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KENT COAST CAVY CLUB

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Contact Kent Coast Cavy Club - cavydover07@ntlworld.com

Jump to:  What is a Cavy     About the club     Preparing your Cavy for a show   Show dates

                Show schedule

Q:    What is a Cavy?

A:    A Guinea pig!

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ABOUT THE CLUB

The Kent Coast cavy club exists to promote the welfare and care of pet cavies (guinea pigs) in East Kent.  It holds several shows a year, culminating in the trophy show in December.

All shows are open to both members and non members.  Some shows also include a newcomers pet (guinea pig) show which is held after lunch and for which entries can be made on the day.  All shows include sale pens, where both members and non members may sell surplus stock - a small commission is charged which goes to the Kent Coast Cavy Club funds.

With the exception of the newcomers pet shows (see below) entries must be made by the show closing date, which is normally 10 days before the actual show. 

For details of showing guinea pigs and how to enter the Club shows or on the club itself , contact cavydover07@ntlworld.com

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PREPARING YOUR GUINEA PIG (CAVY) FOR A SHOW

Here are some hints and tips on getting your guinea pig ready for the show.  To be entered in show all cavies must be over 12 weeks old, fit and healthy and if a sow not in pig.  

If entering the pet section, the cavy will benefit from having a bath. For this I tend to use a dog shampoo but any normal shampoo would be fine. Most of them seem to enjoy their bath.

When getting a boar ready for a show the other area that might well need special cleaning is his grease spot, which is found at the base of the spine and tends to be greaser than the rest of the coat. To clean this I use washing up liquid rubbed in and then rinsed off. You may sometimes find a grease spot on sows as well.

After shampooing and rinsing the cavy make sure that you dry them off  completely before returning them to their hutch.  To do this I first wrap them in a towel to take off most of the water then I blow dry them with the hair dryer.

This is also the time that I check their claws to see if they need clipping. When clipping their claws make sure that you do not cut them back too far otherwise they will bleed. If you are new to showing & clipping their claws, it is better to leave it and ask someone at the show - most of us are only to happy to help. 

It is best to bath your cavy a couple of days before the show if possible. 

After the bath comes the brush. How you do this will depend on what type of coat your cavy has:-

If it is smooth coated you brush the hair downwards;

if your cavy is an aby type you then brush  around the rosettes;

for a rex type you brush the coat up from the bottom to the head;

for a longhaired cavy you would brush the coat the way that it falls around the pig.

On the day of the show check to make sure your cavy has no running lice on their coat; these seem to appear from nowhere.  To make sure there are none on my cavies I use a dog flea spray which is suitable for puppies as well. I spray them before I leave home for the show.

At most shows there will be pens for your cavy to go in during the show, but you will need to take them some hay and vegies to eat whilst they are there – and don’t forget water to drink.

When you get to the show your cavy will be given a pen number. This is the pen that they will go in for the show.  You put them in their pen after giving them a final brush.

When the judge is ready to look at them they are taken over to the judging table.  The judge will check their coat and grease spot to make sure they are clean; that the coat is free from visitors (lice & fleas); and that the cavy is fit, healthy, friendly and used to being handled.

If you are entering a cavy show held by one of the local clubs you normally have to send your entry in approx 2 weeks before the show.  You will have had what is called a schedule which lists all the classes available to enter.  You will see that the pets are split up into sections for smooth haired, rough haired and sometimes longhaired.  In addition there will be the classes for what are known as pure breeds.  There are 3 age groups - under 5 months; from 5 –8 months and then adult.

If you were showing your cavies in the pure breed section of a show you would not bath your Aby or Rex cavies as this would make their coats too soft.

Below some pictures of some of our cavies to try and show you the different types of coats.

THIS IS AN ABY AND WOULD GO IN THE ROUGH PET SECTION

THIS IS AN AGOUTI AND WOULD GO IN THE SMOOTH PET SECTION

HERE IS A LONGHAIRED PET WHO HAS HAD THE COAT CLIPPED BUT WOULD STILL GO IN THE LONGHAIRED PETS

WHEN THERE ARE NO CLASSES FOR LONGHAIRED PETS THE LONGHAIRED PETS ARE ENTERED IN THE ROUGH PET CLASSES

THIS IS A SMOOTH PET

THIS IS ANOTHER LONGHAIRED PET

 

 

 

 

 

For details of showing guinea pigs and how to enter the Club shows or on the club itself , contact cavydover07@ntlworld.com

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2007 SHOW DATES:-

                                 

March 18th and November 4th

 

Penning time for main shows is 10.30am.

Entries close 10 days before the show - details from e-mail cavydover07@ntlworld.com

or write to Mrs M McKay
2 Burgess Close
Whitfield
CT16 3NP

For more details e-mail Maggie on cavydover07@ntlworld.com

All shows are held at Boughton Under Blean Village Hall, Bull Lane, Boughton, Nr, Faversham. (except the Farming World show on 18th June).

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SHOW SCHEDULE

Typical Kent Coast Cavy Club show schedule: