First Things First. What are you going to do with the Babies?

I say this over and over and over; WHAT WORKS IN ONE CAVEIRY MAY OR MAY NOT WORK FOR ANOTHER PERSON. (Cavairy = Group of Cavies ie. Guinea Pigs, kept by a person. Usually someone that is Breeding for Show Animals or Meat or the Pet Market)

There are many ways to set up to Breed GP. One way is to choose your GP based on the Standard of the Breed. I want to stop here and explain just what is a 'Standard of the Breed'.

There are several Breeds within the Cavie, ie GP, species. Long Hair, Short Hair, Curly Hair, No Hair....on and on. How were Breeds developed? Oh Gosh. I am not going to go too deep into this question, but the short answer is Colony Breeding. Each Breed has a written "Standard of Perfection", or, "Standard for the Breed". It is a Blue Print, if you will, of how the perfect specimen of this Breed should look. The weight, the length, the colors, how long or short the coats should be, how the eyes are set and the color of the eyes...

No animal is perfect. But to breed to the Standard also means their bodies are correctly portioned, their teeth are set right, their eyes and ears are of the right size and work correct, so that these animals are stated off to a Healthy Life.

For the average or beginner Breeder, starting with a PAIR of GP of the same Breed is the way to go. In fact, the average person should probably NOT Breed.

Why Breed? If you do not have a purpose to breed, why would you? If you do Not know what a 'Standard for the Breed' is, or what the Standard is for the Breed of GP you have, why would you breed? And there are reasons. Meat being the number one reason. However. The average breeder is NOT breeding for meat.

Reasons to Breed: Show Stock. These GP are bred to Standard, that is Standard for the Breed, to better the GP lines not only for Showing, but also the Pet Market. Pet Market. There is a Demand for Pet GP and there should be a much HIGHER Demand. GP are smart, can be taught to come when called, do tricks and agility, walk on a leash, wonderful, easy to house and love, pets. Meat. Yes, Meat. GP Meat is very nutritious and I hear very good tasting, I have never had it. GPs were brought World Wide FOR their meat. They were small animals to carry on ships to feed the crew, very good for the crew, bred relatively quickly (as compared to goats, cattle, pigs). GPs required small amounts of food as compared and were easier to keep than even chickens on board. GP is a common meat in many Counties today.

99.9% OF ALL GP, OR ANY ANIMAL BREEDER, ARE TAKING VERY GOOD CARE OF THEIR ANIMALS! IF NOT FOR ANY OTHER REASON THAN THEY WANT THE BEST FOR THE BABIES COMING. TO HAVE TO BEST BABIES COMING YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR BREEDERS ARE FEEDING, HOUSING AND SUPPLEMENTING CORRECTLY!

So BEFORE you 'pick up your torch' and shout: "BREEDER BAD!" Learn the facts. Talk to people that Breed. Remember, without GP Breeders, there will be NO GPs!

The contents of this page for Breeding Guinea Pigs is still under construction. Please check back often.

-- The Guinea Pig Agility Team
Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:01:48 +0000