This is a recent photo of Wild Strawberry. She is out of Bride of Frankenstein x Back to the Future. Strawberry's mother is a Red and White and her father, is a large and cuddly Tortoise shell and white.
Wild Strawberry turned out to be a very intelligent and sassy young lady who loves to be held and has earned the knick name Zipp, because when she is held she likes to chew on zippers or cloth. I am very excited about this girl and can't wait to see how her coat turns out and would love to show her in the future!
Wednesday, April 17th marks the arrival of these two cuties, our third litter out of Turtle Dove a TSW sow. The boar is Dallas, our REW. Both of the babies are now six days old and eating solid food and doing great! I love their markings, not from a show stand point but, from interest!
This is a picture of the mother, Turtle dove she has a lovely large cobby body and at one time nice dense curly coat, since cut down obviously! The picture to the right is also, Turtle dove. This image shows her other side for comparison.
They have black patches over both eyes however, one has blotches of orange and the other has only one other black spot on lower rump and a tiny orange splotch around his eye. It will be fun coming up with creative names for these guys!
When marzipan was born, his patch was pale. With in a short period of time the color changed. When you look closely, you see dark hairs mixed in with the beige colored hairs in the patch. The color in the patch darkened, started to look more chocolate. It took on a more cinn agouti look, like his mom, Happy.
Meet Serendipity Cavies' Marzipan. He is a Chocolate and Cinnamon Broken. Although, the jury is out on that. It is possible that he is a sepia. Only time will tell. He has ruby eyes and is the son of Happily Ever After and CC Dallas! I think that although his shoulder spot is small, he shows a lot of promise.
I think that he has a really nice face, ear and eyes. Marzipan also looks like he has some pretty intense curl developing too! He is also a really big boy!
His mother, Happy, is a very alert and curious piggie that has cinnamon, red and white markings. She had a lovely coat and is very petite. His father is the formidable, Dallas, a red eyed white. His genotype might be aa Bb Ep pp Ccd He carries chocolate, red and white and TSW in his lines. So, I think that it is possible that Marzipan's genotype may be Aa B Ep Pp cdcd or Aa bb Ep Pp cd
This cutie is, Bride of Frankenstein! She is a lovely piggie that I planning to sell but, after I watched her grow, I realized she had more potential than I originally thought. Her coat has nice curl and density all around but, her coat was chewed when she was younger so it was hard to tell what the hair around her shoulders would be like. So, I decided to breed her back to her father, Serendipity Cavies' Back to the Future. I was hoping for a baby with some color, increased size and nice dense curl across shoulders. Today, I was surprised by this lovely baby, that I have named: SRDP Wild Strawberries!
The baby is very interestingly marked. The baby is mismarked but, I will still take it to show in a month and get a judges opinion. The pic above is the grandmother, Apples. There is a striking resemblence right down to the white on the chin! lol The father is pictured below, Back to the Future, I call him, Bobby. He is a BIG BOY and has lovely dense curl and has a winning personality. :) I can't wait to see how this baby turns out. I would love to have a discussion with some of my fellow Texel breeder friends about the color distribution on this baby. I wonder whether I should cull him/her from the breeding program... We shall see.
Sometime last night or this morning, little Pilot was born to Serendipity Cavies! This little piggie is a lovely Red and White out of Sweet Sixteen and Dallas. I am so happy because the baby is healthy, calm, and beautiful. In addition it is the first baby I have acquired from Dallas since I purchased him a year ago. Dallas is a wonderful male with a thick coat and delightful curl. In addition, the sow is Sweet Sixteen. She is a wonderful mother, and as a TSW has rich color and awesome markings that were passed on to the offspring. I am looking forward to showing this baby in the future and hopeful to have a new addition to our breeding program.
On a side note, I chose the name Serendipity Cavie's Pilot (Not sure if it is supposed to be Cavies' or Cavie's) because a "Pilot" directs the plane. The plane takes us places. This baby combines both of my lines and some of my best piggies. This union will hopefully pave the way for a successful future in our breeding program for high quality, healthy Texels.
We had a lovely surprise yesterday. Our Turtle Dove and Chewy pairing produced a second litter. One healthy gorgeous tri color texel baby. I can't get over the markings. The baby has a black blanket, white shoulders, and blaze on face. Both eyes are surrounded by color. However the left eye (shown in the pic to the left) has orange eye shadow and black mascara! so awesome! I can't wait to determine gender and come up with a great name.
I am excited for a new litter. I have several pairings in the works. I am keeping track of weights and bellies to see who is pregnant. Currently, I believe Apples and Celery are pregnant. They are my TSW girls that were born back in Feb. Apples is paired with her brother, a lovely texel boar with deep rich markings and a nice ringlet coat. I am hoping for some red and whites but, will be happy with TSW's too.
Celery, was paired with Dallas. He is my PEW boy who has a really thick coat that also had excellent curl. These two girls are steadily gaining weight. Always a good sign. I am guessing that the litters may be born late September.
I have had Eva and Happy paired with Dallas for a while. They do not seem pregnant. I will keep trying different things for them. I am a little frustrated but, what can I do but, feed them well, keep them clean and loved....and wait. I have taken the boar out for a while and put him in etc., Changed the housing ie: more space, less space... so far nothing has worked and it has been 6 months! :( If anyone has other suggestions let me know.
Hello everyone! We have not made a post in a while. The babies are all grown up now and paired off. We are hoping for more litters soon. We do have a new piggie in our herd. His name is Stewart and he is a Peruvian Lilac Roan. Stewie looks like the color of root beer. This reminded me of Stewarts brand root beer and that is how I arrived at a name for him! Stewie is a communicative little guy but, very easy going. I hope he passes on his personality, color and soft coat to his future babies!
Yesterday, we found out that we will also be acquiring his show quality sister, that I named Hollywood and Stewart's brother, that I named Zenith from my wonderful long time friend Kate. :D I am so excited to see what the future will bring incorporating them into the herd. This picture (below) is of the three of the babies. Stewart, Hollywood and Zenith. :) So cute.
Here is a picture of the mother. I named her Felicity. She is a black roan. Such a cutie.
Here is the boar, His name is Elvis! He did not come with a pedigree but, I think that his genotype must be aa Bb Pp E C rn.
I am a Science teacher that loves small animals. I even bring them into the classroom to teach students about the proper care of animals. I was formally trained in Science at Cornell University and love the study of genetics. My guinea pigs are pets and are given the best care possible.