# Dead babies



## Gary (Feb 13, 2019)

6 babies born yesterday. I came home tonight from work and checked on them. It seems like all but 2 are dead. Is this normal? This is her first batch. Why isn't she caring for them? She seemed interested in them when i was checking on them but whats going on? They were clumped together in the nesting box but most are cold and stiff. The others look like they are fading


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 13, 2019)

Gary said:


> 6 babies born yesterday. I came home tonight from work and checked on them. It seems like all but 2 are dead. Is this normal? This is her first batch. Why isn't she caring for them? She seemed interested in them when i was checking on them but whats going on? They were clumped together in the nesting box but most are cold and stiff. The others look like they are fading



Are they warm enough, protected from drafts ?  How old is the doe ?


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## Gary (Feb 13, 2019)

They are inside a nesting box inside a coop. Protected from drafts but it was a little chilly today. The doe i was told was like 5 or 8 months old but im not quite sure 100 percent. They look skinny like she hasn't fed them. I was hoping she would take care of them. Im not around during the day to really do anything if there was something i could do. Should i put in a heat lamp next time?


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## Gary (Feb 13, 2019)

Im pretty depressed about it right now. I was so excited and then they finally came yesterday


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 13, 2019)

Gary said:


> Im pretty depressed about it right now. I was so excited and then they finally came yesterday



Gary, Im sorry,  some rabbits mother better than others, if this is her first  time, try again in a few weeks..i have one that was just about ready for the stew pot, and today she finally had 8 kits....you never know how they will react till you try...then you keep the best and eat the rest...
Is she your only doe ?


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## Gary (Feb 13, 2019)

No i have two. The second one i just got last week becuase the guy accidentally gave me two bucks and one doe. I had the second one in the bucks cage for a day or so so she should give birth in 3 weeks or so. How long till i should breed the 1st doe again and will she get better at this?


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 13, 2019)

Gary said:


> No i have two. The second one i just got last week becuase the guy accidentally gave me two bucks and one doe. I had the second one in the bucks cage for a day or so so she should give birth in 3 weeks or so. How long till i should breed the 1st doe again and will she get better at this?


I would wait two to three weeks, feed her well ,then rebreed...if she doesn't  feed the next time....she would be in my freezer, dog food or sold as a pet....
If your goal is to raise and breed, you need to keep only your best breeders.....
And you did not  cause this to happen...so no guilt, ...


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## Gary (Feb 13, 2019)

Thanks. Im feeling pretty guilty and sad but you did help to lift my spirits. Thanks


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 13, 2019)

Gary said:


> Thanks. Im feeling pretty guilty and sad but you did help to lift my spirits. Thanks



Gary...sad and disappointed  for sure....guilt, no way dude....she failed you, you did not  fail her....try again maby next time, if not....say good bye.  now cheer up.....to have and care for your animals, you have to accept death, it's  part of the cycle of life


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## Gary (Feb 13, 2019)

Will she go thru any depression when i remove all her baboes in the morning?


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 13, 2019)

Gary said:


> Will she go thru any depression when i remove all her baboes in the morning?


Probably not, she did not  keep them alive.....she did not  mother them ......
You feel worse than she does ! ....


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 13, 2019)

Try not to put your human feelings onto the animal....have compassion,  but she runs on instincts. ...humans run on thoughts and emotions....two diffrent critters


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## Bunnylady (Feb 14, 2019)

(The site and I are having issues again this morning; let's see if this posts)

She may have had the first 3 on the wire, but the remaining 3 were put in the nest box, she pulled fur - sounds like a rabbit's version of "mothering" to me. Since a first-time doe's milk supply is very limited for the first couple of days, the babies wouldn't look fat until about day 3, so it's often hard to tell whether or not she nursed them. All in all, I think you may be giving this gal a bum rap.

How cold is "a bit chilly?" I have lost babies to cold when the temperature was in the 40's. Baby rabbits are meant to be born from early spring to early autumn, at the bottom of a burrow where they have lots of soil insulating them from extremes of temperature. The mother gathers plant material and pulls fur, but the temperature underground only goes so low.

Does don't usually snuggle the babies to keep them warm; does that sit in their nest boxes often pee there, so it's not really a thing you want them to do. We usually want a nest box that is small enough, there is room for the litter and a good insulating layer of hay, but not a whole lot more so the doe won't feel like sticking around and making problems. She hops in, licks at the kits a little, stands there while the kits crawl under her and nurse for a few minutes, then leaves. The babies then crawl back together under the fur and hay, and wait for the doe's next visit 12 to 24 hours later. Pretty bare-bones when it comes to care, but that's what works for rabbits.

Heat lamps can be problematic. First, there's the cord; rabbits tend to chew on things like that, so you have to secure it in a way that makes sure the rabbit can't reach it. Then there's the heat itself. Baby rabbits are very mobile, what you want them to do is seek each other for warmth. If they are too warm in the nest box, they spread out, and you may get babies chilling and dying in the corners as a result.

When I got to the point that I felt like I couldn't stand to see one more dead litter, I started taking the litters, nest box and all, and stashing them in my hall closet when the weather is below 50°. I take the boxes out to the does a couple of times per day, and do feeding, etc chores while the does nurse. When they are done, the boxes go back in the house. Obviously, this is nowhere near natural for the does, so some have had to be taught what to do (if a doe doesn't get in the box within a few minutes of me putting it in her cage, I put the box in a carrier that is only slightly larger than the box, put the doe in, and close the lid of the carrier. The babies will find the doe, nurse, and retreat to the nest end of the box when they are done. Most of my does have learned what to do with only a couple of these sessions, and hop right in when I put the box in the cage).

Whether that is even feasible for you, only you know. I know some folks manage to raise litters outdoors even with the temperature well below freezing, but I have learned the hard way that I can't, so I learned this other way.

Rabbit does don't do "heat" cycles like some animals, but they do experience hormonal peaks and valleys that make them more fertile/receptive at some times, and not others. One of the highest hormonal peaks a rabbit will ever have is right after she kindles. A doe that is bred right after giving birth will most likely conceive the largest litter she is capable of producing. The "in utero" phase of baby raising is not as hard on a doe as the nursing is, so if I have a doe that has lost a litter at or near birth, I give her a day or two to recover, then rebreed. Most does are eager breeders at that time.

If this was my doe, I'd rebreed her now, and mark her due date on my calendar. A few days before she was due, I'd give her a nest box stuffed with hay. Most likely, since she kindled some in the box, she will put her next litter there, too. If I didn't think there was enough hay in the box after the litter is born, I'd remove them and whatever fur I could salvage, pack the box myself, leaving barely a doe-sized space in the middle, make a hollow at the back, and put the babies and the fur back in. Since the doe's milk supply isn't usually an issue with subsequent litters, the babies probably will have fat tummies from the get-go.

I've been doing this for over 30 years, and dead babies still depress me, too (I'd give you a hug, but I can't get the emojis to come up). Sorry you lost this litter; hope you have better luck with the next ones!


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