Pregnant? What is a normal nipple size?

[Sinfonian]

I know that nipple size is an indicator of late-stage pregnancy, but I don't know what a chin's nipples are supposed to look like in a normal state. Lily, my 8-month old female, has nipples so small that I can barely find them. When I blow into her fur, I can find the tiniest little dots that correspond to the correct location. Is this tiny, dot-like size the same I could expect to find on an adult chin? (Lily is an ebony TOV, so her genetic makeup supposedly makes her grow and mature more slowly?) Lily and my other girl, Donna, both had brief exposure to a male at one point. I was so worried about Lily being pregnant at such a young age that I didn't pay much attention to Donna, since she's an adult. Donna's nipples are much easier to find, and are somewhat elongated. Are Donna's nipples normal, making Lily's small and undeveloped, or are Lily's normal, meaning Donna is pregnant?

 

[tunes]

Elongated is usually more what a pregnant chin looks like, but, they can be elongated without being pregnant as well. If you very gently palpate around the nipple, it may feel full, like they have milk in them.

There's really no absolute way of knowing if your chin is pregnant unless you are familiar with palpation (which I would not recommend if you don't know how to do it), if you get an ultrasound, or until you see the kits. Some people weight their chins regularly and can tell by the weight gain, but with an 8 month old, she may just be having a growth spurt if she puts on weight, so even that isn't totally reliable.

 

[Sinfonian]

Oh, the 8-month-old is the one with very small, dot-like nipples. Donna, who is about a a year and half old, is the one with the elongated nipples. I suppose I'll get the baby cage ready just in case.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I agree, you should get the baby cage ready, just in case. Mark 111 days since the time you know they were exposed to a male. If that time passes and no babies, then they weren't pregnant.

 

[Easterpiggy]

I have a quick question. when do the nipples change on a pregnant chin???

 

[tunes]

I have a quick question. when do the nipples change on a pregnant chin???

I honestly don't know, because I just don't pay attention to the nipples. When babies show up - she was pregnant! I'm not a big fan of flipping females upside down and spinning them around when I suspect they are pregnant. I just let them be.

 

[mishalaa]

Nipples elongate about 90 days into the pregnancy. I am one of the ones who weighs chins regularly, keeps line charts of gains and losses, and so forth. Once there is a huge weight gain within one week, I start looking for elongated nipples. Once I find them, I estimate 20 days +/- until delivery - I've found that to be pretty accurate.

Of course, you have to be familiar with their nipples (that sounds soooo naughty). Unproven females typically have nubby nipples whereas females who have had many litters always look elongated, pregnant or not.

P.S. I do all this while the female is in a show cage - I lift them cage and all over my head and blow into the fur to find the nipples. I do very little handling and no flipping!

 

[Easterpiggy]

mishalaa how huch weight gain is considered a lot in a week

 

[tunes]

Weight gain is going to vary by the chin. I've had chins that you would never even guess they are pregnant give birth to trips and chins that just exploded toward the end of their pregnancy have one. Each chin is going to be a little bit different.

 

[arf2184]

I've had them gain as little as 50g or as much as 350g during pregnancy. It just depends on the chin.

 

[mishalaa]

It depends on the chin and it depends on how many they're going to have. Females that have triplets show a larger weight gain than those who have singles.

I can't give you an exact number. You have to be consistent about taking weights and watch the trend. A pregnant female may gain 5g a week for 5 weeks then the next week be 15g heavier - I would consider that a large weight gain - for that female - whereas a 15g gram in any other chin may just mean they had just taken a large drink of water. Though, usually, it's a 20-30g jump in one week unless they have triplets or more where it's been as high as 50g in one week.

You can't go by weight alone though. I don't use weight as an indication of pregnancy, I use elongated nipples for that. But, I don't start looking for the nipples until a chin has gain at least 100g over the past ten weeks, and has that jump in weight over one week.

Yes, I've had chins gain weight like they were pregnant, but nipples never elongated and, sure enough, they never delivered. However, I have never had a chin whose nipples did elongate NOT deliver.

When I build up my herd, I won't be quite so diligent about record taking. It's manageable while I only have 8 females in breeding. When I get to the point where I have 30 (or even 15), being able to determine a pregnancy and estimate a delivery date isn't worth the work it takes to do it. As tunes says, if they're pregnant, they'll have them.