Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek Number 6!

Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek enables guinea pigs to have a free health check with a vet and bring home a goody bag of quality products for guinea.

This year Beechwood Active Vetcare are doing their first ever Welfare Wheek under the guidance and watchful eye of Jenny Brown who has been part of Welfare Wheek since the idea was born. The nurses at Beechwood are showing their enthusiasm by putting up a wonderful display of information posters with cute pigtures of guinea pigs to draw your attention to the display- OFSTED would be proud!

This years@ goody  bags have variable contents, all quality, every bag has a Gorgeous Guineas Shampoo and several Bags of Fun provided by Guinea Pig Welfare. We have ensured that both practices have some hay samples, either Timothy Hay from B&M or some hay in a labelled Hay Experts bag. Some bags will also have dried herbs and dry food for your guinea pig to try.

This was Aurora’s first visit to see vet Hannah but Hannah is very confident, though gentle when handling guineas. Apollo was so at ease he didn’t need to be towel wrapped when Hannah looked at his teeth using the separators.

Fudge, previously a little overweight,weighed in a bit lighter which pleased Jenny!

Fudge's Goody Bag

Fudge’s Goody Bag and presents of Gorgeous Guineas’ shampoo, B&M Timothy Hay with dandelions and marigolds and more!

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Fudge having his teeth checked

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Heart check for Fudge by Jenny Towers at Beechwood Active Vetcare Surgery

Fudge having his weigh in.

Fudge having his weigh in.

November 10, 2015   Posted in: Planet Guinea  No Comments

Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek, number 6

It is with great pleasure that I can confirm we will be having Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek number 6 in Reading this Autumn. We are in the very early stages of planning so watch this space for more dates and details!

Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek has in the past been held at Tilehurst Active Vetcare Centre. Guinea pigs recieve a free thorough health check from a knowledgable vet who is  familiar with treating guinea pigs and has many among their clients. With the cost of vetcare rising when the need for it is obviously the same, this is something not to be missed.

There are also a limited number of goody bags available, stuffed with goodies for guineas. Our supporters The Hay Experts and Gorgeous Guineas generously donate their guinea pig friendly products to this event and offer advice from their specialist fields.

To increase awareness of the correct basic needs and care of guinea pigs we have the use of a display board during the wheek which we hope goes a little further in sharing that vital basic information that every guinea pig owner needs to know.

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Part of the 2014 display board.

September 5, 2015   Posted in: Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek  No Comments

Picking up the pieces…

Layla of NEGPR sent this story in about a group of guinea pigs whose health had been compromised because a large number was being kept… A reputable rescue will keep guinea pigs until they are well enough to be rehomed both emotionally and physically.

 “They came into rescue about 5 weeks ago along with 40 other guineas. Their owner was unwell and could no longer cope with them. I think she had been struggling for a while as many had health issues.

The four girls are called Daisy, Twinkle, Sooty and Beauty. Beauty is the oldest and is Sooty’s mother. Beauty is about 5 years old. The others are over 3.5 years. Beauty, Sooty and Daisy all had very large bladder stones lodged in their urethras when they arrived. These had to be removed using episiotomies as the stones were so large. They have all recovered well and Xrays showed no further stones. We think that with a good diet and lots of water they will be fine now. Beauty also had a slight dental issue which appears to have resolved. They all required mite treatment. Twinkle had a large lump removed from her neck yesterday. We are awaiting the results of her biopsy. We will have a better idea of her prognosis then.

Despite all the health issues they arrives with, they are lively, inquisitive and friendly girls. They get on well together. They are small piggies – all weigh under 790 grams.”

 

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March 28, 2015   Posted in: March 4 Rescue Guineas  No Comments

Albie’s and Bradley’s Story

A peep into a boar bonding diary from Glyneath Guinea Pig Rescue who take in boars that are looking for friends to try them with their own rescue boars.

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Hay makes a good distraction, the two can retend to eat while secretly eyeing each other up.

“Bradley was born at the rescue (one of Prof. Lolipops’ 8 babies), sadly his beloved Colin has passed away so he has popped back for a visit and hopefully a new best friend.

Albie arrived in Oct as a very undersized, terrified 7 month old and has just blossomed. He’s such a happy lad now. 

 

 Day 1: Bradley’s first choice is Albie, a younger boy with a big personality. They spent the last 24 hrs in a divided cage with no signs of aggression but plenty of curiosity. They are now sharing the same space, busy munching at the moment.

