Would like opinions on injured baby

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StevieP

StevieP

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 8, 2009
Messages
663
Location
Chesapeake, VA
Hello
One of our chins delivered 3 babies 10 days ago. One of them got picked on by his siblings and had his face severly torn up.

We took it to the vet 2 days ago and they revealed (under matted fur) half of his face torn up and determined that one of its eyes has exploded, and the other eye is all crusty and in my opinion will not be able to see again out of the crusty eye. They gave us an antibiotic and pain meds. We are trying to feed him every 2 hours but that is a little difficult during the night. Also, he has lost 5 grams since he was born.

does anyone think this is right for the chin? Should we just have him put down? He started out life in a tramatic situation but now he is in less pain (probably not pain-free) and he is being fed, so I do feed better about that.


Any insight would be appreciated.
 
That's a judgment call really, a personal choice you'll have to make for yourself.

If it was me, and everything else is okay, I wouldn't worry about the eyes because blind chins get along just fine, with some precautions taken on the owners part. I would be concerned about infection and getting him to gain weight. You have him on antibiotics, but I would be careful about how much pain meds you give to a little bit like that. Pain meds can affect the kidneys if they are given over an extended period of time.

If he's eating, breathing, peeing, pooping, and all other things fine, and you can get him to gain weight again, then he should survive and have a decent life. Instead of hand feeding though, it's a lot quicker to rotate the kits. Put the two kits that are in with mom in a carrier with a heating pad under half on low. Make sure the carrier is kit proof and that they can't squeeze out. You can give them a stuffie to cuddle with as well. Then set your alarm for every 2 hours or so. At this point, he needs mom time. He needs her to clean him up (that will get rid of the nasty crustiness on his face) and he needs mom's milk. He'll have her all to himself. Switch him out into the carrier for 2 hours and put the other ones in with mom. It's a lot faster and a lot less tiring rotating than it is hand feeding.

Good luck with him. I hope he's able to recover for you.
 
If he's eating without too much of a problem, he could make it and live without any lasting effects. Baby chins can heal up after having very major injuries to even the head and face and live a normal life.

The problem would be if he has an injury to the nose and he loses his ability to breathe normally or starts aspirating the milk.

Poor little dude. If he stops eating or you have extreme difficulty getting him to eat, you may want to have him put down. I'd see if you can get him to be a little stronger so he can go back to nursing on his mom. There would be no problem with trying for awhile to see if he comes around and gets to nursing on his own.
 
I give them every chance I can. If there is a chance they will survive I try. I had a femal this year bit through the nose and eye cavity. She did not lose her eye but she did develop an air pocket in her head, that started to cut off air circulation, she began to have seizures, we drained the air pocket and she still had seizures for 2 days. But she was eating when I fed her.
I fed her every two hours, I would leave work to feed her during my break. It ws more likely she would die than not. But I fed her any way. One day I would think she would die, another day she would be fine. Grace just made it to 16 weeks. and is going strong. Smaller than normal but a spunky sweet girl.

On the other side I had triplets born and one was way to small...I knew he was going to die....I fed him any way, just to try.

I give them every chance to survive that I can do. Do you have foster mom? I guess what it comes down to is I would try for a while too.
 
Without seeing the chin I'm unable to offer advice either way. In the end it is your decision.

If the face is truly severe then I would probably have it put down. Right now you're looking at no sight in one eye, with a possibility of being totally blind. I'm not sure what kind of other damage there is done, cartlidge will not repair itself, skin will.

The problem is everyone's definition of severe is different. I had a kit born with it's entire nose and upper front teeth chewed/pulled off during birth. To me that is severe and she never would have lived anything like a normal life, she would require being hand feed her whole life, that's not a burden I'd want to put on anyone and if she would've made it what would her life have been like.
 
I am definitely going to try my hardest to keep him going. I was just wondering other peoples opinions on if I am doing the right (humane)thing. I appreciate all input!

I tried to put him with another female who has a 10 week old, but she wouldn't take to him. I don't even know if she was producing milk but everytime he would try to feed she would run away.

I think at this point the only way to keep him going is for me to hand feed him as often as I can and hope for the best. I work 8 hours a day and take classes at night.... so it's going to be hard!

The vet we took him to on Friday didn't seen to really care about this chin - they just wanted to hurry up and go home. So we'll see what the vet today says.
 
I've had kits pull through things that would've killed an adult chin, but sometimes you've got to consider "quality of life" and the hardships forthcoming.
Not a choice I'd want to make!
Kit fights can be sooo brutal!
Good luck with him!
 
Are you rotating? I would rotate as well, and make sure to clean his butt if mom's not there to do it, it is important in stimulating urination and bowel movements!
 
Riven said:
Are you rotating? I would rotate as well, and make sure to clean his butt if mom's not there to do it, it is important in stimulating urination and bowel movements!
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Not rotating - Momma is messing with the wound and making it worse. Shes probably trying to help but she just opened up the scab last time.

I do clean his butt... even though he peed on me yesterday!

I have him in a 10 gallon aquarium with an 8 watt heater underneath and a towel on the bottom and some socks to cuddle with. He doesn't move while in there. When I grab him to feed him he will walk a little, but he can't seem to walk very well. Maybe he just doesn't want to because he can't see....
 
