The American Beagler Forum

how much do i feed a pregnant female? She keeps barking at me wanting food. So I give her some. I've been giving her roughly 4 cups a day. I have her on black Gold Black bag. What do you guys recommend or have had good luck with? We are 35 or 36 days into the pregnancy. She is starting to show now and is extra hungry.

Ive been raising pups along time now and my system is change i change them over to puppy food after i no thier bred thats what a good vet told me 20 years ago and feed a little more than normal after pups are born for 2 weeks i double the feed and look at her weight gain from there to see if i need to continue i have raised many litters and i have never lost a pup up to date Knock on Wood and mother always looks great

I add in some vitamin and mineral supplements everyday. I also am a firm believer in keeping them in top shape. I will run them up till the last two
weeks for sure and just not pressure them with hounds that go a lot harder than they do. Ideally I solo them with a pup or young hound. JMO.
I have also added in some raw diet and some cooked chicken livers and parts for protien and extra iron and also give a milk supplement the last couple
weeks and after the pups come to keep the momma up and healthy. Needless to say the pups I have had are fat and healthy and my females seem to
bound back QUICK after the pups and that is super important to me. Best of luck!

A lesson I learned years ago, was to not "over feed" the female.
The pups get too big and fat and get stuck in the birth canal.
Now..I just feed the female a normal ration of feed, but if she looks overly thin I might increase the feed by 1/4.

2 weeks from delivery, I sprinkle some shreaded cheddar cheese on the feed.
The cheese helps supply calcium which is used for contractions.
I also provide cheese throughout the nursing process.
Also, I feed her twice a day while nursing. At a 1/4 increase from normal feeding.
So if you normally feed 1 cup...go 1 1/4 cup twice a day.
If her coat looks overly dry give her a "fish oil" tablet once a day.
The fish oil provides a boost of Omega 3/6.
She also needs lots of fresh water!!

Good Luck!!

LPB

I agree with Lone Pine Beagles. Feed the same amount, unless you see a drop in her weight.

I myself start to feed them all they want at 45 days. jmho paul w abell

I agree with CPC and continue all she wants until you wean the puppies, and make it puppy food that has elevated levels of manganese which is crucial for puppies. I would choose the brand you plan to feed the puppies after weaning them.


Tom aka rinkydink

Agree with Lone Pine also. 4 cups seems to much. A good balanced dog food should have all the vitamins they should need. Also agree with switching over to puppy chow the last couple of weeks. Give her only the recommended amount, and just bump it up little by little till she delivers. I would think you're risking having big pups.

Also I would not recommend any additional vitamins or supplements. Excess vitamins can lead to birth defects. Do a search. The cheese aids in milk production. Also plenty of exercise. Even if it means leashing her and taking her for a walk once a day.
Good luck

Puppy chow fed free choice. My dogs are on free choice feed from day one and do not over eat as they know food is there 24/7. With regular exercise, no problems at whelping time.

I give them all they want all the time. Only rarely have I had a problem with a dog getting overweight, and never with a pregnant bitch. Mother nature will tell them how much to eat.

very good information guys I appreicate it.

I'm wanting to go with Purina One Puppy chow over the regular puppy chow. I'll watch not to give her to much. And she'll get ran some. i ran her yesterday for a couple hours the last week or so she'll be put up cause I don't want her to get hurt or something I may walk her around the neighborhood just to get her out.

I also have milk aid from happy jack that I am going to use.

Its hard to tell by that picture but she is much wider. Over all big and wide. Today we are at day 36 I'm guessing in 10 days or so her belly is gonna drop.
thanks Joey

I agree with the other guys about putting the bitch on puppy chow during her pregnancy.As she gets closer to delivering she will get quite big and it is hard for them to eat much at one time so I feed morning and evening smaller amounts.I increase slightly above maintenance level during pregnancy.Once pups are delivered you don't have to increase feed intake those first two weeks but after that the bitche's feed intake will increase dramatically and she needs to be getting a lot more food as the pups will really be drawing off her heavily.I've seen places where they recommend doubling the bitche's feed intake during weeks 3-6 of nursing and make sure she gets all the water she wants.
A bitch nursing a litter [especially a big litter ] probably has more stress on her than even hard hunting puts on her.

Joeyman wrote:how much do i feed a pregnant female? She keeps barking at me wanting food. So I give her some. I've been giving her roughly 4 cups a day. I have her on black Gold Black bag. What do you guys recommend or have had good luck with? We are 35 or 36 days into the pregnancy. She is starting to show now and is extra hungry.

4 cups is way more than I need to feed of the Joy Professional line. I rarely feed a female beagle that when pups are sucking on her, let alone "35 or 36 days into the pregnancy". I do a fair amount of breeding, I have four female beagles do to have litters this March and a female Treeing Cur Squirrel Dog do to give birth in early April. Just my .2

I feed the entire Joy "Professional" line:
http://www.joypetfood.com/highenergy.html
http://www.joypetfood.com/professionaladul.html
http://www.joypetfood.com/professionalpupp.html

Joey how many pups ya going to keep. I think you will be happy you bred to Junie. T REX BLOOD ROCKS.

gunner wrote:Joey how many pups ya going to keep. I think you will be happy you bred to Junie. T REX BLOOD ROCKS.

we are going to keep all of them. I'm spliting them all up between two friends. we'll run them from the time they start all thru gun-season and see what we got by the end of the season.


I've cut her down to just under 3cups a day. I feed half a cup in the morning and 2 full cups in the afternoon. She is taking to that well. Keeps her more steady and happy. Switching her to Purina One Puppy chow very soon. I'm slowly switching her over.