# Kindling questions



## woodleighcreek (Feb 14, 2011)

Ok, my jersey wooly doe is due on the 21 and I have some questions:

1. This will be her first litter, will she know what to do?
2. When should I put the nesting box in, some people told me day 29, some told me day 21, and some told me day 25. Which is right?
3. What do I put in the nesting box? I have some aspen bedding and rabbit fluff.
4. What normally goes wrong?
5. What do I do if this happens?
6. What do I do to prevent this from happening?

Sorry I have so many questions, I just want everything to go well.


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## terri9630 (Feb 14, 2011)

chichi56788 said:
			
		

> Ok, my jersey wooly doe is due on the 21 and I have some questions:
> 
> 1. This will be her first litter, will she know what to do?
> 2. When should I put the nesting box in, some people told me day 29, some told me day 21, and some told me day 25. Which is right?
> ...


1. Her instincts should tell her what to do.
2. I add the box a week before the due date.  I think it's personal preference.
3. I use pine shavings and she mixes hair in with them.
4, 5 and 6.  Sometimes the kits will be born outside the box.  Just put them in it.  I'm sure there is more but I
                    haven't had any problems yet.  She will only nurse a couple of times a day and will not stay with 
                    the kits.  Don't panic and think she isn't taking care of them, if their bellys are fat they are being 
                    fed.


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## woodleighcreek (Feb 14, 2011)

Ok, I think I am going to put the box in with her. Also, what do I do if she has a dead litter? I heard this happens with new moms. What are the chances?


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## terri9630 (Feb 14, 2011)

chichi56788 said:
			
		

> Ok, I think I am going to put the box in with her. Also, what do I do if she has a dead litter? I heard this happens with new moms. What are the chances?


If their dead take them out.  I don't know how common this is, I haven't had it happen.  I had one doe clean the kit and mistakenly eat part of an ear.  Other than that she is a wonderful mother and hasn't lot a kit.


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## woodleighcreek (Feb 14, 2011)

I put the nest box in and she is just siting in it. Is that a good thing?


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## therealsilkiechick (Feb 14, 2011)

1. normally they do but i have a couple who have had them on the wire and built to shallow a nest but pulled hair. i've also had a doe not pull hair and not build a nest just left them on the floor in a pile and abandoned them.

2. about a week before.

3. i use pine shaveings with hay on top if they don't pull enough hair i use fur from my angora to add to it.

4 &5. if it is a good doe nothing. should make sure there is a baby guard around the bottom of the cage a few inches high so they can't excape the pen once they got eyes open and start exploreing. if they have on the wire and r still warm put them in the nest and cover with fur. if cold and not moveing do not assume dead take inside and warm them usually they r still alive. once warm can be put back in the nest, keep an eye on mom make sure she is feeding them. if abandoned and u have another doe with babies born 1-2 days apart u can foster under the other mom if first doe abandond them. check every day for possible dead babies and remove if there is. i rub the fur on my hands so i smell like them so not so noticeable to mom i take them out to check on them.

6. not all does r born w the instinct. really can't do much except to help by makeing sure no dead, they r warm and r in nest. i have 3 does that lost their first litters and r pregnant now w second  litters due next week sometime. i'm crossing my fingers they all make it this time. my rule is if they can't get it right by 3 times then the doe is pulled from my breedings and sold as a pet or given away and replaced w a new doe. they need time to try to be a mom but if after 3 times they haven't learned what kits are and how to care for them they probably won't never learn and shouldn't be bred.

remove the dead ones imediately and u can rebreed right away but i always wait about 2 weeks to give her a break but different breeders do that time span different. i had a breeder once tell me all rabbits loose their first litters and that is totally false. out of all the does i've ever had only maybe 5 have lost the first litters so i don't think it happens alot just once in awhile depending on the doe.


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## terri9630 (Feb 14, 2011)

chichi56788 said:
			
		

> I put the nest box in and she is just siting in it. Is that a good thing?


She is checking it out.  I'd leave her alone so she will think its "safe".  I use a covered cat box and even with no kits the does will hide in them.  They use them for their little "hidie hole" when they are upset or don't want to be messed with.


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## DianeS (Feb 14, 2011)

chichi56788 said:
			
		

> Ok, I think I am going to put the box in with her. Also, what do I do if she has a dead litter? I heard this happens with new moms. What are the chances?


My first-time mom gave birth last night, and didn't use her nest. The kits were born on the wire floor of the hutch, and all died from the cold.  There really wasn't anything I could have done to prevent that. She had straw on the floor of the hutch, but had moved it all into a pile on one side. Sometimes things just happen.  If it happens to yours, don't take it personally. Unless you sit there 24/7 until she kindles then there could be problems that you're just not going to see in time to help with. If you happen to be with her when she kindles, you can watch for potential problems (like having the kits on the wire instead of the box), but it takes them such a short time to go from nothing to a full litter already born that its hard to catch.

