For some reason this posted in the Cows Section by mistake..

[anthonyjames]

So this is my second time breeding a doe that I have. First time she ate her kits. This time she made her nest kept it for 3 days perfect. Last night she commenced to eating her nest.

This AM I came out and there were 10 kits in the bottom. So I got some hay and nest filler mixed it together put the nest box back in the cage. I went in the house to get water and when I returned she was ripping the nest apart by eating it and pulled a kit out and started eating that.

Question is I have other rabbits due to deliver this week but not until the end of the week and with 9 kits I am unsure how to present them back to the mother or keep them alive until the others have theirs and try to spread them out.

I pulled the nest box out and kept it filled with the hay and filler to keep them warm. So if I present them back to the doe do I pull all of that stuff out and put the box in and watch?

And how many times do I try to present them back as I work all day and I am assuming I have to stay with her so she doesn't try to kill them.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[Bunnylady]

I think I would cull this doe at the first opportunity. She doesn't sound like she's going to be worth the headache! Big litters are nice, but there isn't much point if she won't raise them.

I have known people that will give a doe like this a piece of hot dog to keep her distracted - really! - on the assumption that the doe is short on protein. They say it works, but I've never tried it, so I really can't say one way or the other.

A doe only nurses for a few minutes, once or twice a day. The best times are around dawn and dusk. If she will only nurse once per day, all the better for you! I would put the box in, stay nearby, and remove it as soon as she leaves it. Sorry, but I can't come up with anything guaranteed to keep the litter alive until the others deliver (even bottle feeding is iffy, as if you had the time, right?)

Does this doe have hay, free choice? Some does will eat the hay in their nests, no matter what you do, but if she has another source of hay she may lose the inspiration to go after the nest material. There should be enough material in the box to keep the babies warm, and allow room for the mother without a whole lot of room left over. I know, that isn't very specific!

Good luck, this is a toughie!

 

[currycomb]

yep, put doe on nest for awhile, then take nest into house. try 2x a day, and check for full tummies. they need the colostrum. after the other does have their kits, you can foster this does to the others if necessary. do be sure she has plenty of hay outside the nest to eat, even alfalfa cubes or grass.

 

[anthonyjames]

Well Update.. I think the issue was me interrupting her and putting stuff in the nest box she didn't like it and I probably stressed her. That afternoon I went out and I removed all additional nest filler I put in earlier. I pet her to get her sent and some fur from her and touched all of the kits and took the fur and covered them I then put the next box back in.

I sat there for 20 minutes and she then jumped in the box and started pulling fur. Needless to say all is good and still have the 9 kits.

All I can say is I think it was my fault as I have been overly watchful with this doe and another. The other had her kits yesterday on Mothers Day and she had 10 and did great this time.

And as a side note all the rabbits get a handful of hay in the AM and in the PM plus their pellets which is about 1 cup per day if feeder is empty.

 

[Bunnylady]

all the rabbits get a handful of hay in the AM and in the PM plus their pellets which is about 1 cup per day if feeder is empty.

This is the rabbits that aren't heavily pregnant or nursing, right? Please tell me that you give the nursing moms more than this!

The recommendation that I have always heard is; one ounce of feed per pound of body weight per day, as a maintenance ration. One cup (8 ounces) would be enough food for an approximately 8 pound doe that was doing nothing more taxing than breathing all day. Lactation (making milk) requires a great deal of energy, most people put does that are raising litters on full feed (as much as she will eat in a day). Some does will develop loose stools if fed free choice, it might be better to increase the food gradually.

 

[anthonyjames]

The does that have kindled get more feed. I start with a cup. If I come back and they have not eaten it they don't get any more feed until they eat what they have. We check feeders 3 - 5 times a day minimum. AT 5am, then after that my girls 5 & 3 are in there hourly petting the rabbits so they let us know when the feed is low or out and then at night at couple times 5pm, 8pm and then around 10pm before bed. So they are never long without feed if they are out. The only time I free feed is once the kits leave the nest box.

Until then they get 1 cup rations and the handful of hay. I monitor their feed as I don't just want them to eat. And since I put in hay daily they don't eat their feed as much. I can tell you that when I fill up their feeder they do not come running to eat as they did before they kindled.