I have a different take than some on the idea of whelping pens / boxes due, in part, to this article. That being said, mine is not the "only" way ;)
As I said in my previous post on this subject - "I'll be the first to say that learning is life long, so there will likely be changes, additions, deletions to my concepts as we experience more." Hence this new article!
Since the first blog post on this subject, we have renovated our addition to turn part of it into a multi-purpose puppy room.
Some pics from the reno ^^
The current puppy room prepped and ready for pups Dec 2021.
We used inverted diamond garage flooring overtop of commercial lino for the flooring.
^^ We've also added a few helpful amenities to the room adjacent to the puppy area.
Since it's private, we no longer have to use a tarp den to provide the desirable seclusion for dams.
However, Mamas still like to dig to form the nest, so we still usually use straw as the whelping base, after which it's disposed of and we build the official puppy rearing nest.
Dam mid whelp. Heating pad on the straw while pups nurse. ^^
<< If dam is up and down a lot, I also keep a heating pad in a laundry basket or tote to place pups in during the active phase of whelping.
(This year we had a widespread drought, so straw was scarce).
Once she's done whelping, I place new straw** into the bottom of a Step 2 crab sandbox (it's what I had... a 4' rectangular one would work as well) and tramp on it to form a concave nest.
**It has been mentioned that mites could be a problem with straw. That depends a lot on source, year, geography, etc. I've not had any issues. However, if one were particularly concerned with mites, the same concept can be created using wood shavings... I have done that, too, just found straw easier to work with / more absorbent during delivery. PLUS, straw has a different smell to it than the wood pellets for their potty area, making it easier for pups to differentiate between the two sites.
Then, I insert the whole thing into a zippered waterproof mattress cover to protect it (the full size one I purchased is no longer available, so pretty much any reasonable quality double cover will do). This is WAY easier to use (& replace if necessary) than wrapping in plastic barrier wrap.
(I moved away from just straw in a duvet b/c it was floppy & unwieldy to handle for moving around and bedding changes, and it didn't maintain it's shape.)
The straw provides a soft bed that provides comfort & 'give', allowing new mamas to make some mistakes when learning where to place their feet or bodies, plus pups' hips have some support from the curve. In all the litters with which I've used this bedding style, I've never had an injury or death from mom stepping on pups.
Protecting the mattress pad is a piece of Drymate Litter mat over which I place a flannel, jersey or terry cloth fitted sheet (even something like this works well), followed by an absorbent round EZ whelp absorbent pad (obviously, if your structure is rectangular, then you'd get a corresponding shape). In a pinch, I have also used incontinence pads, but they don't fit as well as the round one. Covering all this are a couple of large bath sheets, then a heating pad (for continuous heat).
L-R, Top to Bottom: Mattress cover, Drymate pad, Terrycloth fitted sheet, Absorbent pad, Towels, Heating pad
On the very top, I use a rubber underlay to give the pups traction. For years I have used the mainstay rug underlay from Walmart. However, the quality took such a nose dive with those in 2021 that I'm having to try to locate a
sturdier option, tbd. In the past I've found rubber underlays to be inexpensive and flexible / easy to use in the nest. They're readily washed, but take a couple of days to dry so I have more than one. For sanitary reasons, I do my best to purchase new ones for each litter, Covid supply lines permitting.
Nest with underlay>>
Why all these layers? They're necessary, believe it or not. I change the top layers as needed - typically every couple of days for the first week (although highly dependent upon size of litter) then minimum of daily thereafter (so have at least 2 of each item on hand). And I change the bottom layers generally once or twice a week. Yup, some liquid works its way down as far as the Drymate pads, especially while dam is still cleaning out...
Here's a video of the pups on the underlay. (Once link opens, click on video to get full sound and picture). Pups are standing on hind legs to nurse at 2 days old, rather than scrabbling with hind legs sprawled frog-like behind them trying to get a grip without that support. Another litter example at 2 days of age.
And here's a litter at 5 days old demonstrating similar.
I find that when pups can get proper traction & supportive angle, dams - of smaller litters especially - start to frequently feed them while sitting up even within the first couple of days of birth!
<< These pups were only 30 hrs old.
Dams with more pups wait a bit longer, otherwise they can't all reach. But, still earlier than pups on a slippery, flat surface.
These 10 pups were 7 days old. >>
And here's a cute clip of 20 day old pups navigating the nest slope. (They are amazingly adept at climbing it even as blind little sausages.)
Pups shown 5 days old. ^^
Once the nest is built, I wrap it with a couple of exercise pens, which prevent pups from crawling out of the nest and falling onto the cold puppy room floor. My main ones are 48" high. This time around, I used a couple of shorter (24") ones on the front to make it easier for dam to get in and out, and I'm very happy with the result. I stop up any gaps between fence and nest with towels / sheets / blankets.
I use ex-pens for EVERY part of the puppy rearing process except whelping. They are incredibly versatile; I don't know what I'd do without them!
Once pups are old enough that dam is no longer cleaning up after them, I add a calf sled containing wood stove pellets to one end of the nest for pups to utilize as a potty.
<< The pups shown were introduced to the potty area at 21 days of age.
If the litter is large enough, I use a second sled on the side, too. >>
(Please note: I only recommend the yellow sleds. That red sled was taken out same day and replaced with another yellow one due to pups crawling under rolled sides and getting trapped repeatedly.)
As the pups mature, become more mobile, and interested in chewing blankets, I remove the nest & turn the sandbox into a potty area containing wood pellets. A calf sled may again be employed as a secondary litter if the brood is substantial. To start with they are given just a small amount of space surrounding the litter area so confusion is kept to a minimum as to where they are to eliminate.
Then, depending on age, size of litter, tolerance for distance from potty, and time of year (nicer weather means more time spent outside, so less room required inside), we expand the pen area as needed to allow for more movement and play.
Here is a litter of pups in one version of the puppy room layout.
More on our litter training process HERE.
And that's it until the next modification is needed :)
