Advice with newborn kits

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Dreamlite said:
Do not hand feed the little kit. The point is that mom has milk and to make sure the smaller kit gets his share. Rotating kits means taking out the larger kit for 2 hrs then putting him back in for 2 hrs. This way the smaller kit has 2 hrs of no competition for milk.
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Alright. I just wasn't sure if I needed to supplement to help. Big guy weighs 66 grams and little guy still weighs 50 grams. Right now I have big guy rotated out, in a cat carrier with a heating blanket and fleece.
 
I think your going to be very pleased with the rotation results. Keep an eye open for fighting when they are together with mom. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. They will start to nibble hay in a few days. I buy soft orchard grass and mix it with Timothy when I have kits. They love it.

Your doing a great job. Hang in there. Caring for kits can make you want to do this sometimes.........:hair:
The kit below had a mother who did not get her milk in. This tiny tyke is the one I thought for sure would starve himself. The older he got, the less he wanted to eat. So I hung milk bottles for him. He made it. Cute little stinker.
 

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6Dusters said:
I think your going to be very pleased with the rotation results. Keep an eye open for fighting when they are together with mom. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. They will start to nibble hay in a few days. I buy soft orchard grass and mix it with Timothy when I have kits. They love it.

Your doing a great job. Hang in there. Caring for kits can make you want to do this sometimes.........:hair:
The kit below had a mother who did not get her milk in. This tiny tyke is the one I thought for sure would starve himself. The older he got, the less he wanted to eat. So I hung milk bottles for him. He made it. Cute little stinker.
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When you say you hung milk bottles, does that mean you put formula in a water bottle in the cage?

Good news is I weighed little guy today and he gained 5 grams in one day after I occasionally rotated big guy out for 2 hours. Both of them are eating hay and even oats that I gave mommy asa small treat. I'm overjoyed that he's gaining. I really thought I was going to lose him.
 
Tonight I was touching mommys belly and felt a scab around one of her teets. My husband said he looked at it and she's just missing some fur. Is this normal?
 
Two answers:

Yes you can hang a bottle of formula. However it needs to hang just a few hours. It does go bad fast. But it can't be any bottle. Ryersons make a water bottle that has a rubber stopper with a glass drinking stem. We pull the stopper/glass stem sytem off and put it on a human infant glass food bottle and hang them. With rotation and the little one gaining good weight, you won't have to do that.

Mom's can have a scab area around teets. It's normal. And so is the hair loss. You could put some vitamin e on it. I don't see the harm unless you appy too much and too often.
 
6Dusters said:
Two answers:

Yes you can hang a bottle of formula. However it needs to hang just a few hours. It does go bad fast. But it can't be any bottle. Ryersons make a water bottle that has a rubber stopper with a glass drinking stem. We pull the stopper/glass stem sytem off and put it on a human infant glass food bottle and hang them. With rotation and the little one gaining good weight, you won't have to do that.

Mom's can have a scab area around teets. It's normal. And so is the hair loss. You could put some vitamin e on it. I don't see the harm unless you appy too much and too often.
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Ok good to hear, that's a relief. Is it normal for the larger kit that you're rotating out to lose weight? I noticed today that big guy appeared to lose two grams and little guy is plateauing. I have a feeling that Mommy just isn't producing enough milk for both of them. Do I just continue to rotate big guy out until their weights are equal? It's been a week since their birth and big guy weighs 64 grams and little guy weighs 55 grams.
 
6Dusters said:
Yes you can hang a bottle of formula. However it needs to hang just a few hours. It does go bad fast. But it can't be any bottle. Ryersons make a water bottle that has a rubber stopper with a glass drinking stem. We pull the stopper/glass stem sytem off and put it on a human infant glass food bottle and hang them. With rotation and the little one gaining good weight, you won't have to do that.
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I've used water bottles that have a ball in the drinking stem to hang milk. This is the most commonly used drinking stem of pet chin owners. Kits learn to drink from them pretty easily.

