OMG, Angie is here. Her experience was the thing movies are made of. She probably can tell you a lot about bottle feeding. I am sorry your vet didn't take the time to teach you how to tube the babes so that you can do it and be comfortable doing it. It is very simple to do and the benefits outweigh the risks when you are dealing with so many babies. When you set up the two boxes, make sure you have a hot water bottle, heating pad OR a jar of warm water in with the babies. They cannot regulate their body temp and cold can stress them to the point of death. If you have either yarn or ribbon or both, tie a piece loosely around the neck AND start a form for the babies so you can have a system of weighing and feeding. I take pics of my newborns so there will be NO doubt about which is which..
Do you think your vet might know a patient who could help you out? I mean, someone whose toy breed has delivered only one puppy or has lost a litter and has no babies nursing. Maybe the vet could call that patient and give them your number so they could cotact you. Do you have another adult female? In my Yorkshire Terrier Magazine, there have been stories of females who have NEVER bred who were so anxious to be a mom that she developed milk and could feed a whole litter. That happened once when the mom died soon after delivery. These animals are nothing short of amazing!!
You will be in my prayers and those babies will have a lot of us pulling for them.. |