Babies!!!

We have three new arrivals to our family! The night of January 18, Milkshake had her adorable babies. She had four babies, one right after another but the last baby was born struggling to breathe and gasping for air as it came. Shayne and I did some reading about how to help the newborns. We tried to clear a blockage in its throat by spinning around, we tried guinea pig CPR with a straw... sadly the baby died within 10 minutes of it's birth. Danelle named it "Jackie." It will be buried by our other guinea pigs.

The other three pigs are doing WONDERFULLY though. Only four days old and already eating hay and food, and testing out the water bottle. They are growing so fast! We named the brown and black baby, Pepsi. The black and white, Oreo. Danelle named the last piggy Pumpkin Pie since it's orange and white like pumpkin pie and whip cream. Mommy is doing great too and is really looking out for those sweet babies.

I already have homes in mind for the little darlings. I wish I could keep them. We are debating to keep one of the pigs, but it all depends on what their genders are (which we won't know until they are bigger). I do feel good about the homes we are sending them to though. I know they will be happy and well taken care of.

I don't see ourselves being guinea pig breeders, in case anyone was wondering. If I have learned anything over the past year with these animals it's that they are fragile and finicky somewhat. There are too many chances for something to go wrong, and I would feel terrible sending pigs off to homes that might not care for them properly. We feel strongly to leave the breeding up to responsible people who can afford their vet and emergent care if needed coupled with an expert knowledge about the possible outcomes. Breeding animals can be a game to people, and those people should not breed their pets.

On a lighter note, I never imagined we would get this opportunity but when we took Milkshake into our family she came with a package we didn't know about. It's been a joy and we are loving them while we have them in our lives.