postnatal feeding..

How soon do you offer your mamas a meal after laying (assuming you're not using maternal incubation.)

I waited until the next day to offer her first meal, which I kept small since she hadn't eaten in so long.

That's what I did; she took it right away. :)

That's exactly what I do. Some take it right away, and some will wait a week or two. Most will eat within 2 weeks of laying. Definitely feed smalll so as not to shock their system.

Offered my girl the next day as well, I figured she was stressed a little, with me pulling her and changing her cage out and washing her.. plus, she had just laid 7 eggs and I figured she needed a day to give her insides a chance to adjust back to the normal anatomic position after being displaced from the eggs.

. She slammed it as soon as it was offerred. Cant beat it when your good girls dont let you down.

I give them 4 to 5 days. I wanna make sure they are ready to eat and are settled in.

Our first girl (Anita) took a couple of days before she would eat ... she has always been a mouse feeder. So about the third day she finally took 3 mice. Then both Adam and Tim (Muddoc) suggested I try a rat, and what do you know, she is eating rats every week now.

Chel, who laid her eggs yesterday, just took a rat pup today. It seems like it does not take long to get back into feeding mode, because she had not eaten for two months ...

I'm glad your girl ate for you right away Jen, I know it sure made me feel better after seeing how skinny they are after laying.

Neil