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[QTPie61282]

My Kiwi i think is going to have babies anytime within the next two weeks.  I have been weighing her everyday and she is gaining weight each day at least 10-15 grams a day.  Have any of you noticed an average amount of weight females gain in the last few weeks of their pregnancy?

[jmrothermel]

Usually over the last month is when you'll find they gain the most weight.  I haven't broken it down into a daily/weekly figure though.  Hopefully someone else on here might be able to help you with that

Let us know when she has the babies!

[QTPie61282]

Ive been really good about weighing her everyday and she has significantly gained about 20-30 grams each day.  She is technically due on Sunday. So I will let you know if anything comes.  Here are her weights over the past week.
March 31st Saturday = 784.7 grm, Sunday 1st = 798.4 grm, Wednesday 4th = 816.5 grm, Friday 6th = 830 grm, 
Saturday 7th = 835 grm, Sunday 8th = 848 grm, Monday 9th = 848 grm.  I havent weighed her yet today though,
so I will keep you guys posted.

[Jo Ann]

The due dates for chinchillas are much like the due dates for human babies ... they come when they are good and ready ... ... 111 days is only the average ... they can come 103 to 122 days and still be full term and healthy. 

If they come under 100 days, it is usually a preemie and problems can arise, (if you have the correct date) if not then, usually within the first year.  I never let a preemie be adopted until after it is a year old, if then. 

Weight gain depends on several things ... the mom's general health and size, the number of kits and what she is being fed, including supplements.  And let's not forget the amount of activity plays in the factors there also.

We had one lady with her chin ... it was putting on a huge amount of weight ... we had guesses on the number of kits and the due date.   From the looks of her and her weight, most of us thought she was going to have at least 4 or even more .... she looked like she was ready to explode ... she only had one kit, weighing 84 grams.     At that size, it looked like it had been delivered and hiding somewhere for a week.     Tough delivery on mom because of her size. 

The best things to watch for near the end are:
1)  Amount of food eaten.
2)  Amount of water intake will usually increase by 30 to 50% during the last 24 to 36 hours.
3)  Flattening out on the bottom of the cage ... rapid and/or shallow breathing.
4)  What looks like "Stretching Exercises".
5)  Constantly cleaning herself.
6)  Increased attention by the males in the other cages and/or by her mate.
7)  And last but not least ... those little squeaking noises that were not there before.   

 
Jo Ann

[QTPie61282]

Thanks Jo Ann.  It will be 111 days this Sunday.  I figured she could have them early which is why I prepared ahead of time but her last litter came on her 111th day to the T.
So its hard to say.  Last I mentioned was her weight on Monday the 9th which was 848 grams.  Her weight on Tuesday the 10th was a whopping 871 grams. Weight on Wedneday was 875 grams, and on thursday was the same 875 grams.
I have yet to weight her today.

Ive never had this happen, but since you mentioned it I figured I would ask to prepare myself incase it ever happens to me.

What kind of supplements can you give the kits?  I hear things about Goats milk and I use a milk replacement I get at the hospital I work at that I used once.
What else do you know of?

[Jo Ann]

Goats' milk is preferred by many ... there was a major breeder at the Nationals that brought 2 of a litter of 4 kits born 2 days earlier ... he fixed up a bottle with goat's milk and they seemed to be doing great!

Kitten and/or puppy formula is also good, I just try to add a little powdered alfalfa to it (I have a great blender.) 

Before all this powdered stuff came out and canned goat's milk, many used canned milk, a little bit of molasses and a tiny bit of mashed, steam-cooked potato or rice.

When the baby cereals came out, they were the rage, mixed with ground chinchilla pellets and canned milk or whole milk with a little molasses.

When push comes to shove, you can always find something that is acceptable for a short period of time.

Always keep in mind ... the first 24 hours it is especially important that the kit gets nourishment from momma, if at all possible ... the first 24 hours, it is not milk, but collostrum she gives them.  This fluid is used to flush the kits' system of the fluids it lived in, during the incubation period.   

Kits, just like human babies, will often loose weight before it gains weight, or see-saw for the first 2 or 3 days. 
BUT, IF the kit's weight continues downward instead of fluctuating or gaining, most likely mom's milk is not comming in as it should, or is not rich enough for the kits.  When this happens, it is important to supplement.  As crazy as it may sound ... you supplement the largest kits, keeping their tummies full, so that the weakest can get mom's milk, which is natural, and the best for them to have a chance to live.  At least, that is my opinion and seems to work best for me and my little ones.   

If a mom rejects/abandons a kit, it's in real trouble and needs to be hand fed.  If you want to see some short videos on that, it's on my second website at: http://www.geocities.com/jobernstein1949/ under First Signs of Trouble

 
Jo Ann

[QTPie61282]

Thanks for the advice.

Hopefully I wont need it anytime soon though. 

I know the first 24 hours are very important.  I think even the first full week is very important and can still lose kits within that time frame.  In dogs and cats i think that the first two weeks on mothers milk is when they get colostrum. I learned all about it in school.  They branded it in our brains.
The colustrum is where the babies get their maternal antibodies.  This wears off after about 4-6 weeks (in dogs and cats) and thats why we have to vaccinate starting at that age.
I dont know how long it takes for it to wear off in kits because we dont need to vaccinate them and they usually start eating pellets fairly soon while still nursing.

But thanks for the advice and suggestions on the supplement.  I hope she has a good litter.  She had 3 kits in her last one.  I dont know if it will be that many this time.  She doesnt look as large as she did last time.