Not rotating - Momma is messing with the wound and making it worse. Shes probably trying to help but she just opened up the scab last time.
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Her opening up the wound may not be a bad thing. With such a little guy, the risk of infection is tremendous because you can only do so much to treat it. Wounds that close prematurely will build up that infection and pus underneath in pockets that need to be opened and drained.

I would still try and give him some mom time. No milk is as good as mom's milk. We try the best we can with what we have available in a pinch, but mom's milk is better, especially with him being so injured and needing whatever antibodies mom can give him. Even if you can rotate him in with her a couple times a day with you observing that would be good. She's not going to be able to clean him while he nurses, so at least if he can nurse and then you pull him out that would be better than no nursing at all.

I'm glad he's eating for you, and it's good that he can eat for you, but I would want him to have at least something from mom.

Also, take heart from the fact that she IS cleaning him and letting him nurse. Most mom's know when it's a hopeless case. If she hasn't given up on him yet, that's a good sign. :)
 
tunes said:
Her opening up the wound may not be a bad thing. With such a little guy, the risk of infection is tremendous because you can only do so much to treat it. Wounds that close prematurely will build up that infection and pus underneath in pockets that need to be opened and drained.

I would still try and give him some mom time. No milk is as good as mom's milk. We try the best we can with what we have available in a pinch, but mom's milk is better, especially with him being so injured and needing whatever antibodies mom can give him. Even if you can rotate him in with her a couple times a day with you observing that would be good. She's not going to be able to clean him while he nurses, so at least if he can nurse and then you pull him out that would be better than no nursing at all.

I'm glad he's eating for you, and it's good that he can eat for you, but I would want him to have at least something from mom.

Also, take heart from the fact that she IS cleaning him and letting him nurse. Most mom's know when it's a hopeless case. If she hasn't given up on him yet, that's a good sign. :)
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I just went home on my lunch break and put the little guy with his mom and took the brother & sister out. Mom checked him out and then ignored him. He was in there for about 10 minutes until I pulled him out :/

So I fed him and he ate about 1cc. last feeding was at 8:30 this morning so he should have been hungry. Sometimes he eats 2cc's. I just don't know if I'll be able to get him to gain weight. I guess time will tell.
 
Do you have a breeder near you that might be able to help out during the day while you're at work? Or maybe an experienced rescue? (Not sure who we have on the boards here in your area.) He really needs to be fed more often than he is being fed. If he's 10 days old, he should be taking quite a bit more than 1 mL per feeding. By day 10, my hand feeders are usually anywhere from 5-6 at a feeding, and that was every 2 hours around the clock.
 
Well, my girlfriend took him to a different vet tonight. This guy is a miracle.

They discovered beneath more matted fur that the other side of his face is worse than the original side - raw flesh . Half of his ear is missing. This veterinarian believes that the mother did this to the baby; that the siblings are not capable... even though I saw the sister beating him up.... Who knows.

On to the good news->

The vet said that he can "see the glow in both eyes"! and that there may be a chance that this little booger can see one day. Both eyelids are gone but they might come back. They're going to use some sort of artificial tears in the meantime.

One of the veterinary assistants is truly a gift sent from above and volunteered to take the booger home and care for him at night, and bring him to work (at the vets office) during the day. Now he will have a much higher chance at surviving this since he will have someone to feed him much more often than my girfriend and I can. I am so thankful for her and everyones else's tips! Thank you!
 
Oh yes, the other kits are more than capable, trust me. I've seen it first hand - eyeballs hanging out, ears ripped off, half the nose gone. It's always a gamble with trips whether they are going to fight or not, and if one is even a little bit smaller, it's WWF and a smackdown. They get focused on that one nipple, and if anyone even attempts to nurse off of it, kits will fight to the death.

I am SO glad you were able to find someone who can care for him with more regular feedings. I think you will see an improvement when he starts getting fed a proper amount for his age. If he starts gaining, he has a better chance at survival.

Please, keep us posted. I've thought about this little man a lot today.
 
wow, i cannot believe these cute, soft, amazing creatures are so violent with one another! baby brother and sister killing one another over a nipple? doesn't mom have enough to go around? this is so sad to hear, i really really hope the poor chinny gets better, and bless that vets asst. for volunteering to take it home to care for it.

please keep a good spirit, and never give up. i will pray for your baby, and hopefully a better life is ahead for him!:handstogether:
 
starleomach said:
What happened with this little guy? It has been a while since an update
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I know it's been a month, but it's better late than never!

The vet assistant cared for the chin for a little over a week but she text messaged us and said that he passed. He was eating but I don't think he was eating enough, as he didn't gain but a few ounces.

She (the vet assistant/technician) was really hard on herself so we didn't ask too many details about what she did/didn't do. I told her that she did an excellent job and we appreciate her. I couldn't thank her enough.

So the poor little man didn't make it, but his brother and sister are doing great. Now, back to my search as to why one of my others has small poops and isn't eating much.
 
I really just dont know what to do with this story...

If you will excuse me Stevie, I am just going to step outside for a while, and put 100 large rounds through some silhouettes.
 
I have had kits who were born early (so really small) and their mom's milk didn't come in. They definetly weren't torn up like yours, but I took the night off and did not wake up every 2 hrs to feed them. I am actually currently handfeeding a baby that is 2 days old. She has lost 4 grams since birth. But I do feed every 2 hrs (roughly) during the day, and having the first feeding at about 7am and last feeding at about midnight-ish. Hope he/she continues to thrive!!!
 
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