"Baby-Saving"

Littering and Helping Babies Get a Start Remove or discontinue dustbath for several days previous to a littering (when the littering date is known) or as soon as babies are discovered, if the littering was unexpected. This allows excess dust to be shaken from the fur around nipples which can get into the young, damp eyes of babies and cause eye infections. A great many eye infections arise from this. Keep the dustbath away for a week or ten days as it also can cause uterine irritations when the female takes a dust batch before the uterine opening is closed following littering. The dust often forms small foci of infection as the uterus closes; these will prevent the female from conceiving at this breeding or even at many breedings following. They may even result in barren females, unless they are douched out at a later date. Difficult Births This is a task that may require the help of a competent veterinarian. There are cases where the rancher may take action to help if he works quickly and very gently, keeping in mind that if he cannot help to be sure and not damage the female and not wait until too late to take the animal to a veterinarian. If the female has started labor and if the baby’s feet are protruding and the female seems not to be able to deliver, then the rancher might take a soft tissue or cloth, gently grasp the baby’s feet and gently but firmly pull downward and backward, thus arching the baby’s back. This will free it unless the mother is in serious trouble. If delivery is not spontaneous and easy, or if there has been labor for some time and the feet do not protrude, then take the female to your vet at once, as this will need trained help. Watch females, especially really large females that deliver one or two babies and then stop, as many times an additional baby or two will be blocked off in the uterus. You will need help in getting the baby delivered. This trouble is usually caused when the second or third baby is being pushed against the one in front of it, causing its body to turn back into the opposite horn of the uterus, thus blocking further delivery until a trained hand trees it and places it back in its proper horn. Larger females that have larger litters have this trouble most often. Check Females After Littering Always pick up a female when you think she has had sufficient time to finish littering and examine her closely for the following: Gently palpate the abdomen to see if additional babies are still in the uterus. If no more babies are found, examine closely to see if small lumps may be felt in the uterus. A retained mummified baby or a retained membrane could still be present and need removal. Check for tears or bruises around the uterine opening. Check the female’s nipples to see if all nipples are in good condition and filled with milk. If they are hidden in dense fur it is advisable to trim the fur away, but be careful not to nip the tip of the nipple as this will ruin it for further nursing. If nipples are sore or chapped apply a mild udder ointment once or twice per day until the redness is gone. In the case of an abscessed breast, consult your veterinarian. Help for Babies at Time of Birth If babies are found to be strong and healthy but still very wet, a quick brisk rubbing with a soft towel will save time in drying and cut the chances of the baby’s chilling. If babies are found wet and chilled, or even if they appear dead or stiff, you can do wonders by quickly immersing them in very hot water and massaging them briskly with only the tips of their noses being out of the water. Take the baby in one hand, lay it on its back, with your thumb on its abdomen and immerse it until only its nose is above the hot water. Massage by pressing the thumb into the abdomen and arch the back by bringing your index and little finger to a closing position toward the thumb. This action of pressing on the chest and flexing the body will pump a heavy mucous out of the baby’s lungs. As soon as you have done this a few times, blow quickly and hard into the baby’s mouth to expand the lungs. (Or use oxygen). At this stage, the baby will usually start to gasp; in a few minutes you can have him going and as soon as he seems warmed up he can be dried with a hot towel and placed in a warm box that has a heating pad or light bulb in it. However, if the baby does not start gasping when you blow into its lungs or administer oxygen, then one or two drops of caffeine, adrenalin, or other cardiac stimulant injected directly into the lung cavity with a ¼ inch 24 gauge needle may do the trick. You must have this on hand as you do not have time to go out and buy a syringe and needle. An insulin syringe and a ¼ inch 24 gauge needle and a few cc’s of heart stimulant secured from your veterinarian in advance can be a good investment. Remember, use only 1 or 2 drops; too much stimulant can be as bad as none at all. A small cylinder of oxygen is a geed investment, as a few whiffs of oxygen at the right time can save many babies (older animals, too). Never fail to try to revive an apparently chilled, dead baby, as it will amaze you what you can do with hot water massage stimulants and oxygen. But be careful not to use oxygen near an open flame. Keeping Babies Warm If babies are dry but seem weak or chilled they can be placed in a warm box until they are warmed up. Then place them back with their mother and use a heating device (baby-saver or light bulb or other type of heating device) placed under the mother and babies. I am a firm believer in giving weak babies added heat for a few days, a real "baby-saving" operation. Starting to Nurse Check babies in a few hours to see if their stomachs are full and warm. If a baby’s stomach is not filled and warm, it needs milk. Note to see if babies are fighting. Hungry babies fight over the mother’s nipples and injure them, making them so sore that when the babies attempt to nurse the mother bites them by the head or nose to pull them away. A head bite is usually fatal and bite about the nose causes swelling of the nose, aspiration of milk into the lungs when babies try to nurse and then death by pneumonia. If babies are fighting (in fact in every case where there are twins or more) it is a good practice to trim the teeth, slightly, not drastically, with a nail clipper, as a small amount off both top and bottom teeth will make it hard for the babies to bite the mother for a few days. By then they have filled up, are not so ravenous and do not fight and pull at the nipples so badly. Udder ointment on the mother’s nipples if they have been damaged is a big help in getting them back to normal. Watch the Eyes Watch for good bright open eyes on a baby for the first few days especially. If eyes become closed or swollen, start treatment at once; this can be a stubborn thing if it is allowed to progress. A close watch for the first week can pay big dividends in trouble saved. For a closed eye or a swollen or red eye, a good antiseptic eyewash, such as you would use, is excellent. I prefer not to use ointment in babies’ eyes unless it is really necessary. This grease from the ointment can add to the dust that collects around the eye. In early stages of eye difficulty, eyewash if thoroughly applied twice a day and the surplus wiped away, will usually clear up the eyes in a very few days. If not, or if the eye is badly infected and closed when you find it, then cleanse the eye thoroughly with the eye wash, even by rolling the eyelids out and washing behind the lid using a cotton-tipped applicator stick. Removal of all pus and debris is essential in good treatment. Apply a good antibiotic ointment into the eye and behind the lids. A small tube of antibiotic ointment should be secured from your vet and kept handy at all times. General Care If babies are kept full of milk and warm they will grow rapidly and without trouble. If you do not expose your females to males the first two nights after littering for breedbacks, the mother and babies can be moved to a cage in the nursery room, where only mothers and babies are kept, or to a part of the room that is draft free and a bit warmer than the rest of the herd. If the mothers and babies are left in their regular cages, when the babies are two or three days old they will start to crawl into the males’ run and visit all over the unit so be sure to close off the runs before this happens. With plenty of good fresh hay at all times and water fountains that are clean and filled with good fresh water, and a feeding of good pellets daily, your babies are on their way to weaning at the age of six to eight weeks.

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