Pregnant day 40 (advice please!!)

[Skye1993]

Hi all, a friend has gone away over christmas and new year. I'm the only person she knows with ferrets but I've never bred before..
She dropped her female off yesterday afternoon at apparently 39 days pregnant. The jill isn't even a year old :/

I've put her in a large cage away from my nuetured male, she has a box (that I've given her), her sleeping bag and hammock from home. Apparently her owner expected her to birth in her sleeping bag or hammock.
So as you can imagine I have quite a few questions!
1. what am I looking for when she goes into labour etc?
2. what should she be getting to eat? (all I was given was some kangaroo mince)
3.She won't be able to be moved until the kits are a few weeks old will she? and her owner won't be able to put them back in with the other jill she has?

Thanks in advance..

[Deleted]

Wow you're in a very interesting situation. Thanks for looking out for the little girl.

Please give her meat with more fat in it, kangaroo is too lean for constant use especially for her. Can you grind up some egg shells and put it in her mince, so that she can get some calcium? I assume that she's not used to eating full raw meat.

[skye1993]

Grind them up to dust pretty much?
I was also given biscuits (kibble) to give her, my male gets a variety of meat though so I have a fair bit of stuff already here.
I'm unsure what she is and isn't used to :/

[Deleted]

Yeah, to dust.
It would of course have been better if she got what she needed earlier than this but every bit now helps I think.
I'm no expert, I just know that mothers need calcium!

Try her on different things and see if she'll eat them. If not, I guess sticking to the food she likes is best at this point...

Also, do you know of any vets who are good with ferrets? She may need help when the time comes so preparing now is best.

[skye1993]

I will have to take her to the vet that specialises in cats and dogs- small town in Australia, last time I took my ferret to the vet here they told me they'd google it!!

[Deleted]

Oh dear. Which town?

[Deleted]

Get some chicken meat and bone into her. Roo mince will need Wombaroo kitten milk powder added into it. A teaspoon twice a day mixed into her mince, try adding small amount of liver and kidney blood or puree or both into her mince. And the egg shells.

She can't be moved until kits are 6 weeks old, else she may cannabillise her kits. A box with shredmded paper as her nest box is good.

[Heather]

Thank you Phae....I was hoping you'd find this. Wow....that is not a fair deal your friend stuck you with....not to be mean but that's bloody irresponsible. A pregnant jill expecting kits at any time is not something you dump in someone's lap. Kits are a lot of work and just about anything could go wrong with the jill considering the stress that she has just been put under...
Ok...my rant is done. Listen to Phae, she won't steer you wrong. Welcome on board and keep us posted. We will help you all we can. We have a couple of breeders on board, Phae being one of them. She's also in Australia so will have better knowledge of products available for you and some of the emergency clinics and such.
ciao

[crazylady]

Hi feed her a variety of meats and keep her in a calm cool place try and get hold of some kitten replacer milk ( good for mom and also handy to have in just in case ) or some goats milk give mom a couple of tablespoons of warm milk on a morning and also last thing at night ( this ensures a steady supply of calcium and helps ensure she is taking in enough fluids to produce enough milk) the most important piece of advice is simply give her distance watch her but respect her so she does not eat her young when her labour begins you will see a discharge from her vulva and she will seem restless ( laying down then walking around ) if she seems to do this for longer than 6 hours get her to a vet ( often they give birth early hours of the morning when its cool and dark)dont worry if the day after giving birth she does not eat this is normal after eating afterbirths all she wants to do is feed her babies ( you will know when they arrive due to the squeaks lol)also her poop will be black and tarry that is normal too dont panic if she does not go into labour on day 42 she can go two days over please keep us updated on how things are going take care bye for now
Bev

[unclejoe]

Ummm, you do realize that birth is any day... As in 42 days is normal. Set up a box where she can have privacy inside whatever enclosure she's in. Once the kits are born it's best if you don't touch them.
Wow.

[Deleted]

I think she does know, which is why she's asking for help! It's crazy what your friend has done to you/this ferret.

[Deleted]

Yeah. I bit my tongue, but d*mn foolish friend you have there for what they've done :/ her mucous membranes will break (like humans when their "water" breaks) and usually 72 or less hours before birth.

Also, if she does eat the kits, do not go into a panic and do not interfere. If she eats them, there's usually something wrong with them or even herself and you cannot hand raise them. Just be prepared for that.

[Deleted]

Maybe call the vet and warn them you might need emergency ferret birth help. Then they'll at least have time to Google.

[Sherry]

Thanks for all response everyone!
Just so you are aware Skye I called out all our "big guns"
Read breeders, lol. Please listen to them. They will not steer you wrong.

[Deleted]

what did you do sherry?