new chin kits

[zette engel]

our mom chin just gave birth to 3 kits, she had 2 other pregnancy's before with a other owner, but both times she only gave birth to one. so this is her first time with 3 kits. One kit is a bit smaller to the other two. we are not shore if se will be able to handle all 3 at a time. they are two days old today and they are fighting which we heard is a sign of the mother not producing enough milk. can we help the mother by rotating them and giving them goats milk ? is there something we should look out for ? is it safe and won't over feeding occur and will it disrupt mothers milk production ? and will it be okay for there digestive system to drink mothers milk and goats milk? any advise will help ... thank you.

 

[Amethyst]

Ok, first question, is the female separated from the male now? If not you want to do that right away, the female can go into heat and get pregnant again right after giving birth.

It takes about a day or two for the milk to come in, unlike other animals the mother doesn't have milk when the kits are born, them trying to nurse stimulates the production, so you don't want to rush in to feed them right away, wait to see if the milk comes in first, and at first the kits will fight a bit. I would keep a record of weights on them to make sure they are are all gaining. Make sure the mother has access to unlimited pellets and hay, as well as give her alfalfa, it's much higher in protein and calcium them grass hay so that will help with her milk production. You can rotate them out to make sure they all have time with mom to nurse, here is some good info on caring for newborns including when to step in to hand feed if needed. Care of Kits That site has a recipe for formula, but it's more commonly now I've seen people recommended to just use goats milk, it shouldn't cause digestive issues, goat milk is similar to chinchilla milk so they can have both. The formula can cause digestive upset though since rice can be gassy, and Karo syrup is sugar which isn't good for them but can make it more palatable if needed and you are struggling to get them to take the milk.

 

[tunes]

She may not have enough milk for 3 kits. Keep a VERY close eye on the one that is getting pushed away. Kits will kill other kits to fight over milk. Weigh the kits. If one of them is losing weight consistently, then he/she is not getting any milk. Don't use Karo. Use fresh goats milk from the grocery store if you need to handfeed. My kits will hands down choose fresh goats milk over canned every time. You don't need a recipe - just feed it straight as it is.

 

[zette engel]

firstly thanx for the advice, I will be keeping a good eye on them and keep checking their weight and so on. but in new developments, tonight we checked on the kits we suspect the mother had a stroke while we were there, she started standing up while closing her left eye and pulling on her left whiskers and fell over and seemed like se was in a lot of pain and disoriented she did not even respond when we picked her up at that moment ... she recoverd so 20 secs later so did not last long ... her one ear was pulled back also but an half an our later now and she looks fine again ... should we separate the kits from her to avoid stressing her out more ?

 

[Amethyst]

firstly thanx for the advice, I will be keeping a good eye on them and keep checking their weight and so on. but in new developments, tonight we checked on the kits we suspect the mother had a stroke while we were there, she started standing up while closing her left eye and pulling on her left whiskers and fell over and seemed like se was in a lot of pain and disoriented she did not even respond when we picked her up at that moment ... she recoverd so 20 secs later so did not last long ... her one ear was pulled back also but an half an our later now and she looks fine again ... should we separate the kits from her to avoid stressing her out more ?

That is beyond my basic knowledge, but I do know if you weren't giving the mom extra food and alfalfa during pregnancy she could be suffering from low calcium. I would take her and the kits to the vet to get checked out as soon as you can get them in. If she is suffering from low calcium or low blood sugar or something like that they can give her an IV at the vet which would work much faster then just trying to get her to eat more.

 

[Pixie1984]

Triplets are well known for fighting, each wants the best nipple so it’s not uncommon for the bigger kit/s to bully the smaller ones away from the one they want. If that happens rotation is the best option, the larger two first & then the little one alone for a longer period of time to give him/her the chance to catch up in size a bit quicker. I weigh kits every day for the first month to make sure all are gaining, after that a few times a week is fine. Male kits will need to be removed from mum at around 8 weeks or 200g, whichever comes first to prevent them breeding with mum.
Alfalfa will help milk come in a little faster, so far I’ve never had a female go more than 24hrs without milk when alfalfa has been readily available, the fastest it appeared was 12hrs. Kits may drop a couple grams in weight while waiting for milk to come in, but unless they’re very small in weight at birth it shouldn’t be an issue. Since the kits are born with all 20 teeth they can also start to nibble on pellets & hay from birth, so don’t worry if you see that & just let them get on with it.
Mum will have no doubt eaten the placenta’s so offering a good sized goji berry or single raisin will aid in boosting energy levels after birth & help with digestion of the placenta.
Bare in mind though that females come into heat around the time of birth, so if the male wasn’t separated in time you could be looking at a possible breed back situation where she could already be pregnant again. For obvious reasons it’s not ideal for her to be feeding & pregnant, as she’ll need her energy & nutrients to maintain feeding. If a breed back has occurred & it disrupts her health to the point where she’s dropping large amounts of weight, or her milk production slows down to the point that hand feeding is needed, goats milk & water mixed 50:50 works well, though most kits from larger litters that I’ve hand fed won’t entertain it if it’s cold, so you can warm it up slightly to make it more appealing to them.