The beginning of Samsara

So my new stud name is now official and registered. Samsara Cavies is born. I still don't actually own any cavies but give me time.

So firstly a bit about me. My names Emma Bridget, I'm a tad insane and I'm currently a law student. I spent last year living at college without any animals, and it just about killed me. Due to various circumstances the few animals I had left had to be rehomed. So this year all I have is a sun conure. What I have learned in this time though is that, for me, the humble guinea pig is the perfect pet.

When I was 9 my Mother bought me three guinea pigs from a pedigree breeder. A saffron, a buff and a silver agouti.  I loved the trio of sows, creatively called Saffron, Buffy & Midnight, but the love was short lived. A feral Tomcat dispatched them fairly quickly. By then I wasn't overly enthused at the idea of new guinea pigs, but a new cat-proof cage was built and the same breeder agreed to sell me two more animals.

For this I will be ever grateful. She sent me home with a 9 month old buff sow who to me was the most gorgeous creature on earth and a tiny 3 week old black baby the sow had been rearing. Then we heard there was a show on and off we went with 'Belle' in tow. I turned up, was told I should show her, so signed up to the cavy club on the spot and plunked her on the table on a towel. She won. Unplucked, certainly unwashed. That's when I realized two things. First I was hooked for life and secondly some cavy breeders are unbelievably kind. I never asked why she gave me Belle, but I do know that she gave me a show stopper cavy even though she knew we were simply looking for pets.

From then on I showed till I was 16. Most of the animals I tabled came from other breeders. Quite a few breeders were happy to give me sows who had been retired but were beyond gorgeous and I happily showed them and enjoyed my time as part of the club. Things went downhill when I was 14. I wasn't ready for what happened when you bred, I only bred a few litters before throwing in the towel. Only two litters were problem free. One was from a rescue sow and the other was an sc cream sow who I had great hopes for, who was accidentally mated to the wrong boar leaving me with 5 pets to rehome. When I was 16 clostiridia swept through the stud, 30 animals dead in just a few weeks. I gave up.

So this is a new start. This time round I will be aware of the risks involved with breeding. The risks involved with rushing headlong into anything. This time I've chosen to breed and show texels and merinos. The very nature of these breeds puts brakes on any out of control breeding. If I can only manage to coat out two animals a year, there is certainly no point in breeding more than two litters a year.

The other issue will be showing. I'm about to move to Armidale. I intend to show in Sydney. Thankfully my father lives near Cessnock, and well he has no choice about me turning up to stay with guinea pigs in tow. So it'll be a 3-4 day effort every month to show. The five hour drive down on the Saturday, the two hours to the show on Sunday and then two hours back and five hours back to Armidale on the Monday or Tuesday. Petrol wise it may be expensive but probably far more fulfilling then more nicknacks/materialistic items.

I won't be getting animals till Decemberish but I can at least record ravings/thoughts/ideas here. Hopefully one day I may also be able to record litters....