Exhibiting Cavies
The showing or exhibiting of Guinea Pigs is rapidly becoming more
popular and in nearly all pet stock and poultry shows you will find
several pens of Guinea Pigs. There are many fanciers in the country who
make a specialty of show animals and fancy stock.
In judging Cavies, the size, shape, condition, and color are the main
things to take into consideration. The selfs or solid colors must have
every hair
is otherwise red. In the broken colors the different patches should be
uniform in size and the colors not run into each other. Fancy stock is
nearly always line bred and great pains should be taken in breeding. To
secure the best stock the females are only bred twice or three times a
year and every care is taken of them from birth. They are bred for
size, shape and color. Even if you are not breeding for fancy stock, it
will often pay you to enter your best specimens in local poultry and pet
stock shows, as it gives you some good advertising and you will often
take good prizes. It lets people know you have stock and you can always
get good prices for your prize winners. Always enter as near a uniform
lot as possible in singles, pairs or trios, or even larger pens.
While it costs more to produce fancy stock, still the higher prices you
can get for it makes it pay. If you are raising only comparatively few
pigs it might pay you to go in for fancy stock. Even if you have a large
stock you can keep a few of your best specimens separate and give them
little better attention.
Of course, many of the large commercial raisers never bother about fancy
stock as it does not pay when you are raising large numbers of them.
Most of the shows are under the auspices of some pet stock association
and a book of the standards can be secured from the secretary. We are
giving below some of the classes under which stock is shown.
Selfs.
Solid colors throughout with no odd colored hairs.
Tortoise Shells.
Black and red colors with patches clear and distinct and as nearly as
possible equal in size.
Tortoise and White.
Red, black and white patches, each clear cut with no running in of
colors. The more patches and the more uniform in size the better.
Dutch Marked.
Blazed face of wedge shape. A band of white straight hair around the
middle with no blending of colors. Feet white. Very rare.
Brindle.
Red and black evenly intermixed and perfectly brindled.
Agouti.
They are two shades, golden and gray. The golden should be rich brown
undercolor with even ticking and belly of deep red. The gray should be a
light shade with even ticking and belly of silver hue.
The eyes of all English Cavies should be large and bold. Head and
shoulders heavy, nose roman, ears drooping.
In the Abyssinians the rosettes should be as plentiful as possible and
the coat rough and wiry.
In the Peruvian the main thing to be considered is the length and
silkiness of the coat.
A book giving the standards as adopted by the National Pet Stock
Association of America can be obtained for 50c from its secretary, C. S.
Gibson, 1045 W. Warren Ave., Detroit, Mich.
More
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Breeding
Guinea Pigs are very prolific, having about five litters a year, and from two to five at a litter. Three is a safe average. The females are sexually mature at a month, but, of course, should not be bred at that age. Three months is plenty early ... Diseases
Guinea Pigs are singularly free from disease and the breeder has little to fear along this line. Of course improper food, irregular feeding hours, poorly ventilated or exposed quarters will often cause trouble but it is almost an unknown thing for... Exhibiting Cavies
The showing or exhibiting of Guinea Pigs is rapidly becoming more popular and in nearly all pet stock and poultry shows you will find several pens of Guinea Pigs. There are many fanciers in the country who make a specialty of show animals and fanc... Food And Feeding
The feeding of Guinea Pigs is a very simple matter. Their main food is good hay or dried grass. This should be before them all the time, as they will not eat too much of it. Be sure, however, that it is not musty or mouldy. In addition to hay, ... Housing
Guinea Pigs do not require either large or elaborate quarters and the average man or boy can easily prepare a suitable place for them. There are two methods of housing usually used, namely, hutches and pens. Hutches. Among breeders generall... Introduction
The Guinea Pig or Cavy belongs to the rabbit family and is a native of South America. Why they are called Guinea Pigs, no one seems to know, unless their shape suggests a small pig and the name Guinea is a corruption of Guiana, a country in South ... 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 busine... Selling And Shipping
Guinea Pigs are in such wide demand that it is not a hard matter to sell them if you let people know you have them. There are dealers in various sections of the country that buy in wholesale lots but the prices obtained are usually not so high as ... Uses Of Guinea Pigs
There are three main uses to which Guinea Pigs are put, as food, as pets and for experimental purposes in laboratory and medical research. By far the largest demand is in the last named field. Scientific Uses. There is possibly no animal so... Varieties
English. There are several varieties of Cavies, distinguished mainly by their fur. The ones most commonly raised and most widely known are the English or smooth-haired. These are the ones you should raise for commercial purposes. They may be in...