Can 2 Jills Be Left Together With Eachothers Kits ?

[foxtails 272]

can 2 jills be left together , whislt the other giving birth, as iv got 1 jill due in 3 weeks the other in 5 weeks, iv got them both in the same cage at the moment, iv just got a new cage which is quite big, and do plan on getting another cage sharpish, but was just wondering as someone said to me the other day, that it wont matter being in together, he said theyl both look after each others kits. but whats peoples views on this? thanks in advance

[dogger 100]

theyll be fine together if they get along the now but you could split them to be on the safe side and then youll know for sure whos kits are whos

[skycat 6,173]

I wouldn't risk it as the births will be quite far apart. If the jills were both due to give birth together, then maybe. We've done it before with jills giving birth within a day or two of each other and they've been fine with each other's kits, rearing them all together. But its always a risk even then, and you don't know if it will succeed until you try it.

[francolin 449]

to be safe split them up if poss,some jills act strange/out of character when they got new kits,but as a rule most will rear fine in same cage,hope you dont get big litters ,cos the next few month theres kits for sale by the bucket full atb.

[The one 8,403]

have they been together all the time ?. i would leave them together

[vermin catcher 219]

mate ive done it quite a few times and some times everything is great other times you end up with dead kits and exhausted jills.Two jills can and will pile all the kits together and everything is rosey.But more often than not they compete and build seperate nests and spend all day running about stealing kits from one another and the result usually ends with suffocated kits ,trampled into wood shavings kits and kits that just plain havn't been fed because they are constantly being moved by both jills.Its Russian roulette mate and you wont know till you try but if it all goes pete tong during the night youll be waking up to dead uns.

[foxtails 272]

the one jills kits will be 3 weeks old, then the other jill will give birth, theyv been in together for a while, 9 months atleast, and are completly fine with each other, but as been said, they might act differently when kits are about, im going to get another cage to be on the safe side i think,

[Jekyll 329]

Handy post this, anyone have advice on nest bedding? Used wood shavings and hay in the passed, but have lost a small number of kits from both litters.. More in hay bedding tho, is shavings best and more suitable? Thanks

[mhopton 807]

My to Jill's are together with 12 + kits they are all doing fine together

In the nest I've put two fleeces down for them and all seems fine just not looking forward to the mayhem what's to follow lol

[vermin catcher 219]

the one jills kits will be 3 weeks old, then the other jill will give birth, theyv been in together for a while, 9 months atleast, and are completly fine with each other, but as been said, they might act differently when kits are about, im going to get another cage to be on the safe side i think,

In that situation youll have 3 week old kits that are well developed just pushing the younger kits to the side and again youll maybe loose some that are not getting fed enough.Its not the jills you need to worry about getting along its having bigger stronger kits dominating the teats and your younger litter just not being strong enough to compete.My advice is if you want to give them the best chance of all pulling through, you narrow the odds in your favour and split them.Good luck whatever you decide mate

[skycat 6,173]

Handy post this, anyone have advice on nest bedding? Used wood shavings and hay in the passed, but have lost a small number of kits from both litters.. More in hay bedding tho, is shavings best and more suitable? Thanks

I wouldn't use hay: I used it once, many years ago when I first started keeping ferrets; some of the new born kits got entangled in the thin strands: one was strangled, and the others had to be cut out of the mess with tiny scissors. Never used hay again, plus it is very hot to use as bedding in the summer time: people used to make a hay box to act as a slow cooker: a wooden box filled with hay in which you put the just-brought-to-the-boil pot of stew: over the next 24 hours the hay kept it hot enough to finish cooking.

I always use straw: barley straw, not wheat, as barley isn't so dusty. It is just as insulating as hay, but the jills can make a good nest out of it without the kits over heating. IMO shavings can't be made into a proper nest and most jills, given half a chance, will make a nest which completely surrounds the kits: she makes a tunnel into the nest and the kits are completely hidden. I reckon jills feel more secure this way: more like making a nest underground.

[Jekyll 329]

 

 

Handy post this, anyone have advice on nest bedding? Used wood shavings and hay in the passed, but have lost a small number of kits from both litters.. More in hay bedding tho, is shavings best and more suitable? Thanks

I wouldn't use hay: I used it once, many years ago when I first started keeping ferrets; some of the new born kits got entangled in the thin strands: one was strangled, and the others had to be cut out of the mess with tiny scissors. Never used hay again, plus it is very hot to use as bedding in the summer time: people used to make a hay box to act as a slow cooker: a wooden box filled with hay in which you put the just-brought-to-the-boil pot of stew: over the next 24 hours the hay kept it hot enough to finish cooking.

I always use straw: barley straw, not wheat, as barley isn't so dusty. It is just as insulating as hay, but the jills can make a good nest out of it without the kits over heating. IMO shavings can't be made into a proper nest and most jills, given half a chance, will make a nest which completely surrounds the kits: she makes a tunnel into the nest and the kits are completely hidden. I reckon jills feel more secure this way: more like making a nest underground.

[Jekyll 329]

Thanks for that skycat will try that this year

[foxtails 272]

im defenetly going to split them , i dont want to learn from my own mistakes, id rather learn from others mistakes, were all here to help and try and give advice to eachother, so this year will split them up, iv just got rid of my old nackerd cage and got a bigger better cage, im on the look out for another sharpish, so if anyone has one in south/south east wales let me know, cheers guys, much appriciate your views on this, keep them coming ! also im not sure now weather the other jill is even pregnant, her vulver has gone down to half the size it was when it was at its biggest, but has not gone down completly, i expect 8 out of 10 jills are ok together whilst both having kits but the other 2 % is more likely to be mine, knowing my luck lol

[mhopton 807]

Wright 1st off I was wrong only one has had her kits and making other one look after them!!

So today I had to separate them as my other Jill is ready to give birth any time now

So in short lads we all think we know enuf but really don't and lern something new every day sorry I was wrong in what I posted