The Raising and Care of Guinea Pigs Part 3

Premature Birth.

Females are occasionally lost when giving birth prematurely to little ones and sometimes the young ones when born are so weak that they do not live long. This is caused by too frequent littering, by fright, over fatness or physical weakness. Over crowding in a cold drafty hutch in severe weather may so weaken the mother that she bears weak ones. Take especially good care of the pregnant females. Give them the choice food and the best quarters. Do not let them breed too often or start too young. Do not allow them to be handled or frightened.

Worms.

If a Guinea Pig is a good feeder and still does not grow, if he looks unhealthy and his coat is not glossy he may have worms. Give a half teaspoonful of any kind of worm medicine such as children use. Feed lightly and not at all until the medicine has taken effect.

Going Light.

Sometimes in spite of all you can do a Guinea Pig goes light. If the treatment for worms has no effect it may be tuberculosis. Separate at once from the others. Give special diet of milk and bread or bran and oats. If it does not get better destroy it as it does not pay to have such stock around.

Colds, Pneumonia.

When they have pneumonia there is usually no help for them. Cold, damp and drafty quarters are usually the cause. About the only thing to do is to move them to warmer quarters, give warm milk and a few drops of any good cold remedy that you may have in the house. As an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure you should use every care to see that they do not catch cold.

Lice.

Use any good insect powder or any poultry lice killer. Clean out the hutches or pens and disinfect with any good disinfectant. They are not often bothered if kept in good condition.

Wounds.

Males sometimes hurt each other in fights. Cleanse the wound with warm water, remove the hair around it with sharp scissors and apply any good healing salve.

Running at the Eyes.

This is often caused by a cold. Wash the eyes in a solution of boric acid that you can get any druggist to put up for you.

Paralysis.

Cavies sometimes have dragging of the hind limbs. Some say alfalfa will cause it, but it is usually from some disorder of the kidneys. Give about 25 drops of sweet spirits of nitre three times a day and rub the limbs with a good liniment. Feed carefully for several days and they will often get over it.

General Instructions.

It is much easier to keep Cavies well than to cure a sick one, therefore, try and prevent trouble. Sick ones should be separated from the others and placed in comfortable quarters. Feed only choice food.

Keep their quarters clean, sweet and well ventilated. Give them all air and sun you can and all the room for exercise you can. Feed no mouldy, wet or half cured hay or gra.s.s. Do feed gra.s.s that is wet with dew or rain. Just give your Cavies half a chance and you will find that disease will bother your Caviary but little.

CHAPTER X

PROFITS IN CAVY RAISING.

This industry in America is in its infancy. There are in several sections of the country large Cavy farms but they raise nothing like enough to supply the demand. Either as a side line with only a dozen or two females or whether raised as a business, Guinea Pigs offer a safe, sure and pleasant method of making money.

There is no danger that the business will be overdone as the demand is growing much more rapidly than the supply and as the supply increases more will be used. The hospitals in most cases use them in preference to any other animal for experimental purposes but at this time they cannot get them in sufficient quant.i.ties. There is and always will be a great demand for them as pets. When the people get educated to the food value, this end of the industry will come in for its share. The present high cost of meat and the decreasing supply of cattle indicate that in a few years the people of this country will have to make other preparations for their fresh meat and the Cavy offers the solution to the meat problem. All of these facts make it plain that there is no danger of there getting to be too many Cavies.

Inexpensive to Keep.

The profits in raising Guinea Pigs are large. The price for them on the open market runs all the way from 50c to several dollars each. The cost of raising them to the age when they are to be sold differs, of course with conditions and circ.u.mstances. The man on the farm or in the small town who has access to plenty of food for them without paying for it of course, can raise them cheaper than the man in the city. Even in the city, however, very little has to be bought and that only in the winter time as in the summer lawn clippings and vegetables from the table will feed them and all that will have to be bought is some grain or hay. By saving and curing the lawn clippings there will be no need of buying hay. They are far more profitable than poultry as they not only cost less to feed and keep but are not subject to the diseases that make poultry raising so unprofitable. They occupy smaller s.p.a.ce and are not dirty, noisy or objectionable in any way. Many large Poultry Farms have been turned into Caviaries as their owners have seen that it is easier to make money with Guinea Pigs than with chickens.

Easy to Raise.

Anyone with ordinary intelligence should be able to raise Guinea Pigs successfully. Women do especially well with them as they require less attention and work than chickens. Boys and girls find the raising of them not only a pleasure but profitable and it is a splendid occupation for them as it requires no hard or laborious work. Youngsters from 10 to 17 or 18 years old need a responsibility of some kind and the experience gained in the raising and selling of Guinea Pigs will be very valuable to them in addition to the money they will make. Parents will do well to give their children a chance to raise them. To start with Guinea Pigs does not require a large outlay of capital. By starting with just a few and by keeping the young females it does not take long to build up a herd of breeders that are valuable. As each female produces about 15 young a year and as these young are worth from 50c to several dollars each, you can readily see there is a big opportunity for profit.

Big Profits.

Suppose you begin with six females. In one year they should produce about 90 young and the young females of the first one or two litters should be producing before the end of the year. Therefore, it is pretty safe to a.s.sume that from the six females and their litters you should get every year about 120 pigs. If sold at a price of 50c each these six females would be producing about $60 a year. These figures will show you what 100 females should do.

Starting.

Almost anyone can start raising Guinea Pigs without having to make any very special preparations or a large investment. In any new business it is always best to start in a small way. From a dozen to 25 females will give you an opportunity to learn their habits and you can increase your quarters as your herd increases. It would not be advisable for anyone to start with 100 or more right at once unless he has especially good place for them and a plentiful supply of food. However, by beginning in a small way no risk is taken and you can learn the business as you go along, and you can get extra stock as you make preparation for it.

Selection of Stock.

You cannot be too careful in the selection of your stock. Get good healthy animals to start with as on them depends your success. Scrub Guinea Pigs will pay no better than scrub poultry or cattle. Those found in pet stores are frequently unfitted for breeding purposes as they may have been experimented on or the descendants of such animals. Hospitals are very careful of whom they buy and must be a.s.sured of the purity of the stock. Therefore, you cannot be too careful in the selection of your original stock. Just as no one would start a live stock farm with the cheapest animals that can be bought, so no one should start a Cavy farm with the cheapest Cavies that can be bought. There are many reliable dealers in the country who have good stock for sale. Buy of a well known breeder or dealer and you will have no trouble. Young breeders are to be preferred as they have a longer life before them and are more valuable.

From our own experience with Guinea Pigs we would advise anyone who is interested in this work to take up the raising of them. Whether you have only a few for making a little money on the side or a large number as a real business you will find them very profitable. Certainly a great deal of pleasure can be gotten out of it and there is a wide sale for all you raise. If you will follow the instructions laid down in this little book we do not believe you will have any trouble making a success of the work.