First dead litter..advice?

[zachbelle]

Ok so...went out this morning five more babies on the wire frozen...of course I took nesting material out figures...is this normal??? Only thing I can think is she had four babies in one horn and five in the other kindling two separate nights?

 

[Hens and Roos]

not sure how long labor lasts for rabbits. I guess that could be possible- how many times was she bred(like on one day and then again the next)? Did both groups look fully formed? Sorry that you lost this group too

 

[zachbelle]

They were all fully formed yes and only bred on one day. I know i didn't miss 5 babies yesterday so not sure what's happened but she is now frantic since i took the second half of the litter out and trying to rebuild her nest i feel terrible for her and even was tempted to foster a couple from the doe i had Kindle last night but i don't dare to with the cold weather and I'm afraid she would reject them at this point. I just feel bad for her

 

[Hens and Roos]

I am really not sure, I would watch her for a few days going forward and then see about rebreeding her.

 

[GLENMAR]

I just lost a litter too. She was a new mom and pulled the hay out if the box chilling the babies. I also had another litter where I lost a few because the would stay latched on and get pulled out of the box and get chilled. At least when I rebreed those does, it will be warmer at night. I hate loosing them to cold. I check on them several times a day, and sometimes it is not enough.

 

[Bunnylady]

Unless there is some particular reason not to (as in your case, the move), when a doe loses a litter, I usually give the doe a couple of days to recover, then re-breed her. Rabbits don't "go into heat" like a lot of animals do, but they do experience hormonal peaks and valleys. One of the highest peaks a doe will ever experience comes right after kindling. Given the chance, a lot of does will re-breed immediately after kindling, and the result may be one of the biggest litters the doe will ever produce. The two week interval may work out, or it may not; it will probably coincide with a dip in hormone levels, and even if the doe does rebreed, the ripened eggs are two weeks old at that point, and less likely to be still viable. The doe may refuse to breed, she may breed and produce nothing, or the litter size may simply be small. In any case, you will want to check her vulva color before you put her in with the buck - that should give you a good indication of what your results are likely to be.

 

[zachbelle]

Thank you for that I have never heard anything about checking the vulva, what would I be looking for in color? She is a great mom and was obviously distressed over loosing her kits but has seems to have finally calmed down now.

 

[JakeM]

Her vulva should be red in color with red/purple as being pretty much the best time. If it is pale, then I wouldn't even try.

 

[samssimonsays]

I am so sorry for your loss. it is very likely they chilled regardless of the placenta. sometimes it just gets too cold. She may grieve for them but I was recommended to breed a doe back within 24-48 hours after losing a litter. You would be surprised how the hormones of a new pregnancy will stop the grieving. I had a doe lose all of her babies but one at 6 weeks old and she went so over the edge that she almost killed the last baby trying to find the others. She would search and search for them. I bred her finally after a week of her getting worse and worse and within two days she was fine again. Each rabbit will take it differently but if she is having a hard time with the loss breed her back and she should snap put of it.