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Post by ferretface on Nov 24, 2011 23:04:06 GMT -5
My girl Juno is/may be pregnant. She looks and feels pregnant, her nipples have been obvious for about 2 weeks, and she has become very clinging. Last night, I noticed her vulva was slightly swollen, and today, it's a bit more swollen and a bit wet. Her belly lumps seem to have moved down. Could this mean the start of labour? I'm getting a bit impatient I hope I don't get flamed, or labelled a back yard breeder This will be her first and last litter, and her babies, along with the rest of my ferrets, will be desexed. I'm not new to breeding animals, I've been breeding(and showing) rats and mice for over 10 years, and know the importance of finding the right homes for any offspring. I'll probably keep most, if not all of her babies, and those I don't keep will be rehomed with close friends.
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Post by Sherry on Nov 24, 2011 23:22:06 GMT -5
Not to worry- you will NOT be flamed on here Wish I could help you with advice on what to expect, but one of our breeders should be on in a day or so, and will be able to help
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Post by ferretface on Nov 24, 2011 23:34:03 GMT -5
Thanks. I know alot of animal forums don't like people talking about breeding unless they are a registered breeder, and those that aren't registered are looked down on. It's great to have a forum where we can mention breeding and not be treated like some sort of monster
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Post by Heather on Nov 24, 2011 23:34:31 GMT -5
It is not our place to judge your decision. No one will flame you and assistance will be offered without judgement. Do you have someone you can call as a mentor through this difficult time? I'd like to say everything is fantastic and everything works out great but so far we've not had much luck with kits in the last few times where people have been doing this without an experienced mentor. I don't think this is an easy undertaking You might get some of our Australian breeders on board soon. Our UK breeders have probably all gone to bed. Joan might be up Is your wee one eating? It seems that just before they give birth they stop eating. I believe that there is also some discharge before the birth as well. The true telling though...when was your wee one mated? A kit takes 42 days give or take about 2 days to arrive . I'm not much good at this as I do rescue, I'm not a breeder ciao
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Post by Sherry on Nov 24, 2011 23:36:06 GMT -5
It's great to have a forum where we can mention breeding and not be treated like some sort of monster It's the same thing with live feeding, which we also have on here It's a case of each to their own
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Post by ferretface on Nov 24, 2011 23:47:05 GMT -5
Is your wee one eating? It seems that just before they give birth they stop eating. I believe that there is also some discharge before the birth as well. The true telling though...when was your wee one mated? A kit takes 42 days give or take about 2 days to arrive . Maybe that explains why she wasn't been eating much! She's normally a bit of a pig, but the last two days she hasn't eaten much, and I don't think she ate anything this morning. To be honest, I'm not sure when she was mated. I'm hopeless at keeping records. I removed her from the boys cage about 4 weeks ago, she'd come out of season about 2 weeks before that(times may be off by a week or so). I don't have a mentor. I do have a ferret vet handy though, so if anything goes wrong, I've got help near by.
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Post by Sherry on Nov 24, 2011 23:54:35 GMT -5
Glad you've got a vet handy. So many things go wrong with these mites with breeding
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Post by Heather on Nov 25, 2011 0:11:25 GMT -5
Knowing the exact date of mating keeps your wee one safe from having issues if she's late, then you will know if she's in trouble. Little she-weasels are as secretive about their pregnancies as they are about being ill. Keeping solid records about when your wee one spent her lustful night would have made things much easier for yourself in the "when's it going to happen dept". A false pregnancy will also give you the same results as being pregnant, once again filling the need to know factor Good luck ciao
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Post by lorelei0922 on Nov 25, 2011 3:30:59 GMT -5
hiya..
yes the "loosening of the vulva" is a sign of impending labor.. mine usually start about 24-48 hours beforehand.
If you haven't seen any signs of babies after the next two days... seeing as you dont know her dates.. please take her for a checkup, the vet can do an ultrasound quickly and check for heartbeats.
They often trick even the vets by physical examination and remember she COULD be having a phantom pregnancy, though mine have never done the loosening up bit with a fasley...
good luck.. make sure she has a calm, quiet, dark place to nest and leave her to it!!
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Post by lorelei0922 on Nov 25, 2011 3:32:08 GMT -5
oh.. just a RE: getting a vet check up... the reason i recommend this is that after day 44 you start risking the kits and jills health so its important to check and make sure everything is ok...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2011 11:28:20 GMT -5
Lorelei is offering solid advice - do not hesitate to take your ferret to the vet sometimes complications set in. labor may need to be induced and/or a c-section may be necessary to save the mother.
