Yours is a situation that would just scare me to death....and I consider myself experienced. Your girl is much too small and too young to be having babies.
The one good thing is that your vet is a 24 hour vet. Since you are obviously inexperienced and you would have to consider this a high risk pregnancy, I would just punt and let the vet manage the birthing, whether it be natural or c-section.
I really think it would be best that you take her in at the first sign of labor. It is highly likely she will need a c-section but, even if she can deliver the babies, it would be best for her to be in the hands of your vet.
You have to consider that these babies will be incredibly small and you will have your hands full with just making sure they survive. I imagine they will be in the 2 ounce range and that is scary small.
If Mom needs a c-section, she may not be wanting to nurse, in which case you will need to take over. She could also not have enough milk or the babies could be so small that they are unable to latch on and nurse. Any of these things will force you to step in and feed those babies, which is an around-the-clock job. Also, at her age, she may be too immature to be a good Mom. In other words, you need to prepare yourself to take over and raise those babies and that is where I think you should focus on preparation.
I honestly think preparing for delivery and the care of the newborns is too
much for an inexperienced breeder to handle, given the circumstances. Let the vet handle the birthing and you focus on caring for those tiny babies and Mom. That will be more than enough for you. |