Kit still kicking!

JohnCaper · #1 10/25/08, 08:10 AM

I've been keeping this kit indoors and bringing the doe in for the feeding twice a day. Earlier this week the doe/kit went to Halifax for a 5 hour car ride each way, just so I could keep this routine. Last week there were 2 alive but I decided to put them back out, but it was too soon. They got peed on and one died. The remaining one is 2 weeks old now, eyes open, ears up, wants to explore the world instead of sleep. Today it even binkied. I'm thinking of taking it out gradually, but at what point can it stay out of its box?

MaggieJ · #2 10/25/08, 10:45 AM

Well, since "Binkie" is a lonely only, s/he's going to need a cozy place for shelter for awhile yet. It doesn't have to be a nest box. I think it would be better to put the popple in something larger and more hygenic with just a small bin or box of hay for sleeping. If you have an extra cage, even a small one, that would work. Or maybe a large plastic tote, but you'll need shavings, hay or straw if you use a solid-bottomed container.

For a sleep box/playhouse, I like to use a closed cardboard box with hay inside, with just a kit-sized hole cut in one side and maybe a tiny "window" elsewhere. Buns always have a blast remodelling a carton and it provides shelter and a feeling of safety while they grow. When it gets gross, you can burn or compost it and by then they usually don't need it anyway.

How is momma's attitude these days? It seems a pity you can't just put the popple back in with her, but it doesn't sound, from what you've posted about her, that she can be trusted.

By the way, congrats on getting this one through those trying first two weeks!

JohnCaper · #3 10/25/08, 07:47 PM

... I'm not sure whether to trust her yet or not - I'm not even sure it was her that peed on the kits. She settles in each day to feed and clean the kit.
I took it out today to meet the other rabbits today for a couple of minutes, and figure I'll take him out, in the box, for an hour or so each day, and gradually work up.

MaggieJ · #4 10/25/08, 08:59 PM

Sounds like a good approach. If you take him with you when you're doing chores, there won't be much opportunity for things to go wrong... and the older he gets, the safer he will be.

JohnCaper · #5 11/10/08, 10:29 PM

I went out tonight and found the kit dead. No sign of what happened to him/her. It had been out for about a week and was doing so well and seemed to love being with the bigger rabbits, so it was a bit of a surprise.
On top of that the doe that we thought night be over had 3 large kits, again all dead.
Hopefully this works itself out soon.

MaggieJ · #6 11/10/08, 10:50 PM

Aw, John, after all your work and special care... That really is too bad. Sometimes things happen with rabbits and there is not much you can do to figure out what went wrong. Watch for patterns, just in case, but this sounds like just plain bad luck... and we all have that at one time or another.