Whelping Box Ideas??

[TC]

I am also building an above ground welping pen. I have a litter due the first of April. I was thinking of getting a heated welping pad for the floor. Can you cover these pads with a thin piece of carpet? Or instead of the welping pad can I just use a heat lamp to keep the pups warm?

The main thing with an above ground whelper is you have to keep the floor warm, the pups tummy is where they absorb the warmth from if they get cold they can die fast. I have never seen an above ground whelper so not sure how the floor is constructed, but from experience you have to keep them warm and laying them on a surface where cold air blasts from the bottom would like laying on cold concrete in your shop. If it were me and I had the funds to do so especially the above ground whelper I would definitely spend the money on the whelping bowl. I believe it is designed to not use any thing to cover the surface. You have to make sure you don't get it to warm for mom and the pups too or they will spread out and one can miss lunch or get to dried out, but in winter it is trying to get them warm and keeping them warm.

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

well mine is not completed but i have worked on it as mother nature has allowed. i finally got some pics today but like i said it is not finished yet but the whelping box is, once i get the pen completed i will mount the whelping box on the back.
the pen is 4x10 and the whelping box is 3' w 4' L 28"H.

[hogbody]

That's a nice setup. That is about the same thing I am working on......Thanks for the advice TC. I desided to get a welping pad. Did you say Petsmart sells them? I looked at the welping bowl. It's nice but pricey.....$250. I've seen the hard plastic pads for around $40. I think I will use two pieces of plywood for the bottom, cutting a hole in the top piece to accomadate the pad. Will probly put a heat lamp and themometer in there to make sure they are warm enough. Guess it's best to be prepared for anything.

[TC]

Yes we purchased ours at Pet Smart and you will need to get a temp control for it, or it runs on high all the time. With the temp regulator it stays an even temp. You can buy them at different sizes so you can measure the inside of your box and get one that will fit.

Platue beagler you might just get away with a 60 Watt bulb in yours due to the height. You don't want the heat to get to hot, put your hand down on the surface and see how much heat is radiating off that lamp. That would be my concern with the heat lamp on yours, our lamps are about 3 to 3.5 ft off the pups and stays pretty toasty where it shines. It is one of those things where you have to monkey with till you get just the right temp where it is comfortable for the mom and the pups.

One thing you will want to watch for is pups pile up if cold spread out if hot. A single pup by itself all the time is not a good sign something is wrong either not getting enough to eat or is sick that one you will need to keep an eye on, you can check for dehydration by pulling up the skin on the back of the head and neck if it comes up in a tent and stays not enough fluids, all these things can be contributed to the atmosphere they are in. Pups crying a lot are not getting enough to eat. their color should be deep pink.

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

Well she having pups we got 1 male so far but she not wanting to keep it in whelping area. Outsde temp is 19 degrees inside box 70. I had to leave for work this morning hope all is going ok.

[hogbody]

Just bought a Lectro-Kennel heated pad, also got the temp. regulator with it. The instructions say the pad heats up to 102 deg. When using the temp. regulator how do you determine what the temp. of the pad is? Also about what temp. should it be set at for the pups? Was thinking of just laying a themometer on the pad to determine the temp. Not sure if this would be accurate or not.

[TC]

What i did With ours was Turned it up then touched the back of my hand on it. too hot turn it down I set ours where it was just Warm to the touch and adjusted from there..Better to go up a notch at a time than start out to hot...A thermometer would probably work ok around 70 degrees up to 75 should be about right.
you Will know if you get it too hot the pups and mom will move off of it.If to cold they will pile up in the middle....

[hogbody]

Thanks TC

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

What i did With ours was Turned it up then touched the back of my hand on it. too hot turn it down I set ours where it was just Warm to the touch and adjusted from there..Better to go up a notch at a time than start out to hot...A thermometer would probably work ok around 70 degrees up to 75 should be about right.
you Will know if you get it too hot the pups and mom will move off of it.If to cold they will pile up in the middle....

Yup

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

What i did With ours was Turned it up then touched the back of my hand on it. too hot turn it down I set ours where it was just Warm to the touch and adjusted from there..Better to go up a notch at a time than start out to hot...A thermometer would probably work ok around 70 degrees up to 75 should be about right.
you Will know if you get it too hot the pups and mom will move off of it.If to cold they will pile up in the middle....

Yup

[hogbody]

Well she having pups we got 1 male so far but she not wanting to keep it in whelping area. Outsde temp is 19 degrees inside box 70. I had to leave for work this morning hope all is going ok.

How did everything work out???

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

Hogbody all went well I just moved the one back into whelping area and she had the other 4 in there. We ended up with 4 males and 1 female they look really great. Hope they make really great hounds I know the litter that I done this cross out of once before are some real hounds. Wished I keep them all.
I hope to be able to keep these this go around.
Thanks for asking.

Donnie

[hogbody]

That's good to hear! My litter is due April 4. I am building an above ground pen similar to the one you showed on here. Also working on a welping box to attach to the pen. Got a heating pad to place in the box. Appreciate all the help and information from everyone on here. Just wish it would quit snowing so I can get outside and put it all together!

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

I know exactly what your talking about when you say the weather. Me and my boy's had to work 1 day in the snow to finish ours and i am sure glad we did.
I really like the way my box and pen is set up it is really handy in all aspects either dealing with pups, mom, cleaning etc. Just wished i had made the box taller and shorten the legs on the pen, but that will be another job to do later.

The boys and i are presently building above ground pens for the pups when they get off the mama dog, and they go together quick and easy. They are 4x4 we are building 5 total.
I guess we should have work on them today but we had to go rabbit hunting being tomorrow is the last day and the weather is going to be bad after today.
Just finished off a plate of rabbit, fried tators, biscuits and gravy .

Man was it good . What a way to finish off the season.