First time mom has gone into labor

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra  

I'm Stephanie and about 22 days ago I bred one of my female rats, a six month old dumbo girl for the first time and she's gone into labor.
I've done my research and I know she's trying to push as she twists her body about and stretches out her back legs, but she's been doing this for about a half an hour and nothings happening. She is also spotting blood, which I've read happens between a day or hour before birth. She doesn't seem to be in too much discomfort as she's still adjusting her nest, but I can see she's starting to get worn out.
This is my first time breeding rats and I guess I'm getting more nervous because I still don't really know what to expect (I'm a guinea pig breeder and this is super different then what I'm use too lol).
I guess what I could use is some reassurance that everything sounds normal so far and the first pup is always the hardest or advice on what to do if she doesn't have the first pup in a certain amount of time.

Thanks and I hope to hear from you soon!

-Stephanie

ANSWER: How are things going?  Has she had the pups yet?  

I once had a rat in labor come to me (I had no idea she was in labor) to beg for food. I gave her a yogi and she turned around and hobbled away and went and pulled out pup #1 as if it were no big deal.

Please let me know how she is doing as of this writing. I am sure by now something has happened....hopefully.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again

I just wanted to let you know I left her alone for about an hour or so and when I came back she had had 4 pups and is still going as I type lol. I don't know if the first pup was alive tho, she had cleaned it but it looked purple and lifeless, but I don't want to look until she's done. I'm happy to say the rest are pink and squeaky lol

Thanks again for your help!

ANSWER: How far apart is she having the pups? They should be steady and consistent at this point. How long has she been in labor? Is there alot of blood? Is she washing them off as she has them?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: She started going into labor at 8:40 this morning and I could see blood scattered about the cage but within an hour or so there wasn't as much and soon, just before her first pup (around 12:30ish), she didn't bleed much at all.
Her pups came in at a pretty steady rate after the first pup, I'd check on her ever 10-15 minutes and she'd be giving birth to the next one. At about 1:00 is when she had her last pup and is now settling in with her new litter. I'm not sure how many she's had, I know there's more then six. When do you think I should take them out and look them over/count them?

Answer

Let mom rest for a bit and feed them, but you will want to be sure she is lactating good so when you check the pups, look for the milk band on their tummies.  Usually they say to have two females lactating at the same time when breeding to be sure if one Doe has problem with her milk, the other rat can take over for her, but usually things work out and mom should be just fine feeding her pups.  Wait till she has fed them again and take the pups out 1 by 1, check them over, check for milk band and put them back.  She may be nervous so maybe you can take her out of the cage totally to walk around and stretch a bit, give her some baby food to lick or some soy milk to keep her busy while you check on the pups. Mom may even be a bit aggressive so becareful when you first approach her. Talk to her softly, tell her the little pink piglets are cute and go from there!   LOL!  Let me know how many there are!  My smallest Doe had 15 pups, one died a week later, and here she ways trying to nurse 14 pups at different times. I had to end up helping her and had to sort out who had milk band and who didnt. She was at first, very aggressive and bit me on my lips, something I did not expect from her but SHOULD have been more careful when approaching her.  She did appreciate my help though and stopped with her nervous mom aggression Before you know it the pups ears will unfold, their eyes open and they are going to scamper all over the place. Alot different than Cavy, wouldnt you say!?