[QTPie61282]

Update on Kiwi.  I was sitting watching her today and she was streching and laying on her side and seemed uncomfortable and was nesting and what not.  So any day now Im assuming.  Probably early in the morning like her last litter.  I went in her room at like 9 am and she was just cleaning them off.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Congrats, so what and how many did she have?
Pics please.

Oh and I find my dames stop gaining a few days to a week before delivery.

[QTPie61282]

oh she dodnt have them yet.  but hopefully this weekend.  good to know ill keep checking her weight.  i weigh her every night

[QTPie61282]

Kiwi was laying on her side tonight and I actually saw a baby move inside of her.  It was like a punch to the side of her abdomen.  And not only that, but I saw it twice!!!  Any day now!

[QTPie61282]

So when I said anyday now, back on April 22.  I was wrong.  Its May 4th almost 5th and still no babies.  She weighs 836.3grams today.  She had a litter on sunday last time so maybe this sunday?  Who knows, Ive said that every Sunday now for the past 2 weeks.

[Jo Ann]

How is Kiwi today? 

Generally, if you rest your female daily in your lap, one hand palms up under her, finger tips close to her tail, the first time you feel a movement, it is usually two weeks left before the kits are delivered, if she is going to have 2 or 3.  If there is only one kit, it may come in sooner than the two weeks.  If there are 3, 4 or more kits, it can be 3 weeks before they are delivered. 

With you "seeing the kits move" on April 22, two weeks ago, I would think they would be here very soon. 

Are you still seeing the kits move?  Have you felt the kits move in the last few days? (Never poke around, just let her rest on your hand in your lap and give her a treat to keep her still a little longer, so that you can feel them moving.)

If they are not delivered in the next 24 to 36 hours, you might want to give the vet a call and see what they think.

Do you have a nursing kit available just in-case you have to help supplement them?

Keep us posted!

 
Jo Ann

[QTPie61282]

Thanks for your concern Jo Ann. It worries me a bit.
When I said that April 15th was the 111th day, that meant that it was 111 days since her last litter was born, I was counting incase the male got to her before I did that day.  But it definitely wasnt a breed back since Im still waiting for them.
I can still see the babies moving, more than ever now.  I even video taped it on my phone.
I can still feel them too, at the base of her tail, near her rear.  I havent poked around, I know how bad this can be.  i gently rest my hand there when shes laying down.
It looks like she has an inner tube on each side of her belly, when she lays down the sides are just buldging out from her.
So if I noticed the babies move on the 22nd, it has been 2 weeks and 1 day exactly since then.  She weighed 777grams that day, and yesterday she weighed 847.6 grams.

She looks so uncomfortable. I bought a small kitten bed for her to lay in, and she hasnt gotten out of it unless I come and open the door.  I had to push her food bowl and her hay next to the bed so she could eat.

I keep saying shes on bed rest.   But I just want her to be ok, and the babies to be healthy.
I dont want anything to happen to her.  Thats why I have been so worried, I know they normally dont need help but I cant help but think, What if she needs a Section?
Have you ever seen or heard of Chins getting C Sections?

[Jo Ann]

Has she been showing any signs of labor at all?  Labored or shallow breathing?  Stretching, pushing or pulling while holding on to something?  How has her mate been to her and around her?  Attentive or aggressive?  Big increase in water intake?  (This usually happens the last 24 to 36 hours before the kits are born.)  She will usually start cleaning her self frequently that last 24 hours.  Only on the first litter can you count on the elongated teats. 

I do know of a couple that have had C-sections.  If the vet is good, and familiar with chinchillas, and, hopefully, preformed the surgery before, it should be OK ... but that will mean you will have to do the supplementing ... hope you are a stay-at-home-mom. Or that you have another female that is just about ready to wean her kits ... preferably a couple of them that will accept any kits ... from your description, I think you are in for a big litter.

With her earlier litter, how many kits in each?  How old is she?  What is her normal non-pregnant weight?

When did you put her mate back in with her?  (How old were the kits when you put him back in with her?)

Sounds like she may have gotten pregnant not during the "in season" right after the kits, but the following "in season".  If this is the case, she could deliver any time in the next 12 days ... depending on the number of kits and how long they choose refuse to make their appearance.   

If you would like to see what a chin carrying quads looks like, check out:
 Chinchilla Community Forums > Breeders > Breeding 101 > Topic: Chinchilla in Labor!

You have, I think, the type of problem that I refer to as 6 of one and 1/2 dozen of the other ... either way, it can get touchy.   
1)  She could be having a large litter of normal size kits and will need help with supplementing ... no easy feat.  But, if that is the case, you will want to make sure you are right there when she is delivering ... she could tire to much to be able to clean them or they could come to quickly for her to attend each one.  Read:  "Giget & Her Quads"  at: http://www.luvnchins.com/GigetKitsDay1.html 
2)  She could have kits that are to big to deliver naturally ... needing a C-section ... she would be put on antibiotics most likely, (read "Don't let the Cure Kill Your Chinchilla" at:  http://www.geocities.com/jobernstein1949/) and again supplementing, but, with the additional problem of her not being able to care for the kits at all.  Daddy is often good with cleaning and cuddling with the kits, but you have to feed them all.

Either way ...  If you have other moms with kits at this time ... and they are close to being weaned or are a little past time for weaning, but you have not removed the kits ... let them stay with their moms, so she will continue to produce milk ... the new kits may need foster moms that are still producing milk.  You can also wean kits at 5 weeks if you have newborns that need the milk ... as long as the 5 week kits are a healthy weight and eating solids.  I do not wean early at any other time or for any other reason, unless it is for the health of the mom.

Keep us posted!

 
Jo Ann