> So I'm wondering what can cause such discrepancies in size in whelps? > Anyone got any ideas/facts/useful information on producing a nice even size > of whelps in a litter?
First of all, in most cases each individual puppy has inherited a different set of genes. So there are going to be some variations in size. Just like a husband and wife who have 2 or 3 children--some will end up larger and some smaller. The only way to avoid this would be to have identical twins, triplets or more, which is rather rare--although last July I had a litter with what we believe are identical triplets--all born dead--and certainly can't be planned for! Sometimes one horn isn't as good as the other. I have known of bitches who couldn't carry any puppies in one horn, but could in the other, and of one that only had one horn. Also placement of the placentas is very important. With each succeeding litter it can be harder and harder for all placentas to be placed in really good spots. With identical twins one will often suffer at the expense of the other. Or as in my case with the identical triplets--I'm not even sure if a Cavalier could possibly grow a placenta that could support 3 puppies--more than likely the reason they did not survive? There are many reasons puppies are born different sizes. I'm just happy when they are all healthy! Laura Trunk Roycroft Cavaliers ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author.
