# Two kits born this morning



## AClark (Aug 5, 2016)

I'm new here, but I've been reading for awhile. It's my does first litter, and not only did she only have 2, but she didn't make any sort of a nest. I gave her a nest box days ago, and hay to situate, but she never pulled any fur or made any sort of nest.
The kits are in my house, which stays around 70 - it's too hot for them to go outside at over 100. I was up at 4 this morning and checked on her, and no babies, and when I got up at 7, these two had been born on the wire and managed to get down in the pan with a bunch of shavings. They weren't chilled, actually very warm to the touch, so I'm thankful the pan was full of shavings. They're pretty wiggly and seem healthy, and it looks like she's feeding them at least now that I stuck them in the nest box. 
I'm pretty surprised that there are only 2, I don't feel anymore retained. These are meat rabbits (Californian/ NZ crosses)  so I definitely expected more than this. 

So, back story aside, I don't want these little critters to get too cold. I tried seeing if any of her fur was loose enough to give them some, but it's not, and she wasn't happy with the whole ordeal. I've been thinking of adding some shredded paper, any other ideas? I raised Holland Lops for 4H/FFA but that's been quite awhile, so this is the first litter I've had in about 10 years.


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## Hens and Roos (Aug 5, 2016)

congrats on the kits.  How about some dryer lint or cotton balls pulled apart to make a thin layer to cover them with.  Maybe she will pull some fur to cover them with!


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## AClark (Aug 5, 2016)

Ha! Brilliant! We are a family of 6, soon to be 7, so dryer lint I definitely have a mass supply of. I hadn't even considered that. Thank you!


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## Hens and Roos (Aug 5, 2016)

We had to use dryer lint once when a doe didn't pull and within a day or so, she pulled fur and used that, so maybe your doe might do the same.


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## AClark (Aug 5, 2016)

Also, any ideas on what color mama is? She has split brown and blue eyes, my guess was fawn? Actually "breed" unknown. Dad is a black Californian cross.


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## Hens and Roos (Aug 5, 2016)

They are cute!  Not sure maybe your doe is a dutch mix 

@Bunnylady @promiseacres and others might have a better idea


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## Latestarter (Aug 5, 2016)

Congrats on the new kits! And welcome to BYH! Glad you finally joined in  Hope you'll stick around and make yourself at home!


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## AClark (Aug 5, 2016)

I thought Dutch mix originally (Craigslist buy, lol) but I was reading up on color genetics and that pattern with the weird split colored eyes is some kind of color thing, like a mutation, I don't remember exactly. She's a bit big for a dutch at 6 lbs. Breed doesn't matter to me considering the purpose, and if she was a lop I'd have said a broken fawn, but the eye color is totally weird.

I will probably stick around. We are about to do a PCS move and plan on buying a place out of town, so I have big goals of chickens and goats. I grew up on a horse ranch and around cattle, but the smaller livestock is pretty new to me.


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## Bunnylady (Aug 5, 2016)

Welcome to BYH!

Your doe is a red or orange. She is also what we call Vienna Marked. There is a gene, called the Vienna gene, that results in the color known as Blue-eyed White (BEW). It's a rather strange gene; it takes two copies (one from the father, one from the mother) to get a white rabbit with blue eyes. One copy of Vienna usually gives you a Vienna Marked rabbit, which may just have a little bit of white on the face and/or feet, but it can look surprisingly like the markings of a Dutch rabbit, too. The giveaway that your doe has the Vienna gene is those baby blues - Vienna Marked (VM) may have  blue eyes, or partial blues or one blue, one brown. or normal brown eyes, but there is no other gene that can create eyes that are that shade of blue. There aren't a lot of commercial-type rabbits that come in BEW, though there are quite a number of "pet" breeds that do . . . . For some reason, Lionhead breeders seen particularly enamored of BEW; almost makes me wonder if this doe might have some Lionhead in her (though it could have come from a larger breed like the Beveren or Vienna, too)


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## AClark (Aug 5, 2016)

I remember reading that but couldn't remember what it was called, thank you. My best educated guess is that she was an "Easter" bunny that someone got tired of. They sold her with her cage and a big bag of pellets for what the cage would have cost to purchase. But, she was good sized at 6 lbs so I figured for the purpose I wanted, a good choice (esp with a 30x30 cage to go with!). That and she was already really friendly. 
I'm pretty sure both the babies are does (I'll confirm when they are bigger but right now, they both look female from the sexing guide on babies), so they'll be spared for breeding stock (at least if they make it that far and momma takes care of them) instead of the freezer. If the litter had been bigger it would be different, but with only two it seems a waste to be bothered if they're both female.


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## AClark (Aug 6, 2016)

Well, we had some sad news last night. She ended up having 3 more between 11 PM and 5 AM but they were all stillborn. My best guess is that since her labor had stopped for over 12 hours, they just didn't make it - none were particularly larger or anything, so she must have just stalled. She also pulled some fur but really didn't know what to do with it.
However, silver lining, the original 2 are alive and perky this morning with full bellies.


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## Bunnylady (Aug 6, 2016)

I had a feeling .....
But, sounds like she's getting her act together - hopefully this whole thing is just a hiccup, not a pattern.


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## AClark (Aug 6, 2016)

I couldn't feel any after the first two, but after the first stillborn I felt the others. I got up every hour to check since she had them all on the wire just in case there were survivors and so they wouldn't get cold. It's her first time so I'm not holding it against her, I'm just happy the two survivors look fed and were cuddly and warm this morning.


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## AClark (Aug 7, 2016)

Update: Lost the original 2 this morning, looks like they got too cold with just 2 of them, and they had separated. One was alive at 5 this morning and I tried warming it up (heating pad on low and a towel) but it passed anyway. We're going to give momma another chance. Hopefully next time she makes a nest for them and actually has them in the box. 
I'm debating putting her in our garage for the next litter, it should be cooler than 100+ by then so not as miserable, but not as chilly as the house. I had her in our laundry room with the vent blocked off so it was warmer than the 70 in the rest of the house, but obviously still too chilly for an inadequate nest/not enough littermates to retain body heat.


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 7, 2016)

Ahhhh, so sorry!


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## Latestarter (Aug 8, 2016)

Better luck next time. Tough when things don't go right.


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## AClark (Aug 8, 2016)

It is, but I kind of expected to lose some, if not all. Having reasonable expectations helps. It's always sad to lose babies, but animals that have litters have a large number of babies for a reason. I've noticed over the years that animals that have litters don't seem to mourn the loss of a baby or two, or even the entire litter, whereas a mare that loses her foal definitely mourns it.


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## Genipher (Aug 12, 2016)

Awwww! They're so cute! 
I want bunny babies but it looks like we won't have any until the end of this year...maybe the beginning of next.


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