Skip to main content

Day 55 (pre-parturition) of the Tulip's pregnancy

Tulip enjoying a stroll in the yard. 

 

Bronson & Tulip Litter

Tulip is in her final week of pregnancy. Although she is showing, it isn't slowing her down. Fortunately, the weather has been mild and not too hot. Currently, she is being fed four smaller meals a day, and she is always looking for more! Her abdomen measures approximately 35 inches or 88.9 centimeters. 

 

We will get her settled in our bedroom next week. Organize the whelping box in which the puppies will be born. We will keep Tulip and her pups separate from the other dogs and the chaos!

 

Currently, I do not know how many puppies she will have, but based on her size, I suspect she will have many. Goldens typically have 8 pups, but we've had as many as 14 and as few as 3. 

 

Foetuses' skeletons are ossified around 50 days of gestation. During this period, the puppies' coats of fur are fully developed, and they will rapidly grow in size in preparation for birth. As of now, the puppies are just growing bigger and are basically finished with their development. It takes puppies about 10 days after birth to open their eyes. Puppies are born without the ability to see.

 

It is actually possible to feel the puppies moving around. They seem eager to meet their forever families and get out into the world!

 

Stay tuned ….

Golden Retriever fetus at almost full term


 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ruly and Tulip Litter - Week 1

Ruly and Tulip Litter - 1 Week Old What a week it's been! The Tulip puppies continue to thrive, gaining weight steadily and remaining fairly quiet. Tulip dotes on her family, rarely straying far from the whelping box. As you can see on the 24/7 camera, she is starting to spend a bit more time outside the box, but she consistently checks on her babies. Tulip currently eats around 4 pounds of food per day, along with calcium and pre-probiotics supplements. As her pups grow, her daily food intake will be gradually increased, reaching 5 - 6 pounds per day by the time the pups are about 7 weeks old. This increased caloric intake is necessary to meet the energy demands of milk production and to maintain Tulip's own body condition. Tulip still believes an outdoor den would be best for her pups, so we are monitoring her closely when she ventures out. The whelping box is lined with padded bedding and clean, white bleached towels on the bottom. The white towels allow us to quickly spot a...
2 comments
Read more

Ruly & Tulip Litter - Week 2

Many viewers of the 24/7 puppy camera have raised questions, such as what are the pipes running alongside the whelping box. These are called "pig rails" and they are designed to protect the puppies from their mother accidentally lying on them, ensuring the puppies' safety.  Since the puppies are unable to regulate their own body temperature, we use a heat lamp over the whelping box to keep them warm when Tulip is outside the box. However, we turn the heat lamp off when she is nursing the puppies. By 3 to 4 weeks of age, the puppies can regulate their temperature, which should then be in the normal range of 100.5°F to 102.5°F (38°C to 39.3°C). The most significant event this week is that the puppies' eyes have opened. Mr. Devil's eyes (the one with the red collar) were the first to open. Each puppy followed and within 48 hours they had all opened.  The puppies are now weighing almost 3 lbs, and Tulip provides them nourishment at least every 2 hours, often throughou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ruly & Tulip Litter -Week 3

Three Weeks of Puppy Love: Tulip's Little Ones Are Growing Fast! Our "Spanish" Halloween litter is now 3 weeks old! As they enter their 4th week, we're seeing even more changes. The puppies are much steadier on their four paws and are actively walking around, as you can observe on our 24/7 camera. Mom Tulip continues to provide nourishment every few hours. Tomorrow, we'll introduce the puppies to their first solid food - a mix of pure turkey, ground bone, organ and muscle meat, along with goat's milk. This will be a communal feeding, and while the puppies may not know exactly what to do at first, they quickly devour the meal once they've had a taste. We'll start with one feeding per day and gradually increase to three times daily over the next few days. They'll continue on this three-times-a-day schedule until around 6 months of age, when we'll transition to twice-daily feedings. Mr. Broomstick cuddling with momma❤️ In other updates, the puppie...
1 comment
Read more