New Born Chins

[Veronica]

How are they doing?

When hand feeding, make sure to hold the kit upright and go slowly. One little drop at a time till they get a little bigger.

I wish you the best - sounds like you're doing great. I know what it's like to lose sleep over the little ones. How is the mom doing?

 

[Megan]

I was always told if they die within 3 days there was normally something wrong with them from birth. After three days, most likely they starved to death/weren't getting enough to eat.

 

[ChinchillaOwner]

The mom is a black velvet, dad is a beige. I am hand feeding them but they don't take much. The smaller one (beige) is maintaining his weight but the black velvet baby is still loosing. I am trying my best to hand feed them but they only take so much. I never noticed mom fall or anything like that.

 

[tunes]

If the little one won't take much at each feeding, then feed more often. Once that downward loss starts, it's really hard to stop it. You need to get as much food as possible into him/her.

I have not gone back to review this thread, but is this mom's first litter? I'm wondering if she had a hard time getting them out, hence the injury, although I'd be more inclined to think they got squashed.

 

[ChinchillaOwner]

Yes this is moms first litter. I am not sure what happened. i think I was there shortly after they were born, and they were in the same condition as they are in now (as far as not appearing to be able to move the find legs accurately). They do move the hind legs often but it is usually just to roll over or to push themselves around. They move alot, but very seldom have their eyes open. They are able to move all thier legs around but it is in a very clumsy manner. I find it odd that they are both like that. I can see if one was like that because it was injured by mom but both?
I think mom is trying to feed them but I am not sure if she is successful, She stands over them often, which I assume is her trying tofeed them.

 

[Evangelion]

We just had a situation where we moved and had a mother that was pregnant. The mother had 2 kids: 1 was around 59 grams, one was around 46. We normally give them a day to allow them to suckle on mom to get her milk going. By the end of the next day, they had dropped to 53 and 40.

We immediately began supplementing them with goats milk and I forget what else (Silver knows, I'm just the assistant!). Their weight stabilized, but they did not gain for 2 days. This is with feeding them every 3 hours, and I mean without missing a feeding. The bigger one finally began to gain weight, but the smaller one still stayed at 40ish.

They are now ~45 days old and they weight 210ish and 130ish respectively. I consider an average weight at birth of around 51-60. We knew the 46 gram would be a runt. We've seen them both now trying to eat pellets, and we are confident that we can stop supplementing the bigger baby within a couple weeks. However, the smaller one still has a way to go. It may never be a normal size, and I'm guessing may never reach the average 600-700 gram weight. (450-550ish if we're lucky). We'll just have to monitor his eating to see if he gains weight on his own with slower supplementing by chewing pellets and supplement left dried in their case.

They WILL live. It is all dependant on you and how dedicated you are to seeing them survive. It is not easy, it involves waking up late at night, and the progress of their weight will not always go as fast as you want it to go. However, in time they will be just fine. Good luck and keep us informed.

And by the way, our first baby ever was a hand-feed situation. It happens, you just have to always be prepared for it!

 

[ann1]

They WILL live. It is all dependant on you and how dedicated you are to seeing them survive. It is not easy, it involves waking up late at night, and the progress of their weight will not always go as fast as you want it to go. However, in time they will be just fine. Good luck and keep us informed.

I dis-agree with that. If they have a hereditary condition that is not fixable then they won't live no matter how devoted you are. If the baby can't walk I would assume their is something major wrong.

That being said all you can do is try. Yes it may require round the clock feedings but if that's what it takes then that's what it takes. Also remember at only a few days old their tummies are pretty small and fill up quickly? How much would you think they are getting? Are you mixing their goats milk with a little yogurt too? Usually it takes them a couple days to get the hang of hand feeding but once they do it is usually a lot easier. As a last ditch effort you may want to take a tiny tiny (I mean very small) dab of nutrical and give it to them. The calories might stimulate them to be more energetic. I wish you the best of luck. :thumbsup:

 

[tunes]

Sometimes, despite your very best effort and hard work, kits die. There is no guarantee, ever, that a chin born live will continue to survive no matter what you do for it.

I'm hand feeding quads right now. First time mom, totally overwhelmed, and I think they are premies to boot. I see them under mom and a foster mom all the time, but they are just staying warm, they are not nursing. I am doing my best, but I'm not getting my hopes up either. They are all very small (29, 31, 33, 36) and if they don't start eating some more they aren't going to survive. I just keep doing the best I can, rotating, hand feeding, etc. I will keep trying until they give up, then I'll hold them and let them go.

 

[ChinchillaOwner]

Unfortunatley my two died today. Both died at the same time. Inbetween feeding. I tried so hard, to make sure they were warm , I fed them religiously and this afternoon between feeding they both died. I find it so strange that they both dies at the same time. I am just sick thinking about htem.

 

[greychins]

I'm sorry for your loss. It's sad to loose babies. You did the best you could. :flowers5:

 

[Jenn]

I'm so sorry to hear that. I know you were worried about the babies and were trying to do what you could for them. I think it was out of your hands, though. You had noticed something wrong right away and it was something you couldn't fix. Thank you for trying and giving your all. Be glad you gave them a chance.

 

[Nezhka]

I'm so sorry to hear that. I lost a baby chin after nine days... it's never easy.
I just want to say that you did everything you could, even though it may not feel like it.

 

[ChinchillaOwner]

Thanks for the kind words but no it doesn't feel like i did enough. I did everything I knew how to do but they still are not here today. They were the cutest too which only makes it harder. They would sit in my hands and feed then fall asleep.

 

[addictedtochins]

I am so sorry it turned out this way. I know how you feel, but they were happy and loved and I'm sure are jumping and kacking over the rainbow bridge. Till you meet again.

 

[Laurie]

I'm so sorry to hear of this. I know how you feel. My Abigail had 3 premature babies and despite all my efforts after 9 days eventually all 3 passed. It was the hardest thing ever to go through which is why I know I could never breed. You did the best you could and like Peggy said sometimes it isn't meant to be. I'm sorry for your broken heart.

 

[Chinniechantel]

I am so sorry to hear that.

 

[Veronica]

There must have been something wrong inside. You made the best attempt, but it wasn't anything that could be fixed. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[6Dusters]

Sorry to hear about your little ones. Hugs.

 

[JennyBug]

They passed away with full tummies, warm, and safe. You did the best you could do, and they are healthy and playing now. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Anne-Lise]

I'm sorry for your loss.... There is a big chance there was something wrong with them.