What are the feeding tips for nursing puppies?
Puppies refer to young dogs from birth to weaning (around 45 days of age). Puppies do not open their eyes until 12-15 days after birth and have poor mobility, but they grow quickly and have relatively high nutritional needs. Therefore, when feeding puppies, the following aspects of work should be done well.
1. Get colostrum in time. The milk secreted by the mother dog within 1 week after giving birth is colostrum. Colostrum is rich in r-globulin, which after being absorbed by the intestinal tract forms antibodies in the puppy's body and can enhance the puppy's disease resistance. A puppy's stomach has digestive function 5 hours after birth, so within 12-48 hours after birth, a puppy must receive colostrum, and it is best to receive colostrum within 6 hours after birth. Under normal circumstances, the mother dog's colostrum is fully sufficient for the puppies to consume. If artificial feeding is needed, in the first week, feed once every 3 hours; in the second to third weeks, feed once every 4 hours; after 20 days, feed once every 6 hours. The artificial milk formula is: 1 egg, 300 grams concentrated bone and meat broth, an appropriate amount of infant cake powder, 200 milliliters fresh milk, mix and cook, and after cooling add 1 gram lysine, 0.6 grams methionine, 2 grams Kuaidafei, an appropriate amount of salt (0.5%), and filter through gauze.
2. Artificial supplementary feeding. After the mother dog gives birth to puppies, 20 days later, milk secretion begins to decline. Generally, supplementary feeding starts 15 days after birth. Supplement with fresh milk or rice and meat foods every day. About 100 milliliters of milk per day, with the milk temperature between 27-30°C, divided into 3-4 feedings. After 20 days of age, feed 200 milliliters of milk per day. The following supplementary feed formula can also be used as a reference: 500 grams lean meat or internal organs (minced), 3 eggs, 300 grams cornmeal, 300 grams flour, 500 grams green vegetables (chopped), an appropriate amount of growth hormone, 4 grams salt, mix evenly, add water, shape into steamed buns, and cook. When feeding, add 5 grams lysine, 3 grams methionine, 10 grams Kuaidafei, and an appropriate amount of multivitamins, sprinkle on the cooled steamed buns, add a little bone and meat broth for the puppies to lick.
3. Artificial nursing. When the mother dog dies after giving birth, gives birth to too many puppies, or has insufficient breast milk, milk or milk powder should be used promptly for artificial nursing. Because dog milk is thicker than cow milk, feeding cow milk alone does not provide enough nutrition, so some milk powder needs to be added to the cow milk to feed the puppies. Except when the mother dog has died, newborn puppies must be allowed to receive colostrum to enhance disease resistance and increase the survival rate.
Artificial nursing method: within 10 days after birth, feed the puppies about 100 milliliters of milk per day. The tool can be replaced by a baby nursing bottle, feeding 4-6 times a day. After their eyes open, let them practice food intake ability, feed milk on a plate, and let them lick it. From 10-20 days after birth, the supplementary milk amount is about 300 milliliters. After 25 days, train the puppies to eat porridge-like food on their own. Around 45 days, milk can be completely stopped and they can switch to eating porridge-like food.
4. Foster nursing. This method is suitable for situations such as the mother dog giving birth to too many puppies, the mother dog dying after giving birth, or the mother dog having little or no milk after giving birth. At this time, the puppies are given to another nursing mother dog (foster mother dog) to raise. This method is more beneficial to the growth and development of the puppies than artificial nursing. However, the delivery times of the two litters of dogs are required to be close, and the breeds and sizes should be basically the same, generally with an age difference of no more than 3 days.
Foster nursing method: the mother dog identifies her own puppies by their smell. This characteristic can be used to complete the foster nursing work, that is, before foster nursing, first smear the foster mother dog's milk or diluted feces liquid on the body of the puppy to be fostered, over a larger area, so that its body carries the foster mother dog's smell, making it easier for the foster mother dog to accept.