New ASFs breeder with troublesome litter

[joefer13]

Hey guys I'm new to breeding here, got a 1.4 group. Last litter was 8 according to supplier...just found 2 new pinkies 2 nights ago. Was super excited!!! Now they are...well GONE. Did they eat them????!

[Quantum Constrictors]

I would say yes. Yes they ate them.

They will eat them if the babies are still born. They will eat them if they have any health problems. They will eat them if they are constantly scared ( ex : having them in a high traffic area). They will eat them if they dont have adequate food and water supply. I have found ASF's to be quite the cannibals. I no longer breed them.

[Wapadi]

I have breed ASF for years and have only had ONE MOM asf eat a baby litter. But once she started she didnt stop and she got fed off...

I do agree that something is wrong though because ASFs typically give HUGE litters, like more than 12. What are you feeding them? What are your temps at? What are you keeping them in? Wanna PM me and I will try to help!!

[joefer13]

Well currently I'm trying to get mazuri but have been mixing store rat/mice food with dog food. Sry I know this isn't preferable, then temps range no lower than mud 60s to 70s I like a cold house lol. Currently in clear tubs like as in the sticky. They are in my walkin closet currently, placed higher up. I do suppose it could be considered high traffic since I'm in their everyday and check on them every day and such. They were probably prego before I got them since I've only had them for 2 weeks lol. So they have probably had a bit of stress

[Kaorte]

It might be the food. I was having some trouble when I first started out with moms eating babies. As soon as I switched to Mazuri the cannibalism stopped. I think it had something to do with them not getting enough nutrients to start milk production.. so they eat the babies as a "boost". I know for a fact there was nothing wrong with the pinkies that were eaten.. they ate them alive.

Its kind of frightening... but I haven't had anyone eat a litter since then. Going on 8 months now.

[joefer13]

Guessing I better get to some mazuri to stop this nonsense lol

[youbeyouibei]

My experience is limited but Wapadi is an awesome resource if you have any questions and helped me when I was starting my colony of ASF's. I'm by no means an expert but from the research I've done, they have a higher protein requirement than what do Norway rats or mice, hence why they might be eating their pinks (free protein). I feed mine fresh fruits and veggies (pears, grapes, kale, carrots, apples, romaine lettuce, etc.) along with millet bird seed and a sparing amount of black sunflower seeds for fat. I feed them the standard lab block (Mazuri 6F or Harlan 4018, whichever is on sale at the time, lol!) I buy for my Norways and supplement that with dry cat food with a protein content of 33%. My litters thus far have been as large as 13 and the smallest at 12, with no pinks being eaten or anything out of the ordinary as far as still births or other issues. I keep mine in the same room as my snakes in a rack setup so their temps run into the low to mid 80's, with a high of about 83 at the highest. Fresh water and organic kale every other feeding and thus far they're popping out babies like it's their mission in life, lol! I was told by the breeder I bought mine from that the kale keeps them from developing tumors as badly, especially in you line or in-breed them for multiple generations. Something with the Vitamin A in the kale, he thought...I dunno. Haven't had mine long enough to tell if it makes any difference or not but they seem to like it, so why not? I would start with their diet and supplement that with a higher protein feed and see if that doesn't solve the situation, especially if it wasn't lack of water that caused them to cannibalize the litter in the first place. Good luck!