One of our guniea pigs, Peaches (short for Peaches and Cream) had 2 babies! They are adorable! The mom is the white and red piggy in the background. Unlike any other rodent that I am familiar with, baby piglets, known as "kits", are born with hair, eyes open, already have teeth, and running around. Although they do nurse for the first couple of weeks, they don't need to as they are eating solid food from the first day. They are totally self-sufficient newborns.
The other piggy named Tulip has not yet had her babies, and she looks like she is about to explode. She is huge! It is almost painful to even look at her. She is nothing but belly. She has gotten to the point that her back legs can't support her weight independently, so although she can walk normally on her front two legs, her back two work together and hop like a bunny. Poor thing is ravenous all the time and eats night and day. She will push everybody else out of the way to get to the food. She is also the most vocal of all the guinea pigs I have ever had. She can get really loud to let you know she is out of food.
We have been keeping the two moms and babies inside for the last week, to monitor the deliveries and try to keep the babies warm as the temperature is getting down to freezing at night. The other 4 pigs are just fine outdoors in cold weather- we just make sure they stay dry and have lots of hay to burrow into. I'll post pictures when Tulip becomes a mom.
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