act284
08-30-2012, 01:20 PM
I have a litter of 9 indoors. They were ALL thriving until the past 2 days. I've noticed that the bitch now wants to spend less time with the pups as she sits outside the pen often instead of being inside with them. While that is not a huge concern at the moment, it doesn't place much confidence in me about her mama skills for these next 2 crucial weeks. Her teats look good, not hard or hot. I had her on TMZ for 10 days for preventative mastitis and coccidia. The temperature inside is 80-90 (SoCal is 85-90 outdoors at the moment).
I am not too worried about the pups not nursing enough. Pups are 12 days old and growing with the exception of yesterday when I weighed them all, a majority of them had gained only 0-1 oz. Up to that point they were all gaining at least 2-4 oz daily. Can I bottle feed this early or should I still be tube feeding? (I plan to supplement if the weight gain plateaus again).
My main concern is that I have one male that is constantly crying and roaming the pen. Prior to those nights I've noticed him nursing hard and fighting healthily for his place near the nipple. These past few days he has been crying non stop especially at the late hours of the night. I've witnessed him nursing solidly when he's not crying though in the morning and when I first get home from work. So I tried to place him next to a nipple when he's crying and he doesn't nurse but crawls away and continues crying. The only thing that seemed to help is when I pick him up and massage him but as soon as he goes back down he's crying again. He feels slightly hot and has a big tummy (as do the others but not quite as big as his). Any idea what might be going on?
Another concern of mine is that I have not seen the pups defecate since the first 2 days. What should I look out for in terms of bad signs? I have tried stimulating their anal area with warm cloth but have yet to see any poop. I'm gone for work from 9-9 most days so I am not clear if the momma is stimulating them enough although I do notice urination color on the whelp pad/blankets. Should I use an enema and how so?
I am not too worried about the pups not nursing enough. Pups are 12 days old and growing with the exception of yesterday when I weighed them all, a majority of them had gained only 0-1 oz. Up to that point they were all gaining at least 2-4 oz daily. Can I bottle feed this early or should I still be tube feeding? (I plan to supplement if the weight gain plateaus again).
My main concern is that I have one male that is constantly crying and roaming the pen. Prior to those nights I've noticed him nursing hard and fighting healthily for his place near the nipple. These past few days he has been crying non stop especially at the late hours of the night. I've witnessed him nursing solidly when he's not crying though in the morning and when I first get home from work. So I tried to place him next to a nipple when he's crying and he doesn't nurse but crawls away and continues crying. The only thing that seemed to help is when I pick him up and massage him but as soon as he goes back down he's crying again. He feels slightly hot and has a big tummy (as do the others but not quite as big as his). Any idea what might be going on?
Another concern of mine is that I have not seen the pups defecate since the first 2 days. What should I look out for in terms of bad signs? I have tried stimulating their anal area with warm cloth but have yet to see any poop. I'm gone for work from 9-9 most days so I am not clear if the momma is stimulating them enough although I do notice urination color on the whelp pad/blankets. Should I use an enema and how so?