Sexing Baby Guinea Pigs and Adult Guinea Pigs
Like 3 Dislike 0 Published on 1 Apr 2019
I show how to sex baby guinea pigs and also show adults for comparison. The 2.5 month old boar is close enough to be considered an adult for sexing purposes and was used for his lighter fur/skin coloring. Video was modified to get better contrast/brightness as the whiter areas were getting white-washed, so hopefully it displays OK on your screen which might have different contrast/brightness settings.
Due to the squirmy nature of 5 day old pups (and the adults) I did my best to keep them centered, but got scratched pretty good in the first couple attempts at making this (and camera got kicked over twice). If need be, either pause or slow your video speed to get a better view of the respective areas.
Sow pups and sow adults have a more "( Y )" shaped opening that retains a "Y" shape when separating by hand. The tip of the " V " in the "Y" has their urethral opening which becomes more elongated as they age and can be mistook as foreskin. The bottom *outline* of the " V " section where the skin is very thin (like the seam of a skin wrinkle) is where their vaginal vent is (it runs horizontal oddly enough). When not in heat, this is a solid piece of very thin skin. When in heat, it ruptures/separates and exposes the actual vaginal opening, which is clearly seen in the adult sow. Think of it like an external hymen that self-seals after each heat cycle. When sealed, the entire vaginal opening is closed off to the outside. This also keeps boars uninterested as it seals any smells. A sow in heat, will emit a slightly "fishy" smell and the opening might become semi-viscous.
**A sow in heat, that's around OTHER sows, but NOT around a boar, will 100% emulate a boar's behavior and try and mount another sow, so don't be fooled. People incorrectly label this behavior as a "strong season." It's NOT. It's an attempt to get a boar's attention that isn't "paying attention." Basically, a boar in charge of harem (sow herd), will immediately go on the offense IF it hears/sees another "rival" boar trying to mate with one of his sows. This offensive will often end up with a dominance mounting of the "intruder" if it doesn't run or fight back. When a sow emulates the behavior of a "rival" boar, she's guaranteed an almost immediate mounting herself from the previously aloof boar. And since she's in heat, this is 100% desired. You also see this with boars caged together. If you have 2 boars together, and a submissive boar starts rumbling and wheeking at the scent of a sow, he'll immediately get chased and possibly mounted by the dominant boar. Also, since a sow's window to get "pregnant" is relatively small at roughly 6 hours (this small window is when they "allow" a boar to mount them) it's possible you can miss the entire event, especially if the window happens at night or very early hours. So you might go weeks or months w/o seeing this behavior. Then you all of a sudden see a sow doing it, and think "oh, strong season"....
A baby boar has a more " ( ( i ) ) " shaped opening. The dot in the "i" is the foreskin. The "0" opening is the perineal sac/anus area. Adult boars have a penis nearly 2" long, that remains retracted in the lower abdomen area, but can be manipulated to get the tip to extend slightly from the foreskin. When mating, it'll extend fully. Looks very similar to a farm pig's penis when extended and has very tiny barbs on it much like an earthworm.
You MUST separate the genital regions like I did in the video to be 100% certain on guinea pigs. A simple glance typically won't cut it. Don't be rough. Carefully expand the area and inspect.
*VIDEO IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY*
I may or may not be right about anything herein. If *YOU* incorrectly sex your guinea pigs and one gets pregnant, that's on you. If you fail to sex store bought guinea pigs, gifted pigs, or rescue pigs, YOURSELF, that's also on you. Do NOT rely solely on someone else's word. ALWAYS VERIFY for yourself! I suggest viewing detailed illustrations of sow and boar genitals online that label all the parts, and comparing them to what you see in the video for reference, then view your own guinea pig when comfortable. View this video and listen to my ramblings at your own risk!