Both kits should be gaining. It sounds as though mom may not be producing enough milk yet. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for first time mom's milk to come in fully. Not sure what to recommend at this point. There are a number of things you could do. Whatever works best for you is what you should do. If you are not supplementing the kits when they are away from mom you might consider doing that.
 
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Kansas City Chinchillas said:
I've used water bottles that have a ball in the drinking stem to hang milk. This is the most commonly used drinking stem of pet chin owners. Kits learn to drink from them pretty easily.

Both kits should be gaining. It sounds as though mom may not be producing enough milk yet. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for first time mom's milk to come in fully. Not sure what to recommend at this point. There are a number of things you could do. Whatever works best for you is what you should do. If you are not supplementing the kits when they are away from mom you might consider doing that.
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I tried today to hand feed and they just aren't having it. I did put in more of the JAGS supplement and I saw big guy eating it. Tonight little guy weighed 54 grams and big guy weighed 64 grams.
 
I definitely feel like pulling my hair out after trying everything and finally seeing weight gain and then they lose again. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Anyways!

Here's the best pictures I could get of the two of them.

This is big guy
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This is little guy
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It may take a few days for her milk supply to adjust to both of them nursing. Give it some time and don't panic. If both continue to lose after 2 or 3 days, you can start supplementing them (if they will take it). If they are refusing to take formula, they are probably getting enough from mom.
 
Cuddlebug said:
It may take a few days for her milk supply to adjust to both of them nursing. Give it some time and don't panic. If both continue to lose after 2 or 3 days, you can start supplementing them (if they will take it). If they are refusing to take formula, they are probably getting enough from mom.
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Thank you for the advice! Keeping my fingers crossed that they gained or AT LEAST maintained their weight.

Thank you everyone for helping me keep sane. I honestly don't know what I'd do without all your advice.
 
I'm sure they can sense your anxiety, you should be calm with them. I think they will both be OK. Relax, you are a good chinny mom! They are adorable!
 
The kits look really good. Well done. It can be very trying caring for kits. They always keep you guessing. But they are so darn adorable to snuggle and spoil.
 
Thanks ladies! They definitely keep you guessing! Tonight big guy weighed 69 grams and little guy weighed 53 grams. So big guy gained a bunch but little guy is only maintaining. I rotated big guy out for a bit tonight and gave him some JAGS supplement to munch on. He will eat anything... I even caught him eating poop! He's such a chunker
 
I've been observing that little guy has become very aggressive towards big guy. Whenever big guys tries to nurse on the same side as little guy, little guy will go after him and try to bite him. It seems like both kits are trying to nurse from the same teet all the time. Big guy is still continuing to gain weight, little guy is slowly gaining. Is it normal for them to fight like this? Should I intervene?
 
Sounds as though they both prefer the same nipple. It may be the only one they have suckled and can smell milk on it.

Kits will injure or kill each other fighting over milk. I would supplement and see if this calms the little one down but keep a close eye on them. Rotating them may be necessary. You might try to introduce a nipple on the other side of mom to the kits. If you can get one to latch on the problem may be solved.
 
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Kansas City Chinchillas said:
Sounds as though they both prefer the same nipple. It may be the only one they have suckled and can smell milk on it.

Kits will injure or kill each other fighting over milk. I would supplement and see if this calms the little one down but keep a close eye on them. Rotating them may be necessary. You might try to introduce a nipple on the other side of mom to the kits. If you can get one to latch on the problem may be solved.
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Sometimes I see them nurse with one on each side of Mommy but lately it's been the same nipple. I've been rotating big guy out so that little guy can gain more since big guy is almost 20 grams heavier. Should I continue rotating just big guy out? I'm going to focus on getting big guy to latch on the other side of her again in hopes that little guy leaves him alone. These kits sure keep me on my toes!
 
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