losing over half the litter

[nstone630]

I will be getting that supplement today. The nest barley has anything in it now, and we have no hay in it. This last baby that died looked like it just went peacefully in it's sleep. It almost looked fake.

I keep them watered all the time. And the bottom of the cages are wire, so they can get a breeze through the bottom, and through the sides. We also built them in a none direct sunlight really almost at all during the day.

 

[nawma]

Hang in there. It wil get better. The calf manna will make a big difference. I feed my does and then pour the calf manna on top of their food so they.eat it first. You might also consider frozen water bottles in the cage during the hottest part of yhe day to give the doe something cold to lie on. Or you could use frozen floor tiles in the cage for same purpose. Good luck!

 

[nstone630]

Hang in there. It wil get better. The calf manna will make a big difference. I feed my does and then pour the calf manna on top of their food so they.eat it first. You might also consider frozen water bottles in the cage during the hottest part of yhe day to give the doe something cold to lie on. Or you could use frozen floor tiles in the cage for same purpose. Good luck!

Like a frozen 2 liter? and just ley it in the cage? great idea!

 

[Moonshine]

If you have any other does that have babies about the same age and a small litter (less than 8) you can put some of her babies in with the other litter to add up to 8. I know you're not supposed to touch them blah blah before a certain age (3 days) but I don't follow this rule at all. I go check on my babies though out the day and if its in the heat of the day I will bring them to the top of the nest. If its at night and they haven't covered up yet or the mom hasn't covered them I put a light layer of fur over them. My rabbits don't mind. Does usually dig a hole in the nest and put the kits in there so its easier feeding. You might do that before you go in for the night to be sure they are all together when she jumps in and feeds them. She is only in there for about 5 mins to feed and if baby has a hard time getting to her it might get left out of dinner that night. Our rabbits haven't had any problems but I'm just making suggestions.

 

[nawma]

I just use the 16 oz size water bottles but any size frozen will give them something cool to lay on or cuddle against.

 

[Peep_Show]

I second the use of Calf Manna. I feed it before breeding, too. Don't know if it upped the number of babies, but ended up with 13 kits in one litter! Mom and babies did fine.

 

[nstone630]

wow....13???!!! Thats awesome! I"m hoping for a better turn out next time.