Surprise we are here!

[AZChins]

Hey! That's great. I'm glad that he's nursing. YAY!

 

[Cuddlebug]

That's great news!

 

[harleycowgirl22]

they are very cute just watch that runt i know how easy it can be for a kit to "fall off the deep end" rotating is a good idea to help him get the extra attention and there is always the option of supplementing. you are getting great advice here and just remember if in doubt ask. good luck hope to continue to see updates. oh yea congrats on the three boys

 

[inzeos]

We are keeping a good eye on him. So far it seems like he is nursing fine alongside the other two. He is almost always latched on, unless his mom gets excited when she see's us and comes to great us.

If we need to supplement, I believe I recall people using both goats milk and or critical care? I know I can get critical care at my local shelter; however, not sure where to even look for goats milk should it be needed. Trying to make sure everything is lined up just in case. I'll be leaving town on a business trip; however, my wife will be looking after them and she is family with our current monitoring regiment and the advice given so far here.

 

[inzeos]

So I started rotating out the bigger kits to allow the little guy a little bit more dedicated nipple time. The little guys are in one half of a Ryerson style travel cage. I'm hesitant on putting them in with dad as he already seems anxious enough and has been nipping at us ever since the birth.

My room temperature today is at about 65 degrees. Will the larger kits be OK on their own for warmth or should I try and find an extra heat source? If so how much more should it be heating? I'm not sure if our heating blanket is at our house or the inlaws at the moment.

If I can't provide extra heat I can move them to a warmer part of the house, which would be in the low 70's today. Or would it be OK to just keep the swap intervals shorter, say 1 hour away rather than the suggested 2 hours away?

 

[Cuddlebug]

For supplementing, use 1 can of goat's milk, 1 can of water, 1 tablespoon of baby rice cereal and a few drops of Karo syrup. You can freeze it in ice cube trays and take out just what you need. I use eye droppers to feed the kit, others use small syringes.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

Can I suggest, to figure out what dad is so snappy about, that you introduce the kits to him by holding them up to his cage? They'll peep and he'll squeak back, that's normal. He might also try to groom them, so don't be scared if he looks like he's trying to get them with his mouth or is nibbling on them--obviously if they kak or try to get away, he's not being nice.
But that way you can figure out if he's just upset that he can hear them and can't protect them, or if he's just mad in general that his 'wife' has been taken away.
From EVERYthing I've read on this forum, chins make great dads, and the only time you have to worry is if a. he's ignoring them and jumping around or trying to breed back with mom, or b. when they get older, he can get 'nippy' w males, fighting over mom, or females, trying to breed with them when they're too young. But that's a bad situation to begin with and you don't have to worry about that

 

[inzeos]

For supplementing, use 1 can of goat's milk, 1 can of water, 1 tablespoon of baby rice cereal and a few drops of Karo syrup. You can freeze it in ice cube trays and take out just what you need. I use eye droppers to feed the kit, others use small syringes.

Where does one find goats milk? Is it OK to use evaporated goats milk? Is this something a feed store would have?

Do you cook the mixture?

Update on today's weigh in.

Standard 60g (gained)
Mosaic 60g (gained)
Standard Runt 33g (no loss or gain)

 

[VolunteerChin22]

They don't need to go in with dad - don't mess up a good thing IMO. They will be ok with a bit of fleece or a small stuffed cuddle buddie for a couple hours.

Canned goats milk is available at the grocery store or walmart usually...You dont need critical care at this age - they only need the above receipe however most people don't use the Karo syrup - you will have to hunt for the milk because they generally put it on the bottome shelf and carry one kind...do not use evaporated...it should be on the baking aisle or ask an attendant to help you...Do not cook it - just mix it together and then microwave for 15 sec or so - test the temp like you would a baby's bottle on the inside of your wrist. A curved dropper makes things easier.

You want to be careful that the kit doesnt choke on the formula - some will take it easily and some will resist at first...2 hour intervals are best they allow for the runt to get some good solid nursing time in. I would start supplementing and keep up the rotating- feed the runt after he's had time with mom to make sure hes got enough to last him while the other two are in. The ice cube tray is best because the formula goes bad within 2 days - if you freeze it you can make cans of milk last longer.

 

[inzeos]

We stopped at a few places last night and every can of goats milk is labeled as evaporated, which I believe tunes has mentioned was just stronger condensed goats milk, which has to be cut with water. We also were able to find fresh goats milk and a can of powdered goats milk at our local natural foods store.

These are pictures of what we found for canned products;

We even lucked out, our local Wegman's pharmacy tech gave us two child sized syringes with flexible tubes to assist in getting the mixture into the chin.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

thats the same brand I use but i couldve sworn it wasnt evaporated...ill have to look at the house.

 

[CJR]

I do know that Giant (grocery store) carries fresh goat's milk in their "health food" section.

 

[inzeos]

thats the same brand I use but i couldve sworn it wasnt evaporated...ill have to look at the house.

Is it OK then to use the canned evaporated goats milk then? I'm assuming that is why the formulas call for using water to cut it down. Need to know as my wife will be in charge of the hand feeding schedule while I'm out of town on business.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Im going to defer to someone else's expertise...

 

[Cuddlebug]

That's also the brand I use. I, too, didn't notice that it was evaporated. My kits have done well with it. If i need to add more water, someone, please let me know.

 

[inzeos]

Well, my wife gave me the quick and dirty instructions on how she has been getting little Geronimo to eat his supplement food. Couldn't resist getting a cute little picture of our little runt who is doing his damnedest trying to keep pace with his larger brothers.

 

[Laurie]

Despite the fact the father is separated from the mom and kits I believe the reason he is snappish is he believes he is protecting his family against a threat. He knows his mate gave birth and he is trying to keep her safe and his babies safe without realizing you too are trying to keep them safe.

 

[inzeos]

Got home from dinner at the in-laws today. We were ready to feed the little guy his extra food and found him and his brothers snuggled up like this.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

SO CUTE!!! I want one :3

Got home from dinner at the in-laws today. We were ready to feed the little guy his extra food and found him and his brothers snuggled up like this.

 

[inzeos]

Just a quick update!

Bonny and her boys are doing good. I think we have finally settled on names for all the kits. Here are the names and today's weights; Gus Gus (110g), Geronimo (56g) and Fluff (100g) aka Fluffer-Nutter.

We are rotating out the larger guys for about 4 or 6 hours total each day while also providing supplemental formula for the little guy. He'll take about 2.5 to 3ML of the formula we found out today, previously we were only feeding about 1 ML.

They are 18 days old today, born on 5/28/2010.

Here is a picture from today;