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My favorite doe was due yesterday. Set a nest box in place two days ago which she had not touched nibble on the straw. She never pulled any fur either. I was starting to think that this was a false pregnancy. Went home last night to find that the doe had started to give birth. That was as good as the news got last night. There was only one kit which was laying cannibalized on the floor of the hutch. I gave the hutch and the surrounding area the once over to make sure there were no others, cleaned the remains from the hutch, and went to do chores. I came back an hour later to find a second kit, slightly mangled, which she had tossed out of the hutch. I warmed the little one up but it only survived an hour.
I checked on the doe every few hours but no further activity was seen. Went to check around 1 am and found four more kits, 1 cannibalized, two on the floor and one in the corner. I gathered up the survivors and warmed each of them with the indirect heat from a brooding lamp. I was hesitant to put them back with the doe so I covered them with an old washcloth and set the nest box in a small brooder which I recently cleaned and set the heat for 70-75F...warm enough to keep them from getting chilled but cool enough, hopefully, not to dehydrate them.
Upon checking the hutch this morning I found yet another kit on the floor. After I warmed the little one up, I set the nest box back in the hutch with the doe and watched for 15 minutes or so hoping she would nurse them. No such luck. I gave them some formula, for what it was worth, knowing that they would dehydrate and die if they didn't get any fluid. They didn't take much, maybe a quarter teaspoon each. I checked the doe but it doesn't appear that her milk has come in yet (trust me when I say I'm no expert her) so pulled some fur from her mammary area for the nest box, then placed the box back in the brooder.
She's a first timer and I can understand that she may be nervous but I don't trust her behavior enough to leave the kits in the hutch with her alone. I always breed two does at a time in case something like this happens but the doe's breeding buddy refused service was not breed until almost two weeks later.
I've never hand feed kits before and haven't heard of many who have had much success doing so. I plan to put the nest box back in the hutch this afternoon when I get home to see if the doe will nurse. The kits were responsive and appeared to be adequately hydrated when I left for work so finger's crossed that they are strong enough to endure this storm.
Nature's the best provider and I'll only step in when I absolutely have to. Covering lots of new ground here as I've never had to intercede on this level with the rabbits before. Any suggestions are sincerely appreciated.
I checked on the doe every few hours but no further activity was seen. Went to check around 1 am and found four more kits, 1 cannibalized, two on the floor and one in the corner. I gathered up the survivors and warmed each of them with the indirect heat from a brooding lamp. I was hesitant to put them back with the doe so I covered them with an old washcloth and set the nest box in a small brooder which I recently cleaned and set the heat for 70-75F...warm enough to keep them from getting chilled but cool enough, hopefully, not to dehydrate them.
Upon checking the hutch this morning I found yet another kit on the floor. After I warmed the little one up, I set the nest box back in the hutch with the doe and watched for 15 minutes or so hoping she would nurse them. No such luck. I gave them some formula, for what it was worth, knowing that they would dehydrate and die if they didn't get any fluid. They didn't take much, maybe a quarter teaspoon each. I checked the doe but it doesn't appear that her milk has come in yet (trust me when I say I'm no expert her) so pulled some fur from her mammary area for the nest box, then placed the box back in the brooder.
She's a first timer and I can understand that she may be nervous but I don't trust her behavior enough to leave the kits in the hutch with her alone. I always breed two does at a time in case something like this happens but the doe's breeding buddy refused service was not breed until almost two weeks later.
I've never hand feed kits before and haven't heard of many who have had much success doing so. I plan to put the nest box back in the hutch this afternoon when I get home to see if the doe will nurse. The kits were responsive and appeared to be adequately hydrated when I left for work so finger's crossed that they are strong enough to endure this storm.
Nature's the best provider and I'll only step in when I absolutely have to. Covering lots of new ground here as I've never had to intercede on this level with the rabbits before. Any suggestions are sincerely appreciated.