well the pups are now 4 days old and Bronte is coping well. It appears to be a very large litter.
As Bronte tends to leave the nest open, it is quite easy to get a sneaky glimpse of the pups, and their skin is already darkening significantly. Their ears are now visible and are starting to lift slightly away from the head. Very dark eyes seen behind the skin tell me that the babies are going to be black eyed, and of course we do expect golden babies, so that fits in. It doesnt look as though there will be any suprises in the litter at this stage, but I haven't of course had an in depth look, just a quick glance.
At a quick count I did get up to 16 pups, but of course, I cant discount the possibility that some got counted twice or missed altogether in fact, due to the wriggle factor.
I came home from work tonight and went up to the hamster room, taking with me some hamster food bowls that had been washed. As I entered the room I dropped a ceramic one, and Bronte shot out from the nest and hid in her one toy, a cardboard tube (she loves chewing these).
So much for protective Mum!
She scattered pups behind her and I had a couple of minutes of indignant squeals as she picked them up one by one to return them to the nest.
Thankfully she quickly settled down and seems none the worse for her fright!
Bronte's litter born 9th March 2008
Hybrid Mode
