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what to bottle feed 1 day old guineas?

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clairelove

clairelove

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2 female shelties I'm my rescue who were both together have both just givin birth to 7 babies in total 1 died and 1 is weak but the others are fine i have been the vets this morning to get them checked over along with the mums and 1 mummmy has very little if any milk and the other has a little more so i have been told to hand feed the smallest..there is 3 smaller ones the vet said to use baby milk cow and gate 3mls every 3hrs and wee and poo them and let them feed off the mums in between...what i want to know if there is another milk IE goats milk which is better then baby milk to give them..
i was told to use a kitten feeding bottle which they seem to be sucking off very well a part from the weakest of the 6 but has perked up lots since a feed it is now walking around where last night it was lying there struggleing to breath...
 
goats milk is a quick/safe a readily available milk for piggies,
Being in rescue i thought you would have fed bubs before?
you are best off trying to feed it to them on a spoon,dont syringe them unless you absolutely have too,definantely dont give them cows milk,is your vet experienced with piggies?
 
Hiya Claire, Full fat goats milk is generally thought of as being the next best thing to mum's milk, if she is having difficulty feeding them all. Many on here advised me to use this, and it worked a treat. I'm sure someone will be able to advise you about cow & gate. Best of luck. xx
 
Yep, full fat Goat's Milk or Lactol (milk powder for animals) but I prefer using the goat's milk as it's the nearest thing you can get to guinea milk.

Let them lap it (warm, not hot) off a teaspoon, you have to be really careful or the liquid will get in their lungs - so don't syringe (unless you're careful enough that they can lap it from a syringe rather than being squirted down them, but wouldn't attempt this is it's your first time). Or you can dip a cotton bud into the milk and let them suck it. If they're hungry they will lap it themselves, you can soak stale brown bread in warm milk and feed it to them that way

Sophie
x
 
i have never had to feed guineas myself but when starting up a rescue everything is new...we all have to start some where and do some thing new they have never done before in a few yrs i will be a pro at it:)):)):))
 
clairelove said:
wouldnt a bottle be better has it only comes out when they suck on it same as mummys nipple i would have thought what do you think?
Click to expand...

a spoon is better as babies may have a poor sucking reflex,i would usually say bottles are made for puppies and kittens not piggies,if they do well enough they should start eating mushed pellets and small amounts of veg in the coming days x
 
A spoon is definately a safer option if you're not too experienced although I think I know the bottle you're talking about and they do have tiny, guinea sized teats - I've used them before, very successfully.

You can also use evaporated milk mixed with an equal amount of cooled boiled water to feed baby piggies.

Teresa x
 
Excellent news - hope they continue to do well :)

Teresa x
 
I am glad that the feed is working and wish you success as "wet nurse"!
 
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