Mummified kit (caution, pics)

[Essentia]

It's a kind of defense mechanism that some animals have. When a fetus is non-viable or something goes wrong in utero the body breaks down the fetus allowing the mother to essentially reabsorb the kit. The purpose is to save the mother from birthing a carcass that could attract predators.

It actually happens often in humans as well. Often times people are pregnant with twins when they first conceive, but one ends up being non-viable and is reabsorbed. They say that 1/2 of pregnancies usually start with twins.

I saw it on a documentary, though I can't remember which one, so who knows if it's true. Just what I heard and found interesting enough to remember.

 

[kathiva]

Is this something related to when a mommy has a miscarriage?

 

[GorillaJTA]

That is very embryonic. Breeding, especially in high yield animals like rodents, is a risky business and I can imagine that some breeders never see some of the "situations" that come out. While chins may not have quite as large of litters as some rodents, they seem to be subject to some of the same defects. I am glad your dam is still healthy.

 

[GorillaJTA]

Is this something related to when a mommy has a miscarriage?

I can not be sure about chins since I have not done in-depth research on them, but when rats are born, they are about as developed as a 7 month old human fetus. But judging from experience, rodents tend to have more stillborn and fewer readsorbed kits because the gestation is not as long and because there are more fetuses per gestation. So, yes it is like a miscarriage, except that the mother does not expel it like a human would because the expulsion would risk the other kits.