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Originally Posted by bjh  . The most important thing for the momma is to feed her a quality diet and make sure she has food available at all times. You should make sure she eats 3 or 4 good meals a day, the last being right before bedtime. I keep my females on the exact diet they were on before whelping except for the calcium supplement and the increased amounts of food. The first day or so after whelping the momma may not be hungry, especially if she ate some afterbirth. Often you may have to hand feed the momma to ensure she eats. Eclampsia can be a serious problem for nursing mommas. If the momma is producing large amounts of milk then her system can be drained of calcium and she will go into shock. Giving the calcium will help prevent this but if the momma misses even one meal, once her milk really comes in, she can go into shock. Even when the puppies are 5 or 6 weeks old the mom can still get eclampsia so it it important to supplement the momma and make sure she eats several meals a day as long as she is nursing.. |
All good advice. I also like to put the puppy's kibble in the blender and make a powder of it to feed the puppies when they are starting on solid food. I think Barbara (BJH) suggested this, and it works great for me.