WEAK BABIES
by Mette Lybeck Ruelokke (Mette the Vette)
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If an entire litter is born weak, it may be due to a very large litter (7 babies or more), the litter may have been born prematurely (before day 64) or the sow may suffer from some kind of disease, e.g. malnutrition, scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) or Sellnick. Prematurely born babies are characterised by white, soft nails and a poor coat. During the winter, babies that are born perfectly healthy may soon deteriorate, if the sow doesn't clean and nurse them immediately after birth, as they will soon become cold and die from chilling or pneumonia. Such a litter may very quickly die, and will be found cold and wet in the bedding.
Occasionally it is also seen that a baby born at normal size and time, and which looks perfectly healthy at birth, begins to lose weight after a few days and fade. It may be due to some inborn abnormality or due to a poor suckling reflex. In the latter case such a baby is most likely to die if it is not hand reared.
There are different opinions on whether it's worth trying to save a weak baby. If the baby is lying on its side and is unable to stand up or it is lying on its belly and is unable to lift its head it is pointless to try to save it, as it is already dying. Such babies should be euthanised, as they are suffering. But a weak baby, which is just small and shaky, but looks otherwise healthy may be worth a try. A wet and cold baby may need to be taken inside the house and dried and warmed, before being returned to the shed, but there is always the risk that it will get pneumonia due to chilling and die anyway.
Foster Mother
This is the easiest way to rear a weak or orphaned baby. If a sow with a large litter is put together with a sow with a small litter, the two sows will as a rule share the babies between them, giving the babies from the large litter a better chance. If a sow dies leaving a litter of newborn babies, this method can be useful as well. Most sows accept orphan babies. If not it may help to rub them with droppings and bedding from the fostering sow's hutch, to give them the right smell, and sometimes it may help to remove her own babies for about an hour and leave her with the new babies only. Some sows more readily than others accept orphan babies, so if the trick doesn't work with the first sow try to find another.
Motivation is biggest in a sow with a litter only a few days old. To ensure that there are always foster sows available, I know that some fanciers always put several sows to boars on the same day, as they will then litter about the same time and be able to share babies or to rear orphan babies, if bad luck should strike and a sow is lost.
Hand Rearing
Before starting hand rearing, you must understand that it is a tremendous job, and that you are unlikely to win the battle. With that it mind it is less heart breaking if the baby dies in spite of all your efforts. Don't ever blame yourself if the baby dies. Hand rearing is very difficult and the result doesn't depend on your own efforts only, but also on the viability and the courage of the baby.
The smaller, younger and weaker the baby, the poorer the odds. Very large babies may be able to survive without help, but most babies, who lose their mothers before two weeks of age will need some extra care and attention.
I'm sure there are many ways of hand rearing a baby, and many opinions on the matter, and I would be happy to hear about successful methods. The one described below I use and recommend myself, and it often proves successful.
At chemists or supermarkets you can obtain powdered baby food in boxes. Buy a sort that is suitable for the youngest babies, i.e. based on maize or rice flour with or without fruit flavour. Choose one where you only have to add water, as it contains milk whose components are modified to increase digestibility and act more protectively and be less alien to the guts.
Make a thin porridge and feed carefully through a 2cc syringe. Start with 1Acc and try with another 1Acc 15 minutes later. Repeat until the baby refuses to eat. You'll soon learn how much it needs when it's full. You can also make a feed yourself as a thin rice or maize porridge with a little blackcurrant Ribena juice in, but my experience is, that the milk and the added vitamins in the baby porridge do a lot of good, and it's much easier to use. After a couple of days start with some fruit sauce as well, either homemade or baby food in glasses. Never forget to offer water or thin fruit juice in a syringe as well, as much is wanted. Don't ever try to force any food item or water through the cavy's mouth, as there is a great risk of aspiration into the airways. The advantages of the afore mentioned method are listed below:
As mentioned earlier, hand rearing is not an easy task, and many babies never survive. It may be because the baby was too weak before the need for hand rearing was realised. Milk running down the airways, causing pneumonia or suffocation, is another common cause of death. Finally, many babies succumb because of infection, as no food apart from milk from their own species contains specific antibodies against harmful germs in their surroundings. when hand rearing a cavy baby, the coat is unlikely to develop so well as in naturally fed babies, probably because there is something unknown in the cavy sow's milk, necessary for normal development of the coat. Only when the baby can eat entirely by itself, does normal growth of coat seem to begin. A hand reared coat lacks the usual lustre and density, is dry and bristling. So don't expect to be able to show a hand reared longhair, and even with the short haired cavies it will take a couple of months before the coat looks normal and healthy.
The baby must be encouraged to start eating as quickly as possible. So offer grass and other herbs or greens everyday, as well as the best quality hay, dry food and water in a bottle. Company is another good idea, as many babies lose their spirit when kept on their own. M old friendly sow or boar will nurse the babies and keep them warm and comfortable, increasing the chance of survival.
Mette Lybek Ruelokke