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I am wondering if there are any breeders out there who can give target weights week by week for a litter? This is my first litter and I want to make sure they are gaining as they should? Litter of ten, 12.5 to 17 ounce range at birth. Two weeks old today. Thank you!
Do you have a mentor, or someone that is helping you learn, perhaps your breeder?Quote:
Originally Posted by jesterextra
I look for puppies to double their birth weights by a week old, and aim for a 10% weight gain per puppy per day. Labradors vary greatly in size, depending on the parents, and pedigree, so a one size growth pattern does not fit all. My last litter was 20 lbs at 8 weeks, some vary by a few pounds less, mostly based on parents weights and size, or litter size.
I shoot for a cup of food per day, per puppy, in addition to the mom's usual rations, when growth is the highest before you start weaning them. 10 puppies is a lot for the dam to feed, so with a big litter I would look at giving the puppies some Royal Canin Puppy Starter Mousse around 14-16 days old if mom is not maintaining her own weight and condition. I thin it with either goats milk or a little puppy formula, and let them lap it up individually at first in a small bowl, and later the whole litter eats together.
Good luck
Thank you Shelley. I have several contacts but have had trouble getting responses from them lately and wanted quick feedback. I appreciate your time!
My good sized litters are often smaller overall early on but catch up as soon as the gruel is introduced at ~18 days or so. Most recent litter appears to have been 2-3# at 2 wks. I'd just weigh daily and make sure they are all gaining consistently each day. I like to see ~2 oz a day on avg at this point. My almost 6mo from that litter is bigger at this age than most of the rest of my gang was at same age and will see the smallest (at birth) tomorrow. When she left, she was bigger than my girl so hard to predict these things since where they were attached in utero makes a difference on birth weight but not necessarily final weight.