Warm enough???

[ONThorsegirl]

Hi Everyone.

So I have a question. What is the coldest kits can be and be healthy enough to not have supplemented heat source?? like a heat lamp.

It has been really cold here in Ontario lately and I should be having 2 does kidling on Friday if the bucks got them. It was an accident but I was doing some feeling and they could possbily be bred. Just wait and see I guess.

I have one doe in the barn with 5 kits, and she has a heat lamp. I had lost one 2 days ago, it got out of the nest box and I guess didn't know how to get back in and froze along side the box. 3 week old kits. I don't have enough or don't want to put that many heat lamps up so I brought my other 2 does to my garden shed that has hydro and plugged in my space heater, I have done this before with GP babies and when I kept my other creature in there before selling out of most of the pet stock.

I have the heater runing and I figured 10 Degrees Celsius was warm enough am I right?? Its not hot but comfortable and a heck of a lot warmer than -25 earlier this week. Is +10 warm enough for kits being born???

Melissa

[Bernadette]

Well, Melissa, I'm hoping the cold is done with now. I had kits born on Monday and Tuesday. I kept the nest boxes in the house, taking the boxes to the does at 6am and 6pm to feed. I had not ever done this before and felt very uncomfortable doing it. However, it sure didn't take the does long to learn to cooperate. I left the boxes with the does on Friday morning, and when the temperature was only going to -15 or so last night I left them there. The kits are showing colour and getting a bit of fur. I'll continue to watch the weather forecasts but I don't think it's supposed to get cold again until next Saturday night. I might just bring the nest boxes to the house again, probably putting the entire nest box inside a larger cardboard box in case they can get out by then.

I will be so glad to see spring this year!!!

[Jennifer L.]

I had 10 litters born during this last Northeast cold snap, where the temps in the barn were 0ºF or some below. All the kits were born in wooden nest boxes with holes in the front the doe enters from, so there's no open top. All the does pulled fur and all of the kits survived without any problems. Three litters were on the wire and of those, two were frozen, and I happened to be in the barn when the last doe was kindling and fostered them immediately.

(Edit: actually I had 13 litters born)

Now, all the litters were 8-10 kits. I've found if you have small litters in that situation you'll have losses, as their won't be enough kits to make up the heat necessary to keep the nest warm. I'm guessing at those temps, with good fur, you'd better have at least 6 kits to make the heat. I'm not sure the problem is they don't make the heat, or they don't "mix" the fur enough to get it to that total fluff stage that is needed for insulation. In any case, smaller litters won't do as well.


That's what I've seen here, anyway. Hope that helps.

Jennifer

[MaggieJ]

Originally Posted by Jennifer L.

I had 10 litters born during this last Northeast cold snap, where the temps in the barn were 0ºF or some below. All the kits were born in wooden nest boxes with holes in the front the doe enters from, so there's no open top...

Jennifer

Good point, Jennifer, about the style of nest box for cold weather. I'm wondering, though, about kits crawling out if the nest box has a front entrance hole. Could you give us more detail about the size and placement of the entrance hole your does use? Obviously you have had great success with your design!

Thanks!
Maggie

[Jennifer L.]

Hi, Maggie, it's not my design, it's actually for mink. I got my whole set up from someone who had had mink and this was the design they used. The nest boxes hang on the front of the cage with an opening in the wire, so the does hop from the floor of the cage over the hole cut into the cage wire and into the box. Think of a wood duck nest for the main shape of the nest. It's about 10" x 12" x 14" deep, maybe. I've never measured them for sure. The bottom of the entrance hole is maybe five inches from the bottom of the nest, so most of the time the kits stay in there until they are old enough to make it out on their own. I've lost a few that got out too early, but not enough for it to be a concern. Say every six or eight litters one kit gets out on the wire too early, at ten days or so. The top of the box is slanted back and is hinged so you can look down inside. They work pretty well for rabbits, even my Giant Chinchillas were able to kindle inside them.

Jennifer