feeding raw to nursing jills/best nesting material

[Deleted]

I was wondering what people give their jills to nest with? i use kiln dried shavings on the bottom of the cages/hutches but was not sure if it might be rough on newborn kits? I am sure hay would mold and i thought kits might get lost or possibly chew on stripes of fleece? I bought some flax bedding that is pretty soft with no dust but very fine bits, also have chipped aspen bedding, but not sure which would be best?

And when feeding jills raw do you just take a peak every day to make sure they dont leave any bits in the box with the kits to go bad? My one irl is bad for a taking a piece and just sticking it somewhere and forgetting it.

[Heather]

I use sleeps sacks and comforters for my wee jill and her kits. My guys live indoors though. My wee jill chooses her nesting spaces in the nursery, moving her kits as she sees fit to clean nesting areas. I then clean up her used nests and put in fresh bedding. She would usually move them every couple of days. She was happy with these arrangements.
As far as food the first few weeks I fed her ground raw (meat, bone and organs and heart) with a bit of extra bone meal. She didn't stash this and ate it out of the bowl...the problem was keeping the kits out of it. In a couple of weeks the whole meats are once again introduced and a little extra care to clean up stashes was all that I needed to do
ciao

[Deleted]

I use shredded paper squares but have seen people use fleece squares too. After the birth I usually put a small fleece blanket in and Mum arranges that around the kits. I don't usually give them a fleece blanket before they give birth because I have heard of kits getting lost in the blanket when newborn.

I also just spot clean about the place. I usually find that not much meat is left untouched in the nestbox - Mum and kits usually eat that first and once the kits are about 2.5-3 weeks they start to come out to eat from the bowl with Mum.

[crazylady]

Hi I use meadow hay mom normally fashions it into a nest prior to giving birth ( and some crazy moms even put a roof on ! so no peeking lol) I give a little hay each day and often find she does her own clean out I remove any dirty in the run normally I don't interfere until they are three weeks old leaving her to do her job my only job is providing food and cleaning poop corners and pretending I cant hear any meepers lol moms are usually pretty good at keeping the nest clean as they don't want to lead predators to the babies ( not that there are any but its just natural instinct I guess ) my other ferrets all have shredded white paper as bedding the reason I change my moms is simply the paper can stick to new borns or when mom does her clean up of there bits lol take care bye for now
Bev

[Deleted]

Thanks,
Crazylady, do you use wood shavings along with the hay? I dont have any fleece right now but could get some tomorrow, i do have hay though. My one hutch has lyno on the whole floor/nest area so i was thinking maybe shavings on the bottom then hay or fleece for her to nest with?
both females are only a few days away, and fat with big nipples, but neither has much interest in building a nest yet?

[crazylady]

Hi Yes I use shavings on the bottom and also in the runs ( its a bit finer in the runs )some build nests and some expect you to put in for them lol you will find she will make a concave in just shavings leave small amounts of hay in the runs and see if they want to take them in to nest build if they dont just make sure the shavings in the bed area are pretty deep so she can fashion her nest in there the shavings and mom will keep them all warm so dont worry good luck let us know when and how many lol take care bye for now
Bev

[Deleted]

Thanks! Yes i will post how many when they have them!
I am tying to guess who is going to have what, they bred a day apart but now the girl that was bred on the second day is much bigger around but still has her winter fur, wile my sable girl looks like she got shaved her coat molted so fast! But she is now looking to have less of a baby belly and they are only a couple days till due.

[crazylady]

LoL don't let them fool you they are good at hiding kits high in there rib cage ! I once had a little girl who went four days over her due date and was as thin as a drain pipe she presented me with three huge hob kits on april fools day ! guess who was the fool for thinking nope no kits lol good luck take care bye for now
Bev

P.s remember not to count the actual day you put her in as day one count day one as the day following as often they mate a few times normally in the early hours of the morning

[Deleted]

Well my sable female gave birth a day early, unfortunately she only had 2 kits and 1 was dead:-(, it looked like she had them and that one just got pushed aside and died from being too cold or not getting any milk, it is her first litter though. She seems to be doing ok with the other kit but she is out of the nest quite a bit so hopefully she is feeding it and keeping it warm enough.

My other female is due any day, as i ended up putting her with the hob twice.

[abbeytheferret6]

So sorry about the baby. Hope all turns out well with the other one, and mommy is doing well.

[crazylady]

Hi if she is a young jill she may of simply been confused or there was something wrong with the kit she pushed to one side they do sense if there is a problem and abandon them refusing to nurse them if the remaining kit is not crying when mom is out then it has a full tummy try not to be around her much if they are left in constant silence they tend to nurse better because they are not on edge having to leave the nest to see whats going on good luck with your baby keep us updated on how things are going take care bye for now
Bev

p.s having a litter a day early is not unusual they can have them two days early or two days late

[Deleted]

Yes these are their first litters.

I put a thick layer of shavings and hay in, but she dug it all out of the way and gave birth on the lino that covers the bottom of the hutch, these ferrets are in a heated outdoor building still, but i think laying on the lino might be cold for the kit, as it does cry when she leaves it.

When the kits are young should they have a visible milk belly?

The second girl has molted her winter coat all at once it seems since yesterday! So hoping she is close to having hers.

[Deleted]

Aww sorry about the wee one that died but glad to hear one survived

[crazylady]

Hi they tend to look a little rounder but will cry as soon as mom is not present they sese the milk bar has moved don't be alarmed about her digging it out has she made sort of walls around her kit and the centre is bare ? if she has that is totally normal some prefer to nest that way and the kit will be kept warm by mum ( they normally climb on moms belly she will be laying on the cool lino ( though it beats me why over here in England its freezing lol)if your second jill has blown her coat then kits will follow soon she is getting ready for the big event lol keep us up dated and good luck take care bye for now
Bev

[Deleted]

my other jill had her kits this morning, looks like 7 :-)!! And all alive!
She seems to be doing a good job so far but i thought as she has a nest box made of wood the kits would stay warm, but they don't feel warm to the touch when i pick them up is that normal?
She did make a bare circle in the middle of box lined with her fur around the edge but the kits are lying in the middle on the bare wood.