does anyone take the kits from the doe??

[TheSheepGirl]

A doe that pees all over her babies or chews them up, etc. is not a healthy doe most of the time. A lack of vitamin D can cause her to do these things. If the feed is not adequate it can cause them to kill their babies.

Maiden does will often have problems with thier litters. She may do better the second time.

My does are given two chances. If she does the same thing twice, then she is culled out of the herd. Most of the time sold to a pet home. Not all rabbits do this. Most are good mothers and care for their babies correctly.

Mothering ability is hereditary. If a doe is a bad mother, then her children will be as well. It is best to have a herd of good mothers. It makes it funner and easier in the long run.

I have not had to pull a litter in quite a while since I started culling for mothering ability. It is a part of my herd managenent. All of my does are wonderful mothers and their children are as well.

Cold weather should not be your reason for pulling a litter. As long as the mother has pulled enough hair the baies will stay perfectly warm.

 

[tortoise]

I have kits due the end of this week. I'm going to kitnap these because it is so cold. I hope I get it right so I don't lose this litter.

Update (sorry to hijack, I didn't want to start a thread). My doe ate her kits. (Ewww!)

I think it was due to a food change. She didn't like it and was dumping her food out. Apparently a hungry momma will eat babies. Her first litter she did right. She is re-bred... see what will happen next month.

 

[mnmommy]

Cold weather should not be your reason for pulling a litter. As long as the mother has pulled enough hair the baies will stay perfectly warm.

When I say cold weather it doesn't mean a little chilly I'm talking -30 degrees outside I live in Minnesota and we get many extreme cold days here in the winter and if I want litters all year I have to pull them for their own safety even the wild rabbits are not having litters in these extreme temps they wait until spring as well.

 

[tortoise]

Cold weather should not be your reason for pulling a litter. As long as the mother has pulled enough hair the baies will stay perfectly warm.

When I say cold weather it doesn't mean a little chilly I'm talking -30 degrees outside I live in Minnesota and we get many extreme cold days here in the winter and if I want litters all year I have to pull them for their own safety even the wild rabbits are not having litters in these extreme temps they wait until spring as well.

Agreed. I gave it a try this winter. I thought mum would be cold enough to sit in the box with her babies. Nope. Babies froze to death. She made a very be fluffy angora wool nest

My rabbits are in an unheated shed. When it was -30 outside it was about 10 degrees inside. Still much too cold for kits to survive - even in a big wool nest.

 

[dewey]

i dont want to take them from her if it seems shes doing a good job. but i dont want them to die from cold or the mom end up killing them. so im not sure what to do... i guess after they come judge the mom and her mother skills... and we do mess with them a lot. ive got two kids who want to be in there all day petting them. so they are pretty friendly, expect for the buck who is kind of a jerk.... Thank you guys so much! im sorry for the million questions! this was going to be my husbands thing but i love the rabbits! and i felt like he was just throwing them some feed and hoping for the best.... so.... i got involded! wrote EVERYTHING down, and hopefully we will figure this out

Even the best does can have issues if stressed, and there's a lot of environmental factors to consider very seriously for that...nutrition, housing, exposure, nest boxes, handling, nearby activity, noise, routine...things not under the does control that could cause them issues.

They're given no less than 3 opportunities and if their environment has been ideal yet there's continued issues, then they're replaced.

I do fuss over mine in regards to their care and protection from extreme or sudden temp changes, etc., but generally I expect them to be able to remain with their kits, safely.

 

[a7736100]

I have the nestbox indoors inside a indoor cage. I take the mother in once daily to feed the kits.