doe kindled... only 2 kits. is that normal?

[EmilyClick28]

so I bred my mini lop doe last month. she's a first-time mother so i was prepared for the worst. Luckily, on in the middle of the night on day 32 she kindled perfectly in the nestbox and pulled a boatload of hair. I checked it this morning and was surprised to see there are only 2 kits! im thrilled to have any babies, and she cleaned the box up nicely and ate the placenta, and the babies are both warm and healthy, but i thought mini lops usually have at least 3.... is birthing only 2 kits normal?

 

[samssimonsays]

It is not uncommon for smaller first litters. Any rabbit can have 1 and up in kit counts. COngrats on the babies!

I had a french lop give me 1 kit her second litter. Sometimes if they are a bit older when bred for the first time they can give smaller litters as well. Sometimes it is just the rabbit. I had several that gave me three every time where as others have given me 12-15 each time.

 

[EmilyClick28]

wow really? huh yeah this doe is almost a year old, so a bit on the older side. I'm super happy to just have any babies, either way! this is my first successful breeding. do you maybe have any tips for keeping them warm? i heard with less kits they can get cold easier. since its been going below freezing at night where i live, i moved the doe to my bedroom to kindle about a week ago. shes litter trained so shes just been living in my bedroom. its fairly warm in here so i was hoping that would help keep the kits warm. and she pulled a boatload of fur, and the kits SEEM fairly warm, i just want to make sure they stay healthy. this doe seems to be a natural supermom! on her first ever litter shes been doing really great and everything, and shes very protective of the litter. shes just been sitting beside the nest box, like shes guarding it all day, i had to get her out to check the babies. but yeah do u have any tips on keeping a small litter warm? is there anything more i could be doing?

 

[SandDherds]

If it's pretty warm in your room and there is plenty of fur in the nest box and the kits feel warm to the touch you should be fine. I've never had a problem with my girls kindling in -5 everyone survived aslong as there was plenty of fur and straw/fur in the nest. Congrats on the kits! I'm currently waiting for my first English lop litter and when I palpated 2 weeks ago I was able to feel at least 6, I should have kits here anyday now!

 

[samssimonsays]

I wouldn't worry unless they start to fail. If they are inside the house and there is fur, she's doing a great job!

 

[LukeMeister]

Congrats on the kits!
I had a Dutch doe birth two babies, then I palpated her and it turned out she had five more babies still in the womb!
She could have more kits in the womb but it's been a while so maybe not. As @Samantha drawz already said, sometimes does just give birth to one or two kits so this is normal.

 

[EmilyClick28]

If it's pretty warm in your room and there is plenty of fur in the nest box and the kits feel warm to the touch you should be fine. I've never had a problem with my girls kindling in -5 everyone survived aslong as there was plenty of fur and straw/fur in the nest. Congrats on the kits! I'm currently waiting for my first English lop litter and when I palpated 2 weeks ago I was able to feel at least 6, I should have kits here anyday now!

yeah the kits are very warm to the touch. one of them is wiggling around quite a bit and very responsive to me holding it, and even made little grunting noises. the other one seems to be sleeping a lot more and slightly smaller, and not quite as responsive, but its very warm and its alive so i hope its okay. the mom i think has really good instincts because she seems to be doing a pretty good job with them. i hope they make it!

 

[EmilyClick28]

Congrats on the kits!
I had a Dutch doe birth two babies, then I palpated her and it turned out she had five more babies still in the womb!
She could have more kits in the womb but it's been a while so maybe not. As @Samantha drawz already said, sometimes does just give birth to one or two kits so this is normal.

really? well that would be neat! yeah it would be nice to have a larger litter. but huh yeah okee good to know.
thanks everyone very helpful! ill keep u updated on how it goes!

 

[EmilyClick28]

oh yeah, one more thing! so i was wondering if theres a way to tell what color the babies will be when they grow up, just by their skin color?
one of them is light pink all over, so i was thinking that one might be white?
the other one is like dark grayish with a pink underbelly. any idea what color that would be? chestnut? black? chocolate? gray?

 

[SandDherds]

The pink should be white and the other I have had lots of chestnuts it seems chestnuts have small pink dots on there heads and pink inside the rates so if that the case you probably have a white and a chestnut! What color was the doe? Pictures would help! (And I love little wrinkly baby bunnies!!)