June

Went to the show in San Bernardino last Saturday. We did ok, nothing great. There was a good show of Coronets, though :) Someone went home with a leg in one show - that's pretty good considering we've been lonely for the past several shows. My girl was pretty, but darn it if she hasn't scratched out most of her side sweeps... argh. I'm still wrapping her, but I've got other show hopefuls as well.

Storybook's Elsa


Storybook's Cillian


.. and, though I didn't win anything real exciting, I did come back with this little beauty from Jelly Bean Caviary.


She's a GA/Red/White Silkie sow out of Silkies. I snapped her up as soon as I spotted her :) I've got the perfect boar to put her with when she's a little older, but for now I still need to think of a name...

I still have some American boars for sale, $5 each - a TSW, a red/white, a REO/white and a REO/Beige/White. I just don't need them. The latter two are pets, the other two have very nice build and come from good lines, could be used as brood boars.

Updates

So, it's been a while since my last post! Animals and school have kept me busy, I've got six college classes at the moment.

Anyways, thought I would post some new pics of my little hopefuls :) I got some very nice babies from the last litters, so it's brag time :P

First up,

Storybook's Cobweb



She's taken the Broken American world by storm at the last few shows :P She does have some intermingling between some spots of orange and beige, but other than that... wow. She takes after her mom, who is awesome as well. Her beige is a bit dark, but it's been lightening up nicely. She has been to a few shows already, and has won BOV in all of them, along with winnin BIS at one very small show. She's only about two months old, and already has two legs. She's one of the nicest pigs I have at the moment, and she's really growing fast. She'll be a porker.

Storybook's Chunky Monkey


Look at that head! Those ears! Those shoulders! She is cute, and knows it. She comes in second to the above pig at all the shows, just because her patching isn't as outstanding, but she got the judge's awards at her first shows because she's a stinker and irresistably cute ^^ Once she gets bigger she will be a force to reckon with, she's going to have amazing type.

And now, my longhaired piggies

Storybook's Cillian

This is not a very good picture of him. His markings aren't great, but his color is pretty good. The past two Coronet breedings were in an attempt to get a pig like my late Digory, who I loved. This is pretty darn close, on type and color and coat, he's got oodles of coat and is my best show prospect at the moment. His density is just... wow.

Storybook's Pied Piper


He's my little version of Henry :) He's coming around personality-wise all on his own. I haven't handled him much yet (because his coat doesn't need much work yet) but he's already the first baby to the front, he's not afraid of people like his brother, and man does he SQUEAL. His density and texture aren't quite as nice as Cillian's, but his coronet is very pinpoint, which is good.

Storybook's Peter Whimsey



I almost lost this boy when he was a baby, but was able to save him. He had bloat and some other problems, but managed to fight them off. His personality is just beginning to peek out, he's a lot more reserved like his daddy - more cat-like and regal rather than dog-like like the rest of my longhairs. That's a really odd distinction to make, I know, but it's true. He's more of a gentleman than most of my others that are just rambunctious and silly. His coat isn't much to look at, as he's in that odd growth stage where he's growing faster than his hair. Once he's older (7 months or 8), he'll really shine - IF he stops chewing his coat :/ Yup, I got a chewer... *sigh*.

Storybook's Elsa



Dang. She's got coat and to spare. She's going to stay kind of on the small size (still over two and a half pounds, lol, but for my longhairs who reach up to four pounds, that's relatively small), but her coat is amazingly soft and there's a lot there. She's really got a cute perky attitude, too. She's silly.

The last two piggies there are just getting into wraps, which means I am going to be even BUSIER. Sometimes I wonder why I show them, lol, it's so much work... but then, when I go out there and brush them out and see their gorgeous coat, and watch their silly piggy antics, I remember. My sister is planning on getting a Peruvian to try out, and is planning on getting more Teddy stock. Our limit has been expanded (Shock!) and now we are allowed to have a few more piggies :)

By the way, I am still looking for a nice American broken boar. Doesn't need great patching, but good color is a must. I would prefer a beige van boar with good type. I need an outcross baaad...

For Sale
Here are some photos of my for-sale pigs. If you want more info, email me at Storybookcavies@aol.com


Broken American Boar - brother to cavy below, not really show material but nice otherwise - asking $10

TSW American Boar - half pedigree, comes from good stock but not great patching - asking $10

I also have two broken boars, and REO/white (pet only) and an REO/Beige/white (possible breeder, nice patching, GC parents), asking $5 each (I just need to move boars out!)

Show and more babies

New Babies Born - March 5th

The seventh litter in a row to have absolutely no problems :) I'm really thankful for that! No lost litters, no lost moms, no lost babies, no stillborns, nothing!

Sire - Storybook's Nieman


Dam - Storybook's Passionate


The TSW Boar


Will be for sale once weaned. He was a surprise, I didn't think I'd get any more TSW's! He is put together very nicely - type/head/ears/eyes/crown - but his markings aren't great for a TSW. Would make a great pet or brood boar.

