Help needed. Babies seem cold.

[Gomanson]

I have a first time mother Silver Fox. She just gave birth to 1 dead and 2 live babies. I had just put in a temporary cardboard nest box because tonight I was going to get the wood for the box. I put some straw in the box. The babies were born outside the box and mother was ignoring them. I put them in the box but it just doesn't seem like it's warm enough for them (it's about 65 degrees here...forecast of 75 today). What else can I do to keep them warm if the mother doesn't pull fur or sit by them?

They were born about an hour ago, and this is our first litter, so I guess I'm asking how long we should wait to see if mom steps in to do anything before we start helping. I know it was a mistake not to have the box ready, but what do we do now??

 

[DianeS]

You can use a form of artificial fur. Cotton balls pulled into tiny pieces, or dryer lint, work well. Just nothing that can get wrapped around their necks, and nothing they can get trapped underneath (no pieces of cloth, for example).

Put a LOT of straw in the nestbox, and make a depression in the middle of it. Put a LOT of artificial fur in the depression, and put the kits in the artificial fur. Then cover them with more artificial fur. Then leave them alone.

Mom won't pay any attention to the babies - at all - except to feed them once a day. She won't sit by them to keep them warm, or anything. So expect that and don't let it surprise you.

But do know that first-time moms don't always know what to do. Lots give birth on the wire, lots don't pull fur, and lots don't nurse the kits. Nobody knows why, but it happens. They often - OFTEN - lose the first litter entirely due to their own neglect. And unfortunately hand-raising kits is dreadfully hard, and not usually successful.

But the vast majority do better with their second and later litters.

I guess what I'm saying is - do whatever it is that you're willing to do for these kits, but don't count on it working. Don't get your heart invested in this particular set of kits. But don't discount mom's abilities, either. She is likely to do better the second time than this time, no matter how this time turns out.

Hang in there!

 

[Gomanson]

Thanks for the reply. I've heard that from a lot of people about a doe's first litter. I kept saying to myself that I have no expectations for this litter, but now that there are two live bunnies, I really want to make sure they survive! They are now huddled in to the straw and seem to be warmer.

How soon does mom have to feed them before I should worry? I don't suppose there is really a way to check whether she has or not, short of setting up a camera.

 

[dewey]

I'd get the babies warm, quick. Take them & the box inside and use a blow dryer on warm/low setting to warm them up. Keep the dryer moving with your hand near the babies to be sure it's not too warm on them. When they get warmed enough they'll feel warm to the touch and will be starting to move around a little.

If you don't have a blow dryer you can submerge them up to the neck in warm water or hold them up against your warm body.

You can easily pull hair from the doe's stomach, etc. It should come right out.

 

[dewey]

She may not feed them for a day or so. You can tell if they're eating because their bellies will be round and full.

 

[DianeS]

dewey is right about how they look when they've been fed. With my first litter - I couldn't decide if they looked fed or not. But the minute I saw a kit that had been fed, I KNEW it had been fed. It's obvious. They're full, their bellies are round and fat, their skin is the right size for the kit and it feels elastic, and the kits are content. By comparison, an unfed baby looks small, and empty, and rubbery, and almost shriveled, and just as calm but because it is listless rather than content. It's hard to describe in words.

Mom may not feed until a full 24 or 36 hours after giving birth. It takes less than 5 minutes to feed them. So you're right that you aren't going to see it happen. But if you check the kits once or maybe twice every 24 hours, you'll be able to tell.