>From: "Meg Carpenter, Chaotic Ferrets" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: A Will To Live - Bobette's Story >gave the mama a very small dose of oxytocin *Meg - what are the doses you give?* Ah - oxytocin - the breeder's friend. I have an oxytocin story or two myself. Years in the past & even one last week. One of my very favorite & sweetest girls that was born in my presence was pregnant last year. She had a liter of 12 kits & produced no milk. Panicked, I called my trusty vet who came out to my house right away (he is an hour or so away & very busy!). By the time he reached my house, administered the injection, and confirmed milk production, the kits were way too weak. During the time I was waiting for him to arrive, I had attempted to give the kits some milk replacer - virtually an impossible feat. I rubbed some Kayro syrup on the gums to help them get some strength up. All kits were too weak to crawl to Mom, let alone nurse. One by one they dropped off & Mom ate them up as they went. I can't explain the helpless feeling of knowing these innocent little lives are suffering & knowing you can't do a thing about it. I could have taken them away from the jill & humanely put them down, but thought it might be better to just let nature take it's course. I was given a vile of oxytocin for emergencies only. She came back into season a month or so later & we re-bred her. She had the kits when I was at work. When I got home not a trace of them were left - the only thing to indicate the birth was a skinny jill & a bloody blanket. No signs of milk production. We tried again one more time this year - my husband's insisting. We had another jill (Kit-Kat) that was due three days before & appointed her a likely candidate of adopting the kits. Well, Kit had her litter - ten healthy kits. She produced milk right off (something we check for right away). But she lost two kits the first day. This is a norm as jills only have 8 nipples - classic survival of the fittest. But within two days she had no milk & had lost 4 more & the last 4 were very weak. I had administered oxytocin, but while waiting for the milk to develop the other 4 kits passed on (this was within 20 mins). Kit did develop milk. So we went ahead & induced labor on the other jill. (She only had one more day to go before she was due) She had a litter of 11, but we saved 6. They were given to Kit hardly cleaned off. Kit was thrilled to do the job. We let the birthing jill do some cleaning, but very little as she did try to eat them as she was having them. Again she had no milk. Kit lost milk again. I gave her another dose of oxytocin & the milk flowed. She now has enough babies nursing to stimulate her. She is an excellent girl. The milkless jill is being altered - as I wanted to do earlier this year ("No, give her one more chance" my hubby says!) - and needs to be placed in a new home. Kit-Kat & the kits are doing fine. Three boys & three girls. One little girl has half a tail & one little boy has 3/4 tail & only two toes on each hind foot (due to the birthing mom's careless cleaning). All of the kits will be altered. Amy Flemming Flemming Farms http://www.geocities.com/heartland/ranch/9521 [Posted in FML issue 2350]