Welcome to the website of the purebred guinea pig nursery “SkinniK”!

What you should know about pigs

Guinea pigs are animals with character: for example, Krynka is capricious and demanding. But when I put her on my stomach, and she stretches out her paws and falls asleep, I forget about all my problems. If a pig likes to sit in your arms, it's incredibly cute: I held a furry pet baby and he cooed. It was for these reasons that I adopted a guinea pig, but then I learned about their dark side.

Pigs are very loud animals. Very. They make a variety of sounds: squealing, whistling, chirping, chattering their teeth, purring, hiccupping and cooing. The loudest sound is a whistle when pigs are excited or demanding food.

Guinea pigs remember the sounds of the refrigerator, dishes, rustling bags, and begin to squeal whenever you take out food.

When I lived in a studio, every step I took towards the kitchen area was accompanied by a squeal. Now Krynka squeals when I wake up or come from the store, when couriers arrive and when she has scattered all the dry food and demands more. In the mornings, I sometimes wake up from her hiccups when she drinks half the drink at once.

Video with hungry pigs. This is not the loudest squeal - sometimes Krynka switches to ultrasound

They shit and eat a lot. Their whole life consists of food and toilet. They also eat their feces - this is normal, this is how they absorb some vitamins. The pig can do this at any time: for example, when you are peacefully lying on the sofa with it.

It's not good for pigs to live alone. They need to play with someone, share territory, lie around, talk. A person cannot replace a pig's friend. Now that Krynka is used to me, I plan to take her a cub friend. I can't imagine what my life will turn into.

Pigs are not particularly tactile animals. It's fun to watch them, but you won't be able to cuddle them, especially representatives of hairless breeds: pigs don't like to be picked up - they tolerate it. You won't be able to play with them either.

If all this doesn't scare you and you still want to get a guinea pig, read on.

What breeds of guinea pigs are there?

There are more than 20 breeds, mainly differing in the length of their coat. They can be divided into five groups.

No wool. There are two such breeds: Skinny and Baldwin. These pigs are like sphinx cats: they have no hair, only very thin fluff and a little hair on their nose and paws. Such a pig costs from 3000 RUR. Krynka is just a skinny breed.

I paid for Krynka. Along with it they gave me a good cage, a pack of hay, food and a bag of sawdust

Short-haired. These are pigs with short hair, which can be silky, plush or coarse. Shorthair breeds include Teddy, Rex, Satin and others. This costs from 3000-4000 RUR.

Long-haired. These pigs have long hair that drags along the floor; it can be straight or curly and reach 15 cm. Examples of breeds: alpaca, Texel, Peruvian, Merino, Lunkaria. Cost from 2000 RUR.

Rosettes. These are pigs that have hair in the form of “rosettes” or combs. Rosette pigs include, for example, the Crested and Abyssinian breeds. They may also have long hair. They cost 2000-3000 RUR.

Kui. These are huge pigs - the size of a cat or decorative dog. In Peru they are grown for food. There are kui nurseries in Russia too, but hardly anyone eats them here.

Short-haired breeds are the easiest to care for. Unlike bald ones, they do not need a special temperature regime and sleeping bags. And they won’t have to be constantly combed, brushed and trimmed like long-haired dogs.

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Where to buy a guinea pig

There are three options: buy at a nursery, pet store, or take it from hand. It is best to immediately take same-sex pairs so that the pigs do not get bored and reproduce. If you put a female with a male, the female will constantly give birth, and this will shorten her lifespan.

Pet stores. It seems to me that this is the worst option. In pet stores, pigs live in poor conditions. There is also a risk of buying a sick animal or a mixed-sex couple, because sellers rarely understand the anatomy of pigs.

In pet stores you can buy a pig for 500-1500 RUR.

Nurseries. Here you can get a purebred animal with certificates and documents. This is especially important for those who plan to participate in exhibitions. Kennels often specialize in specific breeds: Teddy, Peruvian, hairless, and so on.

At the nursery, you can book the pigs you like and take them in pairs at once: for example, two sisters or brothers from the same litter. There they will tell you exactly the gender of the animal - those who run the nursery usually understand the anatomy of pigs.

Of the minuses: nurseries often have high prices. In addition, as with other animals, there is a risk of running into an unscrupulous breeder who crosses animals at random and gives away sick pets.

In terms of price, you should aim for at least 2000 RUR for one adult pig. On average, thoroughbreds usually cost 2500-4000 R, and cubs - up to 1000 R.

From hand. For me, this is the ideal option: I prefer to take refuseniks rather than buy them. Often you can pick up an animal free of charge or immediately with a cage, drinking bowl and houses. They gave me Krynka for 3000 RUR along with a good cage, a pack of hay, food and a bag of sawdust for the first time. If I bought a pig from a breeder, it would cost 3000-4000 R without any accessories.

There are also disadvantages. The owners may not know the gender, so you risk getting a pair of opposite-sex animals or even a pregnant female. When I took Krynka, they told me that she was a male.

Animals taken from hand may also have mental problems. Although pigs do not become attached to their owners, they still get used to the house, their housing and human behavior. Therefore, it is difficult for them to change the situation. They may also change their behavior due to poor maintenance.

Krynka was given away because her owner's cats attacked her. As a result, she does not come out of hiding often and is too timid even by guinea pig standards. In addition, Krynka lived in a cage with granules and a plastic house; she did not have a warm shelter - because of this, she caught a cold.

At Yula you can buy purebred and regular pigs cheaply. Mostly they are given away due to allergies, moving or children

NEWS FROM OUR KENNEL

On July 10, 2022, Baldwin babies were born in our nursery. 3 boys and 1 girl. Photos will be available in the coming days.

On April 6, 2022, we visited the wonderful ZooPalitra exhibition in Moscow! I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers - Sergei Lukyanov and Elena Dubrovskaya, the Breeder Cavy Club - Irina Biletskaya and Marina Anatolyevna and everyone who helped at the exhibition itself for holding this large-scale event! Everything, as always, went wonderfully in a warm, cozy, friendly atmosphere! ❤ Thanks to Svetlana Karyagina and Vitaly Sakaev for the quick registration of guinea pigs! There was practically no queue. Considering that there were a lot of additions and replacements, Svetlana and Vitaly completed everything quickly and clearly! There were three experts for guinea pigs in the show - Hanna Haliseva (Finland), Hazel Beauvale (Great Britain) and Diana Atrakhimovich (Moscow). There are two experts in the pet examination: Olga Goryakina (Moscow) and Ekaterina Sharpar (Moscow). Thanks to ALL the experts for the strict objective judging! I would like to say a special thank you to Vera (Pk Amulet) for the detailed translation from English of what the interexperts said and told about our pigs! It's always very interesting! And also for back-translating our speech to experts