I am NOT a breeder, so I have VERY limited knowledge with this. Here are some of the things I've heard from local breeders, but again, I have no first-hand experience with this... Once labor begins, you need to make sure all kits have been delivered, and placentas are discharged as well. It's my limited understanding that mating can affect the birthing process. The ferret breeders I've known mate there jills for a limited period of time because mating over the course of a couple of days can result in delivery of underdeveloped kits. All of this can affect ho well the birthing goes.
-jennnifer
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Post by crazylady on Nov 25, 2011 17:35:23 GMT -5
Hi is the discharge clear or coloured ? ( often just before giving birth they have a coloured discharge it can be green yellow or redish brown ) she will laying around not eating and acting uncomfortable ( these are also the signs of a phantom ) you normally take the due day as the day following mating and most jills give birth in the late evening early morning hours it is normally 42 days from mating but can be 2 days early or two days late if she is more than two days over take her to a vet ( she could have dead kits or one stuck ) try not to touch the kits let mum do it for herself as often first time mums panic and will eat the young it is advisable however to keep an eye on mum from a distance ( you will be able to see the contractions ) normally I check on them every 1-2 hours I like to give my jills a bit of privacy good luck with your little girl I hope everything turns out well if you have any more questions please dont hesitate to ask take care bye for now Bev
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nanjferret
New member
Ferrets are people too!
Posts: 94
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Post by nanjferret on Nov 25, 2011 23:55:26 GMT -5
Well I'm going to add quite a bit here. A yellowish discharge can occur before. what you need to look for is the "string". It is the mucous plug coming out. If you grab the mucous and pull it will look like a mucous string. that is my sign of definite pregnancy. no string, no pregnancy. I've had some jills even with a positive ultrasound from the vet not actually be pregnant. They can be very good at a false pregnancy. Within hours to about 48 hours from the string she will deliver. A first time mom can be very confused and scared. Make sure she is in a very quiet place. If indoors cover her cage with a sheet for a nesting environment. A new mom can sometimes not have the instinct quite there yet and can sometimes pop them out and leave them in the sac. you will then need to open the sac asap before the kit suffocates and cut the cord about an inch from the kit. A new mom can also get too into the cleaning and take off a leg or tail accidentally. She sometimes will refuse to nurse. Most jills will not settle down to nurse until all the kits have been born. If it's too long the other kits can die. It can take 24 hours for all of the kits to be born. You need to palpate her to make sure at the end there is not one still in her which can happen which is a trip to the vet for a c section. I keep a box with a towell in it on a low heat pad in case of a nervous mom as the kits need to stay warm. If she pops them out and leaves them they need to be put into her nest to stay warm. If the kit has been in the sac too long and is cold you can try to resuscitate by rubbing the chest area gently and warming it up with mildly warm water on the body. It can take sometimes up to 20 minutes to get the kit to breathe. A young jill usually has the kits fine but can have the issues mentioned with birthing and nursing. She can become aggressive too, they are all different. Once she has them and all seems well I try to clean out the wet bloody bedding then leave her alone so she can bond. I give my moms some warm mush mix and make sure her water and food is next to her nest as they do not like to leave the nest for the first several days and will not eat enough because of it. If the kits survive three days all is good. It's not unusual to have some expire the first three days for various reasons. then you need to make sure she has milk and her mammary glands look healthy and not infected, very red or black asap to a vet. I don't mean to scare you but if you have questions yes feel free to ask. Being in Australia I realize you probably have a different set up than we do in the US.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2011 4:37:53 GMT -5
Australia we don't have 'breeders' as such like some of you. It's only been in the last 10-15 years that people have been looking at ferrets as pets & not as working animals any more, but the rest is still taking it's time. I only know of one breeder who's level of care would give any US or UK ferret a run for their money, but he's hard to get hold of on a good day for the amount of work he does.
Ferretface, you're better off asking on here for advice than trying to hunt down a breeder in Australia. I'm likewise to you, though I know a couple of breeders, but I'm not always satisfied with their answers or find conflicting information. I might just be a bit picky about it, but rather do research upon research & read things from multiple sources than take the information from one person & not find backup for their information.
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Post by Sherry on Nov 26, 2011 12:17:29 GMT -5
Any updates on the little one, and her possible little ones?
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