elongated nipples

It's been a frustrating couple of months here with rescue chins coming in mixed gender groups with pregnant females. As a rule, I hold all females for a minimum of 4 months to determine pregnancy all the while keeping stringent weight records. The last two totally took me by surprise though. Neither of the two chins showed signifigant weight gain, but both delivered within a week of each other. Apparently mom and daughter share the same "no show" symptoms.

Anyway, I started doing nipple checks along with the weight checks as a back up to watching for pregnancy. Imagine my surprise when every chin I looked at showed elongated nipples! Uh....really? Every chin pregnant? So I decided to compare with my own girls who I knew could not possibly be pregnant and have never littered. I found...elongated nipples! So all this to say, weight gain and long nipples are not necessarily sure signs of pregnancy. *shrug* Guess I'll just have to stick with my 4 month rule and see about getting more baby safe cages.

Nipples

It's not so much about looking for elongation as it is looking for a change. You have to know your chin's nipples. If she is pregnant and you notice a change in them, you have about three weeks left before she's due.

Here are some differences. All chins are standard females. I apologize some of these photos are blurry, it is very difficult to hold up a chin, blow into their fur long enough to expose the nipple, and take a focused photo of it. =/

This chin (Jasmine) is very definitely pregnant. She is currently 2 years and 7 months old. This will be her first litter. I do not know when she is due, but it shouldn't be less than a week as I had just opened her to the male April 17th, and it shouldn't be more than two weeks as I noticed her nipple change for the first time last week. Notice how it's not only elongated, but engorged.



Same girl, not as close up:


This girl (Wilma) is about ten years old. She was used for breeding by two previous breeders and had one litter here (she is now retired). I don't know exactly how many litters she has had, but I assume more than a few. Her nipples are permanently elongated, but not engorged.



Same girl, not as close up:

This female (Amber) just went into breeding earlier this month. She is currently 10.5 months old. Her nipple is what I would call a "nub."



Same girl, not as close up:


And lastly, here is a 4.5 month old female (Leslie) whom I won't even consider for breeding for another few months. Her nipple is little more than a tiny bump... and it was hard for me to even find. It didn't help that she was squirmy, hence only one photo of her.



Nipples are located higher up on the sides than you would think, right about where the belly turns from white to grey. They do not elongate past the fur nor does enough fur fall out around them that they just stand out without blowing into the fur, unless your chin is very poorly furred. Sometimes you can feel them, sometimes you can't. I prefer direct visual inspection as opposed to feeling them, it makes noticing a change easier and more accurate.

I weigh my girls in breeding weekly. Once they've gained 100+g, I begin looking at their nipples to get a sense of when they're due. In cases where a chin doesn't gain much weight, well then, I'm just surprised!