HELP! How to care for doe and brand new kits?

[Beekissed]

Thanks 2dream, what about the heat? (I am learning as I read this too.)

dairygoatlady,
I am so glad the kits made it through the night.
-Sally

BBH, I wouldn't worry about the heat for the babies...it's all self-regulating on that end and nature works best alone. As for the mom? I always ran a fan in the rabbit barn for a cross breeze and put frozen bottles of water in the cage for her to lie up against. When it was really hot, we would even freeze bottles to attach to the watering nipples.

The babies seem to do just great in their smothering layer of bunny fluff...maybe why they are born naked?

Never got to see a doe nursing kits but would often surprise them late at night, at which time they promptly jumped out of the nesting box. They are very private animals when it comes to birthing, feeding, caring for kits.

 

[JoieDeViveRabbitry]

Okay here is the method I use for raising rabbit kits and it works like a charm. It's called the Betty Chu method in the Angora world but other people with other breeds use it too!
http://www.bettychuenglishangora.com/nestbox/index.html

I have never lost any kits with this method either, no one died of starvation or anything and the babies end up being EXTREMELY tame!

 

[taraann81]

Okay here is the method I use for raising rabbit kits and it works like a charm. It's called the Betty Chu method in the Angora world but other people with other breeds use it too!
http://www.bettychuenglishangora.com/nestbox/index.html

I have never lost any kits with this method either, no one died of starvation or anything and the babies end up being EXTREMELY tame!

That is a very interesting link. I am new to breeding rabbits and I'm not prepared. I bought a supposedly 2 week along pregnant flemish brought her home only to have the breeder email and say she was ready to kindle and she had the dates wrong. Well no babies yet perhaps the breeder was wrong but I'm so worried something will go wrong.

This method seems great but as someone with only book knowledge on rabbit husbandry it seems to scary to take all of this into my hands! This method sounds wonderful to me but terrifying at the same time.

Anyways thanks for the link.