# Doe overstuffed her mouth with fur 27h after kindling. Had to manually remove.



## Syrasha (May 24, 2022)

This morning's drama: 

3yo American Chinchilla Doe first litter situation
(Bred her 3 consecutive days with same buck, 3 falloffs.)
Day 30/31: 7am kindling, 4.5 babies, small litter.
24 hours later, looked in on her. All seemed normal. Said good morning, went off to feed myself.
3 hours later: I was summoned by a crash in her room, ..... no data on 'why the crash' but... her face looked _weird. _
Investigating, found that her cheeks & mouth were totally dry and absolutely _distended _w/freshly plucked fur, hard-packed & _tight. (?!??)_
She could not move her mouth or tongue. No presence of new fur piles anywhere in enclosure
Had to remove it (carefully! _great _way to get bit) manually, she allowed this, a small mercy. Out it came, (and came and came and came, like a clown's string of trick handkerchiefs) & used a piece of straw to lever out the last of it. 

After this, she spat out a marble sized wet ball of it, drank water, & allowed me to place her into the next box and feed the kits, who had not yet been fed.

~SHEESH, GIRL!~

I have to assume she swallowed _some_ fur, so I gave her pellets and greens to keep things moving. She ate it right away, & has been observed eating hay afterwards. WHEW.

After research, it sounds like she's either having a second litter (very unlikely) or just that she's awfully inexperienced, and followed the 'AM mothering instinct rush' by doing the wrong 'mothering-behavior' in confusion. "Is this what I'm supposed to do?? I still feel the urge though! I must need MORE! pluck pluck pluck"  ...That's my narrative, anyway =P

Jeepers. Just in case the issue is that she _believes _she has to build a new nest, I gave her another next box and put the extra fur in _there_. See girl? No need to do more. You're all set. 

Anyone else notice their bun looking quietly uncomfortable with distended cheeks packed unbelievably tight with fur, and not actively building a nest, or even working their mouths to get it out (potentially because: can't, too full) ? 

Seems super weird to me.  Hopefully she won't get stasis and orphan the little nuggets =[


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## Alaskan (May 26, 2022)

Who are the rabbit people?

@frustratedearthmother @Mini Horses ??


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## frustratedearthmother (May 26, 2022)

I'm really not, but @Baymule used to raise rabbits.


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## Mini Horses (May 26, 2022)

Nope....FEM and I do goats...sometimes pigs. 😁


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## Mini Horses (May 26, 2022)

@Baymule  and @Ridgetop for rabbits and sheep.


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## Syrasha (May 26, 2022)

HA, to follow up with more mom-of-the-year shennanigans: Today I woke up to unfed babies again, and also she covered them in 9 inches of hay, filling the nestbox with it.  (prior to this, she'd been nesting with fur only)
Cute, but I hope she doesn't make a habit of it. If she finally decides to feed them, they won't be able to find her under _that _much hay.  haha, I cleared some of it out, and she seems happy with it still. 
Hehe, what a wild ride ^_^  I'm sure her next pregnancy will be smoother.


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## Mini Horses (May 27, 2022)

Poor mom.  She seems confused but, trying!


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## Baymule (May 27, 2022)

You have an overachiever!    I never had a doe stuff her mouth full like that, but it sounds like you have a good handle on it.


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## rachels.haven (May 27, 2022)

As someone who grew up with parents who raised lots and lots of meat rabbits, you should know that sometimes rabbits' instincts are not properly developed and they do stupid things. Nature is trying to cull them. If this is a first litter you can help but the first is often a throw away litter (parents had a 3 strikes and dinner policy). If it continues she's dinner or a terminal pet. Keep her alive and healthy and if possible her kits too until she can have that chance. The hair thing makes it sound like she's not going to make it easy.


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## frustratedearthmother (May 27, 2022)

Have you checked her teeth?  Kinda makes me wonder if she got so much in there she couldn't spit out.  I only ask because I had a goat one time that would get his cud stuck in his mouth like that.  I'd have to pull it out and upon examination he had a couple of teeth that were growing sideways toward the inside of his mouth and hanging everything up.


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