After Birth
Continue to have patience! For the first 3 weeks, you should handle them as little as
possible and wait until they start jumping out of the nest box to begin playing with them.
possible and wait until they start jumping out of the nest box to begin playing with them.
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Newborns!
Congratulations! This age is basically naked. Any peach fuzz they have will be slicked back. Their sensitive little eyes are sealed shut. DO NOT try to open them. They drink only their mothers milk right now. A few hours after the babies have been born, you should briefly check the nest box while the mother is out of it and distracted with food. Rub some fur from the nest on your hands and quickly attempt to feel around for the wiggling babies. Count them to give yourself a good number to keep track of. Be sure to feel around the edges of the box, not just in the center. If you feel cold bodies that are not moving and clearly deceased, remove them from the nest box else they rot and become a disaster. If you feel wiggling cold bodies, stick them in the center of the babies so they will warm up and have a better chance at feeding from mom. When you're done, cover the babies up again with the fur to keep them warm. Once you're finished your initial check, you should only check them again about once a week. Mothers may smell human on the babies and reject them so it is important that you touch them as rarely as possible. If you do not see the mother going in and out of the box, or if you feel the babies with empty stomachs instead of plump full tummies, the mother may not be feeding them or is having trouble producing milk. |
1 Week Old
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2 Weeks Old
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3 Weeks Old
Their eyes are now opening and they're little balls of fluff! As their eyes open, they will see the outside of the nest box and will begin to adventure outside the box. If most of the babies have opened their eyes but one or two are stuck closed, you can take a warm wet cloth and gently wipe away any gunk holding the eyes shut. As they adventure, you have to make sure the babies can get back IN the box. You may find them huddled in the corner because they can't get back in, just pick them up and stick them back in the nest box so they stay warm when they try to sleep. You should also be careful about them getting their little feet stuck in the wire bottom of the cage. While it doesn't happen a lot, a baby could injure his leg if it goes through the wire and then he makes a sudden movement in the wrong direction. Some choose to put a EZ-mat on the bottom for the babies to stand on without worries; this closes up with wire holes to no feet go through. You may also note that there is now pee and poop in the nest box. You should frequently take out the old hay, empty the poop, and put new hay in. Save as much clean hair from the nest as possible to put back into the new hay. |
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4 Weeks and Beyond!
ear tattoos if for showing time to sex them ween from the mothers what to feed them. |
