Parturition simply means the process of giving birth. The process of giving birth can also be referred to as to litter. The gestation period of grasscutters is averagely one hundred and fifty five days (155) that is approximately five months. After mating is comprehensive and has resulted in pregnancy, the doe begins to show physical signs of pregnancy from three months upwards. At this stage is when slight protrusion can be noticed in the stomach of the doe. The protrusion at this stage is usually convexed downwards. At four months upwards the belly signs of pregnancy becomes more obvious and a side bulge can now be visible.
The doe may also show signs like
excessive sleeping, laziness in getting up from its sleeping or lying position
etc. At the point where the pregnancy is advanced, if a buck is in the cage it
is unlikely the doe will allow any mating though it is recommended that the
buck be removed from eight weeks of been with the doe.
A
grasscutter giving birth and eating the umbilical cord
Some does are fast and do everything
in a brisk and crisp manner while other could be clumsy and slow. The doe then
pulls out other debris of birth remaining inside it out including the placenta
and eats them all with relish. It will also lick up all the blood if the cage
is a flatbed cage. Once all the cuttlings are out, the mother resumes nurturing
them by licking the birth juice off them until they are neat and dry.
The whole process takes about an hour
to an hour and a half to litter 4-5 grasscuttlings. First litter usually gives 3-4 litters, litter
size increases with subsequent deliveries and the grasscutter can litter as
much as 7-11 cuttlings. The cuttlings are born fully haired and immediately
start searching for the mother’s breast even as soon as they can stand erect.
The sucking of the breast by already
born cuttlings sometimes gives the mother a hard time bringing forth the
remainder. The babies are a small replica of an adult grasscutter and can run
around from a few hours after birth. The
average birth weight for grasscutters is 120gm with a range of between
110-140gms. Some could weigh as low as 80gms and as much as 150gms depending how
many cuttlings in the litter.
A
grasscutter and her cuttlings
Grasscutters have a strong sense of
smell so the surrogate mother can sniff out her cuttlings from the lot. It is
therefore advised that transfer of the cuttlings is preceded by masking for
both the new babies and her original babies to prevent her killing them.
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See uncensored grasscutter videos including
a grasscutter giving birth at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAP8XnVNvcjGA56iQpFe2tQ