# Should I try to foster the babies?



## UnlabeledMama (Nov 2, 2013)

We had one experienced doe kindle 2 kits on 10/16/13 and a first time mom kindle 7 kits on 10/17/13. 

The first time mom lost one on our first frost night so we are down to six for her.  They all look good, but there is a bit of disparity in sizes.  Two are are smaller then the others.  They still have little round bellies so they are eating, I just think the others are getting the majority of the milk. 

My children have been handling the 2 kits of the experienced doe because she is very calm and doesn't mind them in the cage.  We also have someone interested in buying one as a pet.  Unfortunately, (and yes, it is being dealt with) my son was too rough with one yesterday and I found it dead this morning. 

That only leaves one in her litter.  Do you think it is too late to foster one or two of the first time mom's with her?  If it would be fine should I foster the two biggest or the two smallest?  The remaining kit is a cute, fat little thing!  The biggest would be closer to it's size, but maybe the smallest need better attention?  Thank you so much for any help!


----------



## VickieB (Nov 2, 2013)

I've only had rabbits for 7 months, so this is an uneducated guess... What I would do is first take the kit that is closest to the size of the one she has lost and put that in. (Put vanilla extract on the mama's nose so she won't pick up on the different scent of the baby.) But, I would probably put in 2 of the others, giving the experienced mom 3 and the first time mama four. My rabbits have averaged 10 bunnies a litter. One of my does this fall had a litter of 4 (first litter after the summer break) and these buns are HUGE compared to the other litters. I think the smaller the litter, the larger the buns.


----------



## Bunnylady (Nov 2, 2013)

First time mothers usually don't produce quite as much milk as they will with subsequent litters, at least at first.

At 2 1/2 weeks old, there might be a little trouble getting a doe to take these kits on. In my experience, kits that are still in the nestbox are adopted more readily than those that are actively wandering around in the cage. I have never used vanilla or anything else on a doe's nose or on the kits. I usually slip the kits into the box when the doe isn't there; by the time she does get in the box, all of the kits smell the same. There have also been times when I have slipped nearly newborns in with a doe as she was nursing, and she never noticed, too. 

It isn't unusual for us to have kits from different litters together for some reason, with the result that they may smell like other rabbits when they get put back with their mothers. This has caused problems on occasion, though it's really pretty rare. Most of my does are pretty tolerant of my messing about with their kits.

VickieB is right; kits from numerically small litters grow faster than those from larger litters. Apparently, a doe produces about the same amount of milk regardless of litter size. I remember reading about a study that showed that the litter as a whole gained weight at about the same rate, regardless of the number of kits. The optimum number seems to be about 6 - 8 kits in a litter. It is often hard for just a couple of kits to keep each other warm enough, so small litters are more likely to be lost due to cold. Kits that grow really fast can wind up with deformed bones due to a too rapid rate of growth.

If these litters were mine, I might have put the whole lot on the experienced doe and rebred the new mom. On the other hand, not getting to raise a litter doesn't teach the doe how to do it, so there's no guarantee she'd be better the next time (not that she's done anything wrong this time - 6 live young at 2 1/2 weeks is good work!


----------



## UnlabeledMama (Nov 3, 2013)

It was supposed to be a chilly night so I dabbed some vanilla on my experienced mom's nose (which she didn't like!) and took the two largest of the new mom's litter and put them with the single kit.  They snuggled right up and the mom checked them and sniffed them but seemed fine.  Everyone looks good this morning.  Is there anything I need to look out for?


----------



## Bunnylady (Nov 4, 2013)

If they made it through the night and look fed and healthy in the morning, I'd say you are good to go.


----------



## UnlabeledMama (Nov 4, 2013)

Great!  Thank you!


----------



## VickieB (Nov 4, 2013)




----------



## Citylife (Nov 4, 2013)

I would give the single kit to the new mom and rebreed her.
If she is raising them and feeding them, she can handle it.


----------



## Andrei (Nov 21, 2013)

Before we handled or moved kits we grabbed some mint leaves and rubbed on our hands and then toss them in the litter boxes to mask human smell.


----------



## UnlabeledMama (Nov 22, 2013)

> Before we handled or moved kits we grabbed some mint leaves and rubbed on our hands and then toss them in the litter boxes to mask human smell.



We have our rabbits quite used to our smell!  We pet and handle them all every day.  I was more worried about the other mother rabbit smell.


----------



## Andrei (Nov 22, 2013)

They live in a "smell world" more then we do.
Our inputs are mostly visual but rabbits like many other animal rely on smell and once we understand that we can temporarily "blind" them to do things that are against their nature.


----------

