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Post by crazylady on Mar 24, 2016 13:31:53 GMT -5
Hi they will be fine mum will make sure they are warm enough a little tip as these are first time mums don't pick up the kits as they can turn there back on them or even eat them ! its best to leave her alone for 36/ 48 hours so she can bond with them only going in to feed and do the poop corner because the longer she is in with the babies the more they are feeding I often give my jills things like minced beef for a few days so its easy to eat fast and they are not away from there babies for long plus they cant take it into the nest fingers crossed everything works out fine take care bye for now Bev
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2016 16:33:58 GMT -5
All the kits are doing well:-), the first kit is 2 weeks and the others will be 2 weeks on Tuesday, first kit is turning grey so guessing it will be sable like mom.
At 2 weeks is it too soon to start giving the kits a soft food to eat or wait til 3 weeks? I dont really want to use raw right away due to the mess, i was thinking high meat content canned cat food mixed with water or esbilac?
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Post by Heather on Apr 3, 2016 17:32:56 GMT -5
I feed raw and let mom deal with the mess. If you're going to feed some kind of mush (canned cat food or milk substitute) then you're going to have just as big a mess, why not just feed what's best for them from the start. Babies are messy and stinky. It is what it is. This is a video of one of my wee meepers (the age you're describing) stealing his/her mom's dinner This is a couple of pics of my kits numming on their meats dinner ciao
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Post by crazylady on Apr 4, 2016 12:39:27 GMT -5
LoL Heather those pics brought a huge smile to my face its hard to remember them so small lol oops going off track here as to feeding them I normally begin at three weeks simply blend some minced meat a little lactol ( kitten replacer milk ) a whole egg and a good pinch of bonemeal down in a blender ( it should be mush like not too thick to begin with like baby food ) feed this for one week for times per day ( you only need two tablespoons on a saucer and mum will polish off whats left lol) so one blending lasts one day by four weeks old they can manage minced meats topped with bonemeal small portions little and often during the day and leave a dish last thing at night as the weeks progress so does the size of the meat lol take care bye for now Bev
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2016 18:10:22 GMT -5
Ok I will start with blended meat topped with calcium or some KMR then, would it be a bad idea to do a large amount at once and freeze it into portions?
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Post by maja01 on Apr 5, 2016 7:15:55 GMT -5
Those pics are great Little ones sleeping in a bowl between meat chunks almost bigger than they are And the video, I find it really funny how she puts it back to the nest Haven't had baby ferrets but with kittens and marten's kits I allways prepared it fresh (at least the final stage of meat and milk replacer - they were orphans, that is why I used it at first place).
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Post by crazylady on Apr 5, 2016 16:27:58 GMT -5
Hi I would simply do it fresh its easy to do just put meat a scoop of lactol or kitten replacer in with water bonemeal ( or egg shell and an egg blend it up and hey presto ferret heaven lol if possible vary the meats day by day this way you are imprinting different meats into there taste buds so you wont have picky ferrets ! you don't need a huge amount of meat for the first week for say five kits you only need 1oz meat per kit blended up what they don't eat mum will lol good luck let us know how they do take care bye for now Bev
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2016 2:03:21 GMT -5
The 17 day old kits want nothing to do with the meat? They squirm away from the dish and wont take it if i give it by hand either, i tried giving it warmed up too, does it just take time? The 3 week old girl takes some good licks on it but does not seem much gets in her yet.
The sable female that only has the 1 kit seems to be getting a swollen vulva again, could she be coming into heat again?
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Post by crazylady on Apr 9, 2016 12:51:20 GMT -5
Hi they may simply be too young at 17 days I normally start mine around 21 days I simply smear it around the moth and nose ( so they have to lick it off lol once they get a taste they start trying to lap ) remember they are used to suckling and not experts at licking yet it does not take a lot to begin with to fill them up remember mums still feeding them she will benefit by eating the left overs as its rich in protein and calcium just keep on trying they will get there yes she can be coming back into season because she only has one kit so her body is not over worked producing the milk for one is the kit sticking to one favourite teat ? if so gently express some milk from other teats to help the kit rotate and to prevent mastitis in her other teats ( the milk in the unused teats can become cheesy and lumpy) don't worry I am not asking you to milk her like a goat lol simply gently squeeze each teat until you see a bead of milk the smell will help the kit find other teats good luck with the feeding don't worry they will soon realise what it is as they get older take care bye for now Bev
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2016 14:54:32 GMT -5
What if i put a few of the younger kits with the mother with the single kit? To get her milk flowing and ease up the other mothers job? The female with the single kit is larger as well.
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Post by Heather on Apr 9, 2016 18:48:20 GMT -5
Either that or try the lone kit on the other jill and see if she will take that wee one too. It's not uncommon for a jill to accept another's lone kit. See which way the jills are willing to work the sharing. It might actually be easier to let the one jill just dry up and come into season and allow the other jill to foster the wee one if it's possible. She's got enough kits to keep her milk in ciao
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2016 15:10:22 GMT -5
I am going to put the lone kit with other mother i think, that one is eating solids well but the others are not very interested still?
is it safe to let the other jills milk dry up and mate her again? She has not lost any weight from nursing the single kit and looks in good shape still.
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2016 21:21:04 GMT -5
No....she's done her job by you this year and next. Even though she didn't have a full litter, she's put everything into that kit. Don't fail her by breeding her again. As much as you don't think she's lost a lot of weight, she's used all her reserves for this year. Let her have her rest. Even if she had lost the whole litter it would be horrible to breed her again this year. Personally, I wouldn't be breeding her next year either, allowing her a full year to rest and recuperate
ciao
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Post by crazylady on Apr 14, 2016 12:22:09 GMT -5
Hi Heather is correct in what she is saying she has used up all her body's reserves of calcium for this year the bones had to be developed in the kits she lost that uses calcium as does feeding kits normally if I breed one year the following year I let the jill take a rest to build herself up ( I normally breed when they are 2 and 4 often I don't breed when four because I keep full litters lol) by breeding when the mom is weak you will end up with deformed kits who could end up with swimmers syndrome simply because mom was unable to produce enough calcium when laying down the bone foundations in foetuses jills give the remaing calcium to there kits in the first three weeks of feeding them this is why its important to give them powdered calcium on the meat and while nursing take care bye for now Bev
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2016 0:34:34 GMT -5
I put the single kit with other mothers litter, and her mothers milk looks to have dried up now. The single female is 4 days older then the others and was always bigger and fatter, she is almost 5 weeks old, her eyes just opened and she is more active then the others, but she seems to be loosing weight/is not as fat as they are now? She goes right for the food when i put it in and eats very well for a few minutes then just wanders off so i figured she was full and the mother treats her just like her own kits and they are all getting milk from her and blended meat, with calcium, and look fat but not very active as their eyes are still closed. Is thinning out normal as they start eating more solids and get more active or could the other kits be not let her nurse enough? I dont see them nurse as mom is out of the box when she hears me coming.
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