Baby Pictures

Kinsa's babies have grown so much in the past few days. They are proper guinea pigs now! They have been introduced to the rest of the pig herd and seem to be getting along just fine. I put Kinsa and the babies in with the females yesterday and after checking that there was no fighting I left. I came back a few hours later and found all the female guinea pigs lined up at Kinsa's side, waiting their turn for a drink of milk!! I made a mental note not to leave Kinsa in with other guinea pigs for too long...

Video of Kinsa Giving Birth

I was finally able to put the video of Kinsa giving birth on YouTube! It is ten minutes long but you can see them actually coming out of her and how she cleans and takes care of them afterward.

You can see the video on YouTube Here.

Kinsa Cleaning Her Babies After Birth

Here are pictures of Kinsa cleaning her babies and eating the placenta. It's a little bloody, for those of you who are queasy, but so amazing!!

They have arrived!!!!!

I spoke too soon!!! At exactly 4:30pm, 45 minutes after I wrote the last post I heard some strange hiccupy squeals coming from Kinsa's box and... it was happening!!! Here are the babies! Two girls, Bianca and Violetta Christine, one boy (on the bottom), Emile.

Still Waiting......

Kinsa still has not given birth!!!!

This leads me to think I may have got something wrong about the pelvic separation. I felt her butt this morning and it is much looser than it was a few days ago and the separation between the two parts of the pelvis is much wider. In fact, I can fit one whole finger's width between the bones. That's it. I've given up. I am letting nature just take its course while I take mine. The babies are still moving around in there so I'm not too worried. Kinsa, I will be here for you when the babies are out... but until then, you're on your own!!

While we wait for the new arrivals, I will introduce you to another one of my piggies, Beatrice. She was born on Thanksgiving weekend, 2008, so is almost two months old. She's a golden agouti teddy born of a Himalayan mother and a golden agouti father. This isn't the most wonderful of pictures but you can see the little box she likes to sleep in and the piece of hay she is chewing.

A Watched Pot Never Boils

I have been up all night staring at Kinsa and i think i am going a bit barmy. My eyes hurt from looking at her without turning my head in her direction and i feel on the verge of a nervous breakdown...! I wish she would just spit those babies out and get it over with!!! In between moments of rest she goes teetering around her box to drink water as if she'd been thirsty for days and gorge on her pig pellets as if she hadn't eaten in weeks.. She keeps bending underneath herself while turning around in circles which makes me think she's going to expel at any moment and then... she sits back down again! It is maddening! I think she has noticed me staring at her and is growing more and more resentful as the time wears on. It is as if she is withholding herself until the first moment I am out of the room.. I am terrified to leave in case she pulls this move on me. I am not going to school today (I have only one class) because I don't think I could handle the psychological torment of sitting through a lecture on Egypt and the Ottomans while my darling pig hovers on the brink of the unknown.. I wrote an email to my professor asking if I could make up the lesson. I told him my guinea pig was about to give birth...

Video of Kinsa's Babies Moving

Updates on Kinsa's pregnancy:

The pelvic bones seem to be separating!! There is a space about half the width of my finger in between them... Her butt is getting squishier, looser, and kind of spongy. I was able to catch a video of the babies kicking in her tummy but you have to watch very closely and on the higher resolution option on YouTube. At this point I can tell she is glad of the peace and quiet in my room because every time somebody else comes in or it gets loud with voices she gets a bit tense and uncomfortable. The babies are kicking a lot more today than they were last night - her entire body is now going up and down as they move. I am so excited!!!

Here is the video, you can watch it on high resolution HERE:



Here are pictures of her eating her nightly salad:

Kinsa's 63rd Day of Pregnancy

Here are pictures of Kinsa the Peruvian on her 63rd day of pregnancy. I have cut off all her hair to make it easier for her to take care of the babies... I don't necessarily recommend this. I only cut it all off because I was freaked out she wouldn't be able to see through her hair well enough to clean them etc. You can see her little footies sticking out behind her...