New to asf need some advice

I have been breeding rats for a few years now and thought I would get into breeding ASF's. I feed all my rodents Mazuri 6F and keep them on dried pine without any problems. I bought a 1.3 group of asf's from a breeder and have been raising them up for the past couple of months. Just this morning one of my asf dropped her first litter of 9 and all seemed well, I just peaked on them and noticed half of the babies were dead, the mother was still on top of the babies including the dead ones. Is this something I should be worried about being her first litter?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If its her first litter, I wouldn't be too worried. I've had first time moms eat the entire litter.

Give her another chance, and if she fails again, get rid of her.

I have another in the colony that should be having a litter any day now, I'll cross my fingers. I've heard of this happening with rats as well, any idea? Just being first time mothers, not producing enough milk?

I went digging because I was sure I've read this somewhere:

The name multimamate comes from their excess teats (8-14 pairs vs. the usual 5-6 rodents normally have).

So I'm assuming it probably isn't a milk production problem, and most likely it's just due to it being her first litter.

Could very well be just from being a first time mom. When we had asf's, we had some first time moms do that occasionally. Just make sure they have fresh water and food at all times, and give her another chance.

I'm by no means an expert but something you posted caught my attention: are you ONLY feeding the Mazuri 6f with nothing else to supplement it? If so, that might be the issue. These guys have higher protein requirements than what do Norway rats and also do much better on a varied diet: millet seed or a bird seed mix with Niger black sunflower seeds in moderation (they're high in fat), fresh vegetables, especially leafy green veggies to include kale (it can help with keeping them from developing tumors as they get older) as well as various types of fresh fruit (mine go nuts for pears and apples, diced; steer clear of citrus...I can't remember why but I know I read that multiple places). Again, I'm not an expert and have only been keeping these guys for about a year or so but mine average 14+ per litter, including their firsts, on the above diet supplemented with small amounts of dried kitten food for increased protein/fat and Mazuri 6f lab block, both in moderation. I researched and researched their dietary requirements before I started my colony and read through just about every thread on the ASF section of this forum before I bit the bullet. Metal Monkey Exotics has a great and very informative web-site and there's a member on here (Wapadi) who is very knowledge as well as helpful with the tips on raising and breeding these guys. It could also just be that it's her first litter but I wouldn't discount a dietary issue being a contributing factor to that many being dead or stillborn. Good luck and hope that helps.

I know nothing about mazuri.

I feed mine a mixture of 16% unmedicated hog feed with seeds and nuts. They also get a bit of high quality dog.

They get veggies and fruit for treats, and seem to enjoy the leafy vegetables the best. I'll give them any kind of leftovers. Cooked turkey, puffed wheat, pancakes. The pregnant females especially enjoy it when I make them eggs.