The Red/White Boar


Most likely will be for sale once weaned. He's pretty nice, his head's a little long but not too bad, it will be like his mom's. His ears are GREAT, and his type is very nice. His markings are ok, he's showable. If the white extended a little farther over his shoulders he would be very nice.

Went to the San Bernardino show. It was tiny... there were, what, several exhibitors? In the open show there were four pigs total. Tiny, tiny, tiny. Three of those pigs were mine XD I showed my two Coronets and a last-minute entry of one of the baby American broken sows who barely made weight day-of-show. Glad I entered her, though, because...


Hey, at least we got a chair out of the deal ;)

Also, I sold Nieman and the little REO/White sow, I need to take them off the for-sale page on my website. Still have a sow and lots of boars for sale! I will also be offering Storybook's Passionate (the dam of the litter just born) for sale once she has weaned her babies. She's got very nice type/head/eyes/ears, I just like one of the little new sows better, so she's got to go. She's had two litters already with no problems, all the babies were nice (no dq's).

Hoping to attend the Ventura show on the 28th, but am still working out driving arrangements. There may be a show April 4th at the same place in San Bernardino, and there's also a Youth show on April 18th at the OC Fairgrounds.

-Amanda and the pigs

For Sale

Here's the current for-sale list. The babies will be ready at the show this Saturday.

American Boars


Storybook's Nieman
Red/White
Half Pedigree
Nice blocky patches, but not much patching. Fair color, ok type - his head is a little too long, but it still has a roman effect. Nice big shoulders. Out of good lines, dam has three legs (awards). Has been shown several times, does ok. First litter due anytime.
Show/Breed/Pet
Asking $15




Storybook Boar
REO/Beige/White
Full Pedigree
This boar is showable, though because of his color and patching on one side he might not be super competitive. He has no disqualifications. Dark color, lots of patching. Great type, nice head/eye/ear. His only faults are his dark color, and he has a few slight areas of intermingling. Still, I'm tempted to try showing him myself a bit before selling him...
Show/Breed/Pet
Asking $10


Storybook Boar
REO/White
Full Pedigree
Technically showable, but not competitive. He has no disqualifications, but is not really show material. Dark color, not enough patching. He's a funny little guy though, and has an attitude. His ears are starting to come down finally.
Breed/Pet
Asking $5

American Sows


Storybook Sow
REO/White
Full Pedigree
She is showable, as in she doesn't have any disqualifications, but she wouldn't be too competitive. She would make a great pet or brood sow, especially if you have a boar with too much color and too little white. Nice type, and when her ears come down they will be nice. Nice head, nice bold bright eyes. Sire and dam both have 3+ legs each (awards).
Asking $15


Storybook Sow
REO/Beige/White
Full Pedigree
Oops markings on this girl - she's got too many areas of intermingling. She's very cute though, and her ears look like they will come down... eventually... Would make a better pet than show pig. She has character too, though; she's spunky.
Asking $10

Coronet Boars


Storybook Boar
Red/White
Mostly Full Pedigree
I'm pretty sure he will be for sale, but I need to judge his coat first as he gets a bit older. Will be available starting around March 25th. Definitely looks to be showable.
Asking $20

If you are interested in a cavy, let me know ASAP. I will be attending the show this weekend at the National Orange fairgrounds in San Bernardino.

NOT FOR SALE
Just wanted to show pics of two of the littermates of the above Americans. These gals are niceee :)

Storybook's Pixie Dust



Storybook Sow - This sow will most likely be for sale in the future, but I want to show her a bit first. If you might be interested in her a little later on, let me know. She's nice, I just don't want to breed the dark beige color in to my line anymore.



I don't know why I got so many weird ears in that litter... the two babies above have gorgeous ears, as do their mom :P

Even more babies :)

Well, two more litters down, one to go. I'm thankful everyone has been doing very well - no stillborns, no weak runts, and the mommy piggies have all been doing great. Even had a first-time mum and a sow with a huge singleton baby, and they both did fine, birthing when I wasn't even around.

February 25th

Sire - Storybook's Denny


Dam - Storybook's Little Miss Sunshine


The boys!


Darn, how did I end up with all boars? I think that's the first time there have ever been more than two and they were all boars. Usually I have pretty good luck with getting lots of sows. Oh well, I'm just happy everything has gone so well with all the births.

I will probably keep the GA/White and black/white boars, at least until I can better evaluate their coats. I like the black/white better for showing, but I was trying to get a GA/white boar to replace a silkie boar I lost last year (Digory, he was my special boy...). The sire of these babies is the same-litter brother to Digory, and the only boar I have from that particular pairing. The GA/white baby boar was special from the moment I saw him; I picked him up and he sqeaked at me, and promptly bit my thumb. He's a keeper ;)

March 1st
Sire - Storybook's Tough Love


Dam - Storybook's Cassie


The single baby sow


She's actually very nice. She's got the type, the head, the patching, the distribution. Now we just have to wait and see how her color will be. She will be very nice indeed.