    Some very mild dominance displays and a bit of mutual grooming. It’s going very well!

Day 2:  Not a peep from these two overnight and they are happily tucking into breakfast. I’ll monitor for the rest of the day to ensure there’s no intimidation and that Bradley is coping ok with a lively friend (Bradley was born with only one functioning eye). I don’t expect there to be any problems and they should be ready to come home tomorrow” 

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   Day 2

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Day 2 sharing a house.

These two went home and are currently living happily together (March 2015). Thanks to Suzy for their story.

 

 

 

March 5, 2015   Posted in: for reputable guinea pig rescues.  No Comments

March, for reputable guinea pig rescues.

 

 

Currently just about anyone (in the UK) can set themselves up as a guinea pig rescue . Whilst the intention is to help the current situation (countless homeless guinea pigs) it can add to the problem sometimes or not do the good that it should do, ie provide the all the information needed to make the guinea pigs’ life one that they deserve.

During March Guinea Pig Welfare will be looking at why adopting from a guinea pig rescue should be (and in lots of cases is) a positive one,  firstly for the guinea pigs and for the humans too!

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March 1, 2015  Tags: , ,   Posted in: for reputable guinea pig rescues.  No Comments

Love Is Not Enough

Guineas are very cute, lovable looking creatures but they need a whole lot more than just love. They need that love expressed in the correct way, ie their basic and specific needs must be met.

 

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Give them Bags of Fun as well as Bags of Love…

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Loveis in the hair, show your love by using Gorgeous Guineas’ shampoo.

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February 14, 2015   Posted in: Planet Guinea  No Comments

Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek 2014

 

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Venus has previously had digestive issues, this was discussed at her health check, demonstartaing that her previous history notes had been read.

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A weigh in is part of the basic health check.

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Not impressed at being interrupted with a health check…

 

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As well as listening to the heart with the stethoscope the lungs can be listened to for evidence of any fluid present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Guinea Pig Friendly goody bags with products from The Hay Experts and Gorgeous Guineas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2014 was our fifth Welfare Wheek, held at Active Vetcare . Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek is held in Reading so that local guinea pigs can benefit from a free health check with the added benefit of a free goody bag containg quality guinea pig supplies from The Hay Experts and Gorgeous Guineas.  This year there were two varieties of hay, a food product and some Perfect Paws ointment (with info and instructions).

During the extended Wheek over 19 guinea pigs were seen. As well as healthy guinea pigs there were a few issues that were picked up on sooner rather than later. The most common being skin issues (these can be parasitic, fungal or hormonal etc), one condition could only be monitored and advice was given on how to monitor it and when further intervention may be needed, another condition, which in its current state was potentially life threatening, is undergoing improvement from a lifestyle change.

As well as guinea pigs benefiting from the health checks a new vet at the surgery needed to step up because another, more experienced vet, was absent. Feedback says that clients were more than happy with her and look forward to her gaining more experience with guineas. Her health checks also demonstrated that information about guinea pigs has been shared within the surgery. So, thank you to everyone who had their appointment with Caroline for giving her the experience with guineas!

Thanks to Sally Ward and everyone at Active Vetcare Tilehurst for accommodating the wheek once again. I think its worth it, Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek may not save lives but it has saved guinea pigs some suffering by catching things earlier.

We look forward to Welfare Wheek 2015!

 

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Display board by Guinea Pig Welfare

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Companionship poster by Guinea Pig Welfare

 

 

December 4, 2014   Posted in: Planet Guinea  No Comments

Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek 2014

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Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek 2014 will be the fifth one we have held. They were born at the end of a Piggy PM when we discussing how we could take things further, senior vet, Jenny Towers (now Brown) agreed that a welfare wheek, along the lines of the Rabbit Welfare Week, would be a good idea and was something she would be happy to support.

The time could not have been better as I was planning on giving up rescue soon but still wished to contribute something worthwhile to the guinea pig community, particularly Jo Public as basic information that is accurate can be difficult to find.

The Hay Experts and Gorgeous Guineas agreed at once to support me with goodies for goody bags and advertising for the event, so, Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek was born!

However this year has seen some changes at Active Vetcare with Jenny (Brown) on maternity leave but true to all things Active Vetcare Tilehurst the tradition of Welfare Wheek and sharing of information has continued. Sally Ward has been most helpful in helping with the organisation of this year’s Welfare Wheek.

 

November 10, 2014   Posted in: Guinea Pig Welfare Wheek  No Comments