need to be considered and thought over before you move forward with breeding. It is also very time consuming and will demand a lot of personal time from you. If you don’t have the time to devote to this, then please don’t do it.

When breeding because you want to show your cavy, you really need to see a professional and get their advice. It is very expensive so it is best to find out all you can first. Don’t just jump in without prior knowledge of what is involved.

At what age can you start to breed guinea pigs?

Sows need to be over four months old and younger than eight months old when first impregnated. This is really important as the hip bones fuse after eight months of age.

If you are unsure about the age of your female then you need to change your plans and find another one to breed. If you go ahead, then you risk the life of the mother and the babies she produces.

Male guinea pigs need to be about eight months old before they should mate.