Meanwhile, I've got my other two Coronet babies, who are getting all fluffy and fuzzy and absolutely irresistible. Especially the boar. He fusses, and when he screams all you can see is a wide-open piggy mouth, and hair. He loves to be held now, and is just way too cute with his big 'eyebrows'. The sow is pretty cute herself, but she just doesn't have the personality of the boars.

Here he is now. His current name is Storybook's Lord Peter Wimsey.


Here's the sow; Storybook's Elsa


Here's their daddy when he was about their age -


There's quite a resemblance ;)

Waiting for one more litter. We're planning on attending the show in San Bernardino this Saturday, don't have a whole lot to show but we will have some pigs for sale.

-Amanda and the pigs

Pigtures!

Took some new photos at our recent 4-H meeting.


"Cinnamon" - Teddy Broken Sow


"Razor" - Abyssinian Roan Boar


White Crested Red Sow


"Elsa" - Coronet TSW Sow


American Broken Boar - this one cracks me up. I caught him mid-squeak ^^


The six :) All doing well so far.


Baby piggy bums ^^

That's all for now.

-Amanda and the pigs

Six!

Six? Six what?

Six baby guinea piggies :D

New litter born this morning (2/4/09) at 6:30 am. Six live babies. That's a new record around here. Poor momma is tired out, but so far so good.

The proud poppa - Storybook's Tough Love (3 legs)


The poor momma - Storybook's Trixie (3 legs)


This was the first litter Toughie's sired. I have another sow pregnant from him who is due in about a month. This was pretty much a test to see if he is worth keeping - can he produce better babies than himself? Since I hate his color, I obviously will not be keeping any babies that outwardly show too dark a beige or dark eyes. Unfortunately there are a few, but they will make excellent breeders for someone else who has unrelated pigs, I just need to steer clear of them because I don't want the dark beige to become my trademark. Fortunately they've only just started popping up recently, so I hope I can work out of it. Again, color on the brokens is not a huge deal, only ten points out of 100 (50 pts. for distribution and patches), but it's still a fault.

So, here are the babies!

Baby #1 - REO/Beige/White Sow



She's tiny. She's over two ounces, under that and I wouldn't expect her to make it. She's got gumption though, and I think she may get along fine. I'll be able to tell after the next few days. Of course, she's the nicest one too, so, fingers crossed... She is most likely staying here. Her beige is not half bad, especially when compared to the others; her patching is nice and blocky; and she has little intermingling.

Baby #2 - REO/White sow


The photos really don't do her justice. She's blocky, and she actually has a very nice head. She's just orange/white, and really doesn't have much patching, but what she does have is clear-cut and blocky. She is another I might consider keeping, as I could use a few more two-color pigs in my breeding program. However, I am also trying to cut back... so, she might be available. If the littlest one doesn't make it, I will probably keep this one.

Baby #3 - REO/White boar


This little boy is the least showable, but he has no disqualifications or anything. He has more orange than white, and his orange is an icky color, but he's pretty cute :) He's the second smallest next to the runt. He will be for sale once he's weaned.

Baby #4 - REO/Beige/White sow



Ah, now here is where the heartbreak over color comes into play XD This girl is nice. Really nice. Except that her beige stinks. She's got a little intermingling over a hip, where she was trying to have a beige spot in the orange. Other than that, though... just look at that patching. She will most likely be for sale once she's weaned. Showable, definitely - her color will get her in trouble, but it looks like her patching might just balance that out.

Baby #5 - REO/Beige/White sow



I think she wanted to be a bunny, LOL. Her ears will come down, they're just a bit big for her yet. This one is stubborn, she's got a silly personality about her. Her beige is actually not that bad, but she's also got a far amount of intermingling. Oops. Still "showable", but she wouldn't do as well as her other sisters. She's a stinker though. She'll be for sale once she's weaned, too.

Baby #6 - REO/Beige/White boar


Ooh, he's nice too. But there again - the too-dark beige. Argh. I will be letting him mature a bit before I decide on him, but he will most likely be for sale once he's weaned. One side is really nice, the other is ok but not as nice. I like squarish patching on my brokens, and his is nice and blocky on one side and more stripey on the other. Just my personal preference.

I will decide on which ones will be for-sure for sale in a week or two. Sounds bad, but with this many babies in a litter, sometimes mom or baby(ies) don't make it, just because there are so many. This momma has done fine before when she had five, so I don't suspect anything will happen, but there's always that unfortunate possibility.

So, if you see one that catches your eye, let me know - and I will contact you again when they are a bit older :)

-Amanda and the piggies