First-time pregnant chin... Advice?

[elvilla]

My Priscilla is due to have her babies this week and I've been getting contradictory advice all over the place. Can anyone answer a couple of Q's?

1) The bars of my cage are 1". I thought I needed to put her in a smaller cage with 1/2" bars for the babies to be safe and to prevent her from hopping around and trampling. I was told by the lady at teh pet store (who claims to deal directly with their breeder) that changing her environment can cause stress and lead to abortion. he recommended I just put a box in her own cage with the walls cut down to about 3-4" so mommy can get in and out but the babies stay inside.

Thoughts?

2) I thought since chins are vegetarians that I am supposed to make sure Priscilla doesn't eat the entire placenta. Is there one placenta per kit, or per litter? Also, I've seen vids on YouTube of mommies pulling stuff out of a newborn's fur once it comes into the world. Is it ok for her to eat that?

3) long should it take for Priscilla to pull the kits under her body to dry and warm them and to offer her teats? I'm hoping that her maternal instincts will kick in, but how long do I wait before drying and warming the kits myself?

Any help is greatly appreciated!!![/COLOR]

 

[tunes]

1) The bars of my cage are 1". I thought I needed to put her in a smaller cage with 1/2" bars for the babies to be safe and to prevent her from hopping around and trampling. I was told by the lady at teh pet store (who claims to deal directly with their breeder) that changing her environment can cause stress and lead to abortion. he recommended I just put a box in her own cage with the walls cut down to about 3-4" so mommy can get in and out but the babies stay inside.

She's not going to get stressed from moving her to another cage. She will be more stressed if her baby gets loose and it dies because the cage is too widely spaced. I would not put the mom and the kits in a box. Put them in a one level cage, no ramps, no shelves, 1/2 x 1 inch spacing. If you want to give them a house, make or buy one made out of kiln dried pine.

2) I thought since chins are vegetarians that I am supposed to make sure Priscilla doesn't eat the entire placenta. Is there one placenta per kit, or per litter? Also, I've seen vids on YouTube of mommies pulling stuff out of a newborn's fur once it comes into the world. Is it ok for her to eat that?

It's normal and natural for her to eat all of it. Just step back and let her do her thing. It's also normal for her to clean the baby completely off.

3) long should it take for Priscilla to pull the kits under her body to dry and warm them and to offer her teats? I'm hoping that her maternal instincts will kick in, but how long do I wait before drying and warming the kits myself?

There should be no need for you to intervene at all. Again, let mom do her thing. The only reason you would need to help is if mom is too tired and doesn't appear to be taking an interest in the kits.

 

[Essentia]

Definitely need bar spacing 1/2 inch. Kits will easily escape from anything larger than that.

As for the other questions I will let a breeder answer those.

 

[greychins]

I agree with all that Tunes said. I would move her ASAP to the cage with 1/2 bar spacing. Wouldn't want to say "I'll do it tomorrow" and have her deliver tonight. The box that the pet store described... while that's fine for like a dog or cat or rabbit where the babies are born relatively immobile and helpless (eyes closed, can't hear, what have you) for the first few weeks... chins aren't like that. You will find that trying to catch a baby that's a day old that wants to get away is about as bad as catching any chin - they're like miniturized (sp?) versions of mom and dad, and just as quick!

I wanted to add that I typically don't believe anything that the people at the pet stores say. From experience, they really don't know much, and your best bet is either asking on this forum (kudos!) or asking a knowledgeable chin vet. It sounds like the people at the pet store by you might be likening a chin to a rabbit- the way rabbits use a nest box... but again, if they'd ever actually seen a baby chinchilla, they'd know that a nest box isn't going to do much good for a chin. A knowledgeable breeder wouldn't suggest that either. But that's why its' good to ask, so, good going.

 

[elvilla]

Thanks so much everyone! Priscilla popped this morning, I have 3 little kits! They were born in the box I had put in but I ran out and got a small cage instead.

I have another question though... How long are kits supposed to nurse at one sitting? Not how often do they feed, but for how long at a time?

 

[tunes]

They nurse until they are full. You don't need to do anything, just let them do their thing.

 

[elvilla]

ok... sorry i guess i'm just paranoid. i'm mainly worried that priscilla isn't producing enough milk for all 3 because at one point they were under there for a long time!

i'm going to by some cran juice to stimulate milk production. any recommended brands?

 

[proudmom25]

If she just delivered today then the milk may not be in yet. The sucking will help stimulate production of milk. My babies seemed to be nursing constantly the first day or two.

They still do nurse often (2 weeks old) but lots of times they are just cudding under mom to keep warm.

 

[elvilla]

really? oh boy that makes me feel better, thank you! i was losing my mind trying to figure out how to give them something so they don't starve overnight. ella (the runt) weighed it at only 26 grams, i'm a little afraid for her.

i'm sure i'm not the first one to freak out like this, but it sure feels like it!

 

[tunes]

26 is not a great weight for a kit. If they are already fighting, then I would rotate the kits. Leave Ella in at all times, never removing her from mom. Rotate out one of the larger ones for 2 hours, then put him back. Rotate the third one out for 2 hours, then put him back. You will only have 2 kits in with mom at the same time - the runt and one of the larger siblings.

You will also need a kit safe carrier with a heating pad on low under half of the carrier. You'll need to rotate every 2 hours around the clock for the first several weeks. The smallest one may need hand feeding, or she may do okay once you rotate the bigger siblings out.

 

[greychins]

First, congrats on the kits! What do the other two weigh?

26 grams is a bit small, but like it's been said, sometimes mom doesn't get in milk right away. With a baby that small though, I personally wouldn't wait forever to start supplementing and handfeeding, if you notice that the babies start losing weight. I would weigh the babies again in the morning, if you notice they're losing weight, they can lose a gram or two, no big deal, but if they're clearly not gaining or holding steady, mom might not have milk in yet. And ideally, you want to get something in them.

They wouldn't starve overnight, but... We had a litter here of 3... they're just 8 weeks now (thank god), but they were all born at 48, 48, 49 grams... healthy weights, but a tad under what I'd like to see. Mom never got her milk in, but we waited about 3 days to see if she'd get it in... by that point they were all down to 40 grams. The second we started handfeeding they gained right back, but we wanted to give time for mom to get in her milk... which she never did.

Looking back... I wouldn't suggest waiting until they lose 10 grams a piece. That was kinda stupid on my part. But especially since your Ella is so small, she might not survive losing 10 grams. So I would just mentally be prepared to watch their weights and possibly have to handfeed if needed.

Before I would step in and handfeed, I would attempt to switch out the babies, as Tunes said. But if you notice that Ella still isn't gaining and thriving, that's when you'd want to handfeed.

If you did need to handfeed, the formula is in the Breeding FAQ section... it's basically goat's milk (either canned or fresh) and some baby rice cereal. My kits liked the fresh goat's milk (in the milk section, next to the regular milk) better than the canned, and it lasts longer. You can use a small syringe or eyedropper to feed. Just FYI in case.