WHAT EVERY BREEDER SHOULD KNOW
THE DAM/QUEEN
The dam/queen must be healthy prior to breeding and ideally should have been
vaccinated just prior to mating. To ensure that the mother does not pass
nay worms to her unborn offspring, she should be dewormed at 6 weeks of
pregnancy with a broadspectrum dewormer that will kill any migrating worms.
To ensure that the right product is used please consult your local
veterinarian. From day 40 of pregnancy, the mother's food intake needs to
the increased.
WEANING AND NUTRITION
From the age of 3-4 weeks, the puppies or kittens must get supplementary
feeding, consisting of commercially available puppy/kitten food. Waning is
from 6 weeks of age and must be complete before they are sold to their new
home. After weaning, the young animals need to be fed four times a day with
a specially formulated commercially available puppy or kitten diet.
VACCINATION AND DEWORMING
Puppies and kittens must be dewormed and vaccinated at 6-8 weeks of age and
should be done 7-10 days before being sold to their new home. This enables
the young animal to build a good immunity before it enters its new home. The
new owner must also be instructed that this will only provide temporary
protection and that their local veterinarian must repeat the vaccinations
and deworming after 4 weeks. Puppies are vaccinated against diseases such
an parvo-virus ("cat-flu") and distemper, whereas kittens are vaccinated
against respiratory viruses.
EXTERNAL PARASITES
Puppies and kittens must be kept free of ticks and fleas by regular bathing
with a product that is safe for young animals. To ensure that the right
product is used please consult your local veterinarian. It is also
important to treat both the environment and the mother, taking care not to
use products that can be poisonous to the puppy/kitten. Remember that ticks
can transmit biliary (tick-bite) fever and that vaccinations do not protect
against this potentially fatal disease.
TRANSPORTING
Care should be exercised with the welfare of the puppy/kitten in transit.
If possible, it should go directly from you to the new owner's home. The
journey should be as short as possible and the puppy/kitten should be
transported in a travelling box of adequate size. For long journeys, food
and water must be supplied. It is important to remember that
puppies/kittens are very susceptible to humidity and temperature variations.
TAIL DOCKING
If needed, tails are docked when the puppy is 3-5 days old. Waiting longer
periods will cause unnecessary pain and discomfort for the puppy.
VETERINARY SERVICES
As your local veterinarian will be able to help with the care and well being
of your litters, it is important to consult him not only when there are
problems but also when you are unsure as to what the correct way is of
dealing with the litter of pregnant animal.
This information has been compiled and distributed by the South African
Veterinary Foundation and the National Veterinary Clinicians Group of the
South African Veterinary Association to promote the welfare and greater
understanding of animals.
PIGS
2L Milk
Half a teaspoon Terramycin
1 Teaspoon glucode / golden syrup
1 Tablespoon fresh cream.
1 Egg yolk
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