I think my new chin is preggers...help!

[NicoleBrianne]

I recently rescued two chins from a not so hot situation and it turns out one is male (Stitch) and the other is female (Bella). I suspect Bells is pregnant - she's pretty firm around the mid section and she's been lying on her side quite a bit. These are my first chins and I'm not sure how to approach the whole pregnancy situation :/ I know I probably shouldn't have gotten a male/female pair, but I really didn't like the situation they were in. What do I do if she does have kits?

 

[tunes]

Read this: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21

You will want to separate the parents and be sure that the female is in a baby safe cage with no bigger than 1/2 x 1 inch openings.

 

[AZChins]

Definitely separate them. You'll need another cage. When the babies are weaned (somewhere around 8 or 9 weeks-ish), you can put the boy babies in with the dad and leave the girl babies in with mama.

I'm sorry that this is your first experience with chins. It is less than ideal, but everything should be alright. Right now you need to watch the mother for any signs of distress. Normally everything goes well with the birthing process but if something goes wrong you will need to get the mother chin to the vet right away.

Chins are pregnant for a relatively long time (for a rodent). After you separate them you could have as long as 105 to 120 days before she could possibly give birth.

 

[NicoleBrianne]

So should I separate the male and female now? They are always together and never leave one another's side. Wouldn't moving them cause stress to the female?

 

[Stackie]

Yes, they should be separated now. Since you do not know if/when mom is due, if she gives birth and dad is still with her, he could breed with her and get her pregnant again. (They can mate very soon after giving birth, it's called breed back).

 

[Cuddlebug]

Separate them now. They will probably mope for a few days but don't give in. It is not good to allow the mother to be pregnant while nursing a litter. It is a tremendous strain on her little body. BTW, they should not have shared play times either. With chins it takes just seconds for the deed to be done so there is no "I will watch them and separate them if they try to breed". No one is fast enough to stop them.

 

[NicoleBrianne]

Bells just had babies and she seems to be rejecting one of them... I'm so lost. Whats the best thing to do in this situation?

 

[tunes]

Did you read the FAQ above that I posted? It tells you all about how to hand rear a kit in case the mom doesn't have milk, dies, etc.

How many kids did she have? If she's a first time mom she may be overwhelmed if she had three or more. She may even be overwhelmed with one if she came from a bad situation. Is she truly rejecting the kit or are there multiple kits fighting? If she is rejecting the kit, there is generally a reason and often times it's a sad one. She may know something about the kit you don't. When that happens in my barn, I take over mom duties until the kit starts to respond and grow, then try him with mom again or put him with a foster mom. Have you weighed them? You need to keep track of the weight. If this little one isn't eating, then you need to make the choice of letting nature take its course or you taking over. I have never let nature take its course, even if the outcome was exactly as mom predicted. I just don't have it in me.

 

[NicoleBrianne]

Did you read the FAQ above that I posted? It tells you all about how to hand rear a kit in case the mom doesn't have milk, dies, etc.

How many kids did she have? If she's a first time mom she may be overwhelmed if she had three or more. She may even be overwhelmed with one if she came from a bad situation. Is she truly rejecting the kit or are there multiple kits fighting? If she is rejecting the kit, there is generally a reason and often times it's a sad one. She may know something about the kit you don't. When that happens in my barn, I take over mom duties until the kit starts to respond and grow, then try him with mom again or put him with a foster mom. Have you weighed them? You need to keep track of the weight. If this little one isn't eating, then you need to make the choice of letting nature take its course or you taking over. I have never let nature take its course, even if the outcome was exactly as mom predicted. I just don't have it in me.

I read it. I was in such a hurry I posted the question before finishing. She had three kits. One looks perfectly normal and is nursing and everything. One was born without a head...idk if the head is still inside her or what. And the third looks extremely premature. I was hand feeding him and trying to keep him warm as possible. I'm just not sure if there is any hope for the little one