# Better luck with litters this way



## Omega101 (Oct 2, 2012)

I have noticed loss of litters and kits are fairly common. I experienced litter loss from over-heating, freezing, stomping, and other injuries putting stress on my small business and my does (I give them a two week break if they lose a litter) In my limited experience, I get a better outcome when I remove the litter/kits from mom during the day (keeping them safe in a "bunny" only breathable picnic basket or shoebox), give them back in the evening for feeding, and take them back out in the later morning.
Wondering if anyone else has had to do this.


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## Citylife (Oct 4, 2012)

I have done that in the past when the weather was unbearably hot or too cold.  I had one doe who would not deal with the babies being brought back to her.  She would not feed them.  I have never lost rabbits due to heat as I am a freak about checking on them.  Now I have a 13x25 shed I use as the rabbit barn and this summer they did much better.  The shed is insulated and on the 100+ days I put an a/c out there to keep them even more comfortable.  It stayed around 90 in there then.  I found out when they are outside in that heat, I had to give them an ice bottle every 1-2.  One day I went and checked on a grow out pen of 11.  All looked dead and on their sides.  (I had givein them ice bottles 1.5 hrs before that)  I ran to the houe and got a inside cage and lined it with ice.  Ran out there and tossed them all on the ice and put them in the garage.  Within 15 minutes they looked like nothing had happened except they were soaked.  That entire group made it through the hot spell.    wow!  that was close!
Hope this helps...  I am sure others will chime in.


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## Omega101 (Oct 9, 2012)

There were a few times when my does would ignore the babies after I gave them back, so I would get her comfy in my lap, turn her on her back and let the babies eat a couple at a time. I have tried milk replacers suggested for baby rabbits, but they hated the taste (I giggle at the "gross" faces they make).  I can't wait to buy property for my house. I will definitely build an awesome barn with temperature control, cement floor, auto watering systems etc. For now I have a twelve hole wooden hutch (cost $700 to build) propped on our tiny patio within the city limits.


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## lexibot (Nov 19, 2012)

I have never removed babies from mommies since my adulthood. And likely never will unless they are weaned. It sounds like you need to invest in better mothers.

And these all first time mommies? And from the same breeder? If you start a fresh, I would suggest not to keep a baby off the bad  mother - just in case.

I hope you are just in a bad period, it happens to us all  I used to have little babies escape from the cage and die... it was insane!!!


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## pennylove (Nov 25, 2012)

When I started breeding, I thought that I would do this, but in the end I haven't needed to. I've considered it with one litter and will consider it for a future breeding with a doe that ate her last litter, but I've had good luck for the most part. I do know that there are many breeders of show rabbits that raise their litters this way.

I have a unique problem with this, though. Since my rabbits are colony raised, a litter of, say, four-weeks might be sharing space with my nursing does at any given time. If this method of raising kits works because their mother is eager to relieve the pressure in her teats when you return her litter and therefore happily nurses them, what would I do in a situation where any of the four-week-old bunnies might help her out with her milk problem? I would have to separate/cage the doe or separate/cage any older litters. It sounds like a greater herd management workload than I want to take on without necessity. 

One of the reasons I've read that breeders try this method, though, is to increase the kits' socialization, so they're really friendly rabbits. That's a powerful motivator for me and one of the main reasons I seriously considered it at first.


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