If it happens to your doe, then rebreed her. Within a couple of days if possible. She will learn from the first time and is likely to do better the second time. 

I haven't been doing this long enough to know *real* answers to your other questions, but here's what I do. 

I heard conflicting advice on when to put the nest box in, too. I put mine in on the earliest day 28 (I usually breed over several days). I figure that gives them enough time to get used to it being there, but isn't so early that they don't realize what it's for. 

I use the same straw in the nest boxes that the rabbits get for their hutches in cold weather. 

Hope that helps!


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## woodleighcreek (Feb 14, 2011)

I have my doe in a cage with a plastic bottom (no wire), Will this reduce the chance of deaths? Also, how do I warm up babies?


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## DianeS (Feb 14, 2011)

chichi56788 said:
			
		

> I have my doe in a cage with a plastic bottom (no wire), Will this reduce the chance of deaths? Also, how do I warm up babies?


It depends on how chilly the bottom of the cage is, that's all. If the plastic is cool to the touch then it will cool off the babies, too. Kits need to stay WARM. 

I have heard that your own body heat is best to warm up kits that are too cool. (If the kit feels cool to the touch, it's too cold. Kits that are healthy feel like little hot water bottles.) If you're female, the little bit of wiggle room that's inside your bra is great! LOL! 

But I've also heard of warm water (careful around nose and mouth, and be sure to dry him once warm), the kit wrapped in a dry washcloth and warmed with a hair dryer, kits placed on heating pads, a nest made from a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel, etc. Whatever you've got! If you use common sense anything warm is better than a cold kit.


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## woodleighcreek (Feb 14, 2011)

well they are in the garage, and the cage is full of bedding. I will be home all day, is it ok if I sit in the garage with her? Or will it freak her out?


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## Lorelai (Feb 15, 2011)

I've found it's best just to leave them be. We have a doe who fakes us out... she won't pull hair until the last minute, and when she's about to kindle her ears start twitching like crazy! We just leave her alone. She has big litters of around a dozen (she's a New Zealand/Flemish cross, heavier on the NZ), so it's normal to lose one or two to natural causes. And animals can sense when people are nervous or anxious, so I'd really just recommend leaving her alone for a while. You can pop in now and again to check on her, but don't overdo it. Chances are she'll know what to do. Sometimes nature just has to take its course.


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## CrimsonRose (Feb 15, 2011)

yep it's best to just leave them be.... I raised rabbits as a kid on our farm... and we had pet bunnies for years after that... Well about 2 years ago I decided to start breeding them again... and was excited.... my doe never pulled fur never did anything with her box... so I was afraid she would have them on the wire since she didn't take an interest in making a nest... So the day she was supposed to have them I went out every 15 mins to check on her... I stayed up till 3am going out and checking... I knew she was close to having them... she wasn't real active and she didn't eat... Well finally I couldn't stay up any longer and I went to bed... I woke up about 2 hours later and she had had them... pulled fur and made a nice nest... LOL  She must have waited till I left her alone...


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## woodleighcreek (Feb 15, 2011)

Will my doe accidentally sit on them? The nesting box is now her new favourite pace to hang out and Im afraid she will decide to sit in the box with them in it.


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## therealsilkiechick (Feb 15, 2011)

lol, ur gonna drive urself crazy before she even has em. step away from the nest box,lol. have faith in ur doe till she proves ya wrong(or shows ya she can't do it) or she will never learn to do it and become a good mommy like she should be.  she has to sit in there sometime or she will not learn what it is for or she wouldn't be able to feed them. none of my does use nest boxes and i hardly ever loose kits. long as that nest is good enough it will protect them.


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## woodleighcreek (Feb 15, 2011)

therealsilkiechick said:
			
		

> lol, ur gonna drive urself crazy before she even has em. step away from the nest box,lol.


Your right, I think I already have driven myself crazy.  I am just worried. It is not like hatching chickens, lol, I guess im gonna just have to let the doe do her stuff.


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## therealsilkiechick (Feb 15, 2011)

lol, ur right it's not cuz then that's when it's my turn to worry.  i have a sportsman and it doesn't have a window so with no view for hatching that makes me a nervous worrier here specially with a few hundred eggs at a time in there when i do them.  

i got like 10 or 11 does pregnant due at different times so i'm right here with ya. only bad part is 5 i bred in one day and lost the paper i wrote date on. i don't know when they r due but i can feel actual babies in the e-lop bellies so i know they shouldn't be longer than a week now. just in 2 days i can feel the babies way more there is a developement difference. i'm dieing to see all the babies some of these r not first time moms but first litters for them to have for me and 3 lost their first litters from inexperiance and r prego now on second litters and at least one is a new mom. i'm worried a little to but whatever happens happens for a reason....


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