Bottle-feeding newborns

[misspigglie]

Hi, I need some advice on bottle feeding 3 baby piggies born yesterday. Has anyone done this, and what do you feed? One of our piggies that was given to us had 4 babies with one of them stillborn. The mommy was obviously really young and pretty much didn't know what to do with them. She did great with their cords, but another female cleaned up all the mess. The mommy also did not have any milk or evidence of any coming soon. The babies were pretty weak looking and I decided to put them with another female that already had 4 babies a week ago. The new babies didn't have a chance with the older babies around, and I didn't want the older ones to lose any nutrition either, so the new babies went back with mommy, and Cupcake my other female who helped the mommy (Perrita). I feed & clean the babies every few hours, and they go back in with their mommy/mommies to get re-cleaned. They are actually doing way better today, because they are walking, following momma, and 1 even popcorned tonight. Their appetites have even doubled since yesterday, and I do not have to force them to eat, they are eager. The babies now try to nurse from Perrita, and I was wondering if this will help her milk come in. I'm not sure if she has anything yet, but I take it as a good sign that they are doing better. They were really very weak looking. I wasn't sure what to feed them, since I've never had any problems with our rescue piggies delivering. I'm thinking that it's because Perrita was so young? Anyway, I am feeding kitten formula mixed with a little milk. The formula has colostrum in it, and I know that is important for babies to have. If I am feeding the wrong thing, will it hurt them more to change it? All help is greatly appreciated, Thank you

 

[VoodooJoint]

Please stop feeding the milk to the babies. It's no good for them.

Most likely the mother has milk. The reason you wouldn't notice it at first is because mammels first produce colostrum. It looks watery and yellowish and there isn't alot of it but it contains TONS or antibodies for the babies. The milk comes in after the colostrum is delivered.

If your babies need to be hand fed then read this link https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html#pups
It should have all of the info you need.

Sorry for the one you lost. Good luck with the rest of them.

 

[misspigglie]

Thanks for the info. What I was worried about was would it do more damage switching them to something new if the mommy has no milk? I also checked her very thoroughly, and she had 2 very small nipples with no milk or colostrum coming out. There also is usually a full circle of milk around the base of the nipple that you can feel and see, so that led me to believe she was dry. I will definietely check out the link you gave me, thank you very much. I totally forgot about that one, I just always like to get everyone's input from here on what's best for piggies Thanks

 

[critterlover]

How about taking her to the vet? I don't know about guinea pigs, but sometimes regular pigs, for instance, need an injection to get their milk going.

 

[misspigglie]

Actually, I rechecked Perrita this morning and she does have a little milk in her left nipple, but none in her right. I did check with my vet and he said that the milk should come in the more they nurse. I still am feeding a formula to them several times a day & night, but they nurse from the mommy more now too. They are doing pretty good considering, still look scrawny though. They chomp my fingers when I pick them up, looking for their bottle Sooooooo sweet.

 

[misspigglie]

Just an update, Perrita & babies are doing great! She has more milk in now, and I supplement the babies a little less everyday. They still don't seem to get the idea of eating solid foods yet, but were working on it. They run all over the place now. Very gorgeous little babies. Perrita is a black & tan Teddy, and the babies are all black.

 

[AngelsCavies]

you got to post pics soon

 

[Louis]

I hope it all works out for the best with you and good luck

 

[misspigglie]

Hi, just wanted to let everyone know the babies are doing great and eating regular food with the mommy. They seem to be nursing enough, they're not as hungry when I give them their bottle. They run around just fine, no wobbliness, and are just doing sooo great! I will be keeping them all and getting the little male fixed. His name is Jose`, and the girls are Camilla, and Clarice. I am so happy that they made it so far and I have high hopes that everything will work out just fine. This has been a good experience for me and If I ever come up with this situation again, I will know what to do right away. Thank you everyone for the help and info. I will try to post pictures of them this weekend. I'll let you know

 

[Peaches]

Remember to separate the male by the 3 weeks point.

 

[misspigglie]

Oh Definitely I think I will have their houses next to each other so they can still visit. If I get Jose` fixed, he can still live with them, right? I haven't done that kind of thing before. Also a question, off topic, do males still mount females after being fixed? Just curious, Thanks