[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Latest age to be bred

[DebJonSara at aol.com]

In a factsheet issued to me by the Cambridge Cavy Trust, it says "at the  CCT 
hospital over many years' worth of experience, no radiological evidence has  
ever proven this 'bone fusion' theory'. Certainly older first time mothers are 
 more likely to experience stasis during labour, but this is often due to  
relatively weaker muscles rather than a restrictive passage through the birth  
canal. Indeed, Vedra (CCT's founder) has received many elderly first time  
mothers at the hospital in order to monitor their potentially dangerous progress  
through littering down, and has found that for the most part, the births occur 
 with litle problem. Having said that, for a first pregnancy, the optimum age 
is  4-5 months to put the sow with a boar".
 
I hope this will reassure you a little. I was in a similar position about a  
year or so ago, when one of my boars escaped into a run containing 4 females  
aged over a year who had never been pregnant. I watched closely for signs of  
pregnancy and worried like mad that I would lose all 4 in a horrible way  (no 
maternity care for guinea pigs here in France). But thankfully, the only one  
to produce any offspring was one of 2 experienced mums who were also in the 
run  at the same time - what a relief! It was thus we acquired Zebra and 
Cannelletto  (although sadly 2 other babies were still born).
 
If you have a knowledgeable vet, it might be an idea to have him/her on  
standby, but I would strongly advise against a precautionary C section - there  
are so very many risks involved in surgery on such small creatures, and you want 
 mummy pig to feel at her best when feeding her babies if possible.
 
Good luck with it all, and let us know how it turns out
 
Debbie and her 18 Dolly Mixtures