Doe unable to give birth

[Moonshine]

I just wanted to let everyone know that she has cleaned up and she is done. Also she fed her 3 and they all had fat bellies this morning around 10. She is very protective of them and they are doing well. This doe is beautiful and I believe we are going to try to get some weight off of her and reevaluate in a couple of months. Hopefully she has a doe in her kits and we can keep her to raise up for breeding next year.

 

[sawfish99]

IMHO, I would cull the entire line. What you are describing sounds like a major fault in the lines from the rabbitry you purchased the trio from. The odds are high some of the problems were passed on to the kits. We had some NZs that showed significant abnormalities in the reproductive tract when they were slaughtered (like cystic and fatty ovaries). We no longer breed NZs. Even if the rabbit was overweight in the first place, the kindling issues you described are justification to terminate that bloodline instead of just trying to breed something better into the line.

 

[nawma]

I think that I would give the doe, if she were mine, one more chance. I would be hesitant to keep any of her kits if she has any more problems.

 

[Moonshine]

Thanks y'all for your honest opinions and advice! It really is welcomed and appreciated!

The morning we found the 3 dead ones she fed her kits that were left and she hasn't fed them since. Mom and I were determined to keep these babies alive and have been pulling the doe and kits out of their cage twice a day to hold her down and let them nurse. They are getting bigger and stronger by the day but I too am worried that this might be genetic. We most likely won't be breeding her again and will be culling her. I just hate to see an animal suffer and I just couldn't let her babies starve to death. I'd rather euthanize than see them suffer. I don't know what the plan will be for the kits. I know my mom is hoping to keep a doe so we will just have to see what she decides if they make it.

 

[sawfish99]

Do you currently have a doe that is feeding kits of about the same age? If so, you can try to surrogate the babies onto the other doe. Use a little peppermint extract and put some on each baby from both litters. put a tiny amount on the mom's nose. She won't be able to distinguish hers and the intruders. This will either work or result in a doe that kills the intruders, but you don't know until you try.

 

[Moonshine]

Thanks sawfish. I had heard of that but I heard it was vanilla extract. The kits closest to her are too much older IMO. They already have their eyes open and crawling out of the box and hanging out with mama. These lil ones are just 5 days.

 

[sawfish99]

I think vanilla might work too. The point is a smell that is more powerful than the babies' natural smells.

 

[BYJR1434]

I would have to concur with sawfish. I would sell or cull the does at this point. it seems like a problem with their lines. Get some good new pedigreed stock.
hopefully these kits will survive though, I hate losing kits lol, then get rid of them.