My four week olds are getting two gruel meals each day, plus mom's milk. They are allowed to eat as much as they want at each gruel meal.
My question is though, can they eat too much? I am amazed at what they can pack away in a single meal. I have three pans for six pups. All told, for all pups, IN ONE MEAL they get three cups ground kibble, one cup goats milk Esbilac (dry) with enough water to hydrate to a wet cement consistency (after soaking for an hour) so that's about 4-6 cups of water.
Jokingly, I think they will explode! Pos are normal. Obviously, after each meal they sleep quite awhile.
I don't think they can eat too much, but you sure go through a lot of effort unnecessarily. I soak the puppy kibble in hot tap water for about 10 minutes. Then I add a bit of yoghurt (goats milk is fine too) and give it to them. Kibble is soft but whole. Much cleaner way to feed, and faster too. I can't imagine soaking for an hour!
Edited to add-I also feed 3 times a day. Maybe your pups are just too hungry, and that's why they gorge. Try feeding 3 times a day.
by 4 weeks, I was doing 4 meals and mom as snacks. I think that's why they are eating so much at their 2 meals, they are missing 2.
I too didn't make as much work with the kibble. I soaked them in a large tupperware either overnight/during the day in the fridge. I warmed it back up with hot water and goats milk and let them at it.
My routine for starting pups out is to pour very hot water over puppy kibble. I don't measure kibble at all at this point. I have been using my blender to puree the hot, soggy kibble which I do for the first week then we just let the kibble soak in hot water for say 5 minutes. I like to add plain yogurt to.
I feed mushy kibble at least 3 times a day with the momma nursing after they pups eat their kibble. When the pups are 3 weeks old, I let the mom nurse as much as she wants during the day and then one time around 11:00 pm. At 3 weeks, I set the pups up so the dam can't have access to her pups as she did before. AT this point, I don't want her eating the puppie's stools because now I am worming both dam and her puppies and rest of my dogs in the family. She gets to play with her puppies outside so the pups learn but once the pups are back in the house and in their area, the mom is not allowed to go in there other than to nurse after the pups eat kibble.
I also let my puppies nurse from their mom here and there until the pups are 6 to 7 weeks old. I've never had a problem with the mom's milk not drying up when the pups leave here at 8 weeks old. Every breeder has their own routine that works for them and their puppies.
I don't know if you can over feed your puppies till they explode but they will most likely explode loose stools if they eat too much as in gorge because you are not feeding them often during the day. Feed 4 week old puppies 3 meals a day and they should not gorge as much.
