How do you know when a mom is done littering and should I be doing anything?

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Pookinaround

Pookinaround

FUZZ BUTT ENTHUSIAST
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
758
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Ok guys I am soooo super excited!! I just found my very first baby!!! A little sapphire!!! When I found the kit about 45 min ago it was already dry so I am assuming she had it sometime this afternoon because I always have my morning coffee with the chins and she was definitely not there this morning as I always do a morning check of everyone. I didn't notice any leftover birthing signs. Mom seems to keep trying to find a position to get comfortable. She keeps shifting around so that is why I am not sure if she is done or not...Is there anything I should check or do? I plan on weighing the kit but wanted to give it a chance to try and nurse first.
 
You can reach in and very gently (if she will let you) feel her belly - her belly should feel soft and squishy all over sort of like a deflated balloon. If she has others in there still it will feel hard all over or in places. If the baby is dry she's probably done, but the trying to get comfortable is worrysome...she's not still having contractions is she (hunching over looking like she's cleaning herself with spasms)? If she's still having contractions and it's been hours since the other one was born then there's likely a problem...
 
No she is not "hunched" she is more like moving trying to get comfy. Since I originally posted this she has now settled down. I think she was trying to figure out a way to lay so as to kinda "blockade" the baby in her hidey house. She got a hold on her now but for a while there the baby was trying to run all over. The baby is a female and weighs 30 grams. This is a first time momma. I wasn't sure if mom was pregnant or not. On 6/30 mom weighed 715g.
 
Baby number 2 arrived!!! Also a sapphire. Just checked it is still somewhat damp. Mom looked whupped. I just gave her a litlle bit of extra Ryerson supplement.
 
As mentioned, 30g is super small for a kit...from any size litter. Even my triplets weigh between (generall) 40-55g each. Singles for me, these days, run about 60g. Keep an eye, as with breeding you should've already located stuff to handfeed with an expectant litter so that shouldn't be an issue. Weigh daily, same time of day...etc...etc...etc...

Seeing as you're a breeder most of this stuff should be second nature but just the same, first litter...brush up!

That all said, hope all goes well from here on out. Have you palpated the mother yet? Those (for both) are weights I would expect to see in a larger than two litter.
 
Couldn't sleep just checked on momma again. She feels "deflated". Just the two kits. Both seem to be nursing although I am unsure if her actual milk is coming in yet. I have an overwhelming desire to want to supplement them but I am resisting this urge as I am guessing the sheer act of them trying to nurse would help to get her milk going...right?
 
Yes, chinchillas are just like any other mammal. Provided she doesn't have poor genetic milk producing capabilities to begin with, the nursing will bring the milk in. No nursing=no milk...and once they're dried up...well...but you DO need to keep an eye on their weights.
 
Agreed on the size, based on the description sounded like she may have been finished, but 30g is small period. For nursing, it will take a day or two for milk to come in but the babies are getting colustrum now and stimulating the milk production. If the little one drops weight, you may need to go ahead and handfeed.
 
Yes, chinchillas are just like any other mammal. Provided she doesn't have poor genetic milk producing capabilities to begin with, the nursing will bring the milk in. No nursing=no milk...and once they're dried up...well...but you DO need to keep an eye on their weights.
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100% Yes to all of this.
 
Something to note, it's normal for any size kit to drop a couple of grams the first day...the problem in this scenario is the birthsize of that small kit. Normally I may let a kit lose up to 4g if they're a good weight to begin with. You won't want to follow the same rule of thumb with that small one...because it could die. But likewise, you don't want to go full tilt into handfeeding. The larger one doesn't need it to begin with (unless mom is a poor milker). The smaller one, start with maybe 4 feedings to make sure she has something in her belly but is still trying to nurse too.
 
Congrats on your first 2 kits! Good luck with the little one. I hope mom's milk comes in just fine and you don't have to do all the hand feeding and the little one starts gaining right away. I've had some of my little runts be the most agressive nursers and end up being the biggest of the bunch by the time they are weaned!

Cheryl
 
The little one is definitely fiesty. She was already standing up to her sister. They both appear to be nursing. I'm gonna run out and get some fresh goat's milk just in case but I'm gonna wait till tonight when I weigh them and see if the little one needs any help. I promise pics by next weekend as I don't want to freak them out too bad just yet. These are Che's grandchillas and her spectacular Arturo is their grandpap so I am just on cloud 9 right now. These little ones are extra super special!!! I can't wait to see how they mature. If I could do backflips I would :)
 
Vyxxin said:
Something to note, it's normal for any size kit to drop a couple of grams the first day...the problem in this scenario is the birthsize of that small kit. Normally I may let a kit lose up to 4g if they're a good weight to begin with. You won't want to follow the same rule of thumb with that small one...because it could die. But likewise, you don't want to go full tilt into handfeeding. The larger one doesn't need it to begin with (unless mom is a poor milker). The smaller one, start with maybe 4 feedings to make sure she has something in her belly but is still trying to nurse too.
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Yes, this is what I was trying to get at and didn't explain very well :thumbsup:

Also, I don't want to be a debbie downer because your first litter is very exciting, but I would definitely not say the little guy is in the clear - it's a good sign he's feisty, but I have had several born that small (in the 30g range) that just didn't thrive and didn't make it. Just trying to be straightforward with you. Sometimes they surprise you and make it and sometimes they don't, just part of breeding. Hoping he nurses and does well.
 
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Yeah, even after so so SO many litters...losing one is still a downer. It really is...but your first litter is extra special so it'd be even more devastating. Do your best, know you did your best...and hope for the best!

My first litter was unexpected. Not because I wasn't intentionally breeding...but because I was too dumb to ask the previous owner (who, after many years is still a good friend of mine) if she'd previously been with a male...she had, and was pregnant when she arrived. I didn't notice the signs of pregnancy as I figured she was just putting weight on after the move (again, stupid me) and I came how to a body strewn cage :( It was a nightmare and after (nearly) 9yrs, it still sticks in my mind. Period. Four bodies about the cage, one teeny tiny kit in a corner hiding under the cage feeder...nightmare.

Anyhow, you can only do so much and even if you do everything you can some just don't make it. I've had feisty kits one day, dead kits the next. Newborns go downhill QUICK and there's a "point of no return" ask any breeder...we know when the kit isn't going to make it...you don't want to let it get that bad and you always have a hard time deciding when to intervene to avoid that point. Too early and you could cause milk to stop flowing, mastitis, nursing issues...too late...well...

Anyhow, keep us updated. I hope all goes well and you get to enjoy the super specialness of your first litter.
 
Thanks everyone! Their names are Ava and Avery. I'll admit I caved and gave little Ava a little bit of milk. Not much but just enough for me to stop worrying and know that she has something in her belly. Goodness is Avery quite the little daredevil I nabbed her earlier trying to scale the cage walls...! Poor mom is going to have fun trying to keep her in line lol!!! I had no idea they were this quick so soon...This was also an unexpected litter Angela. I knew there was a chance but I doubted it. I have a couple of others that I thought were going to be the ones giving me my first kits not Oceanne. I would have lost money on that bet. That's why I consider these ones "extra special". Obviously I was meant to have them but wasn't banking on it so the surprise was that much sweeter.
 
Just weighed the girls and Ava is 29g and Avery dropped down to 45g. Both still seem spunky. Should I expect a weight gain tomorrow?
 
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