Rabbit still pulling fur 24 hrs after birth

[Melanie]

My doe gave birth to 6 kits yesterday evening and now appears to be making a separate nest. I tried moving the kits to the new nest but she did not like that. I moved everything back the way she had it and she seems happy now. Is it possible she is going to have more?

 

[june2013]

I've heard that a female can easily become pregnant twice at the same time. If you let her mate multiple times, she may be carrying two litters within her. So she already gave birth to one, and she could be preparing for the next one. I'd keep an eye on her to make sure everything is alright. I know that it could be dangerous for both the mother and kits, since the mother cannot constantly take care of two litters at once. From what I've heard, at least. I have no personal hands on experience. I'm sure that others will help you, though!

EDIT: So yes, it could be very possible she might have another litter. I don't believe that rabbits can have more two pregnancies at the same, so if there's more hair pulling and nest preparation (after giving birth to her second litter), I'd go talk to someone. You could also hand raise one of the litters to ensure survival.

 

[SA Farm]

As long as she's feeding the 6 and they have a good nest, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just keep an eye on her

 

[Melanie]

I am unsure if she is feeding them properly. 3 look great and 3 look like they are not being fed. She is very sporadic and in and out of the box and keeps covering them up. I plan on trying to feed the 3 if they do not look fed by tonight. I am going to try to hold her and let them nurse. I want to give her a chance to figure it out without intervention if she can. Thanks for the input.

 

[Melanie]

Well, they are all still alive. Yay!!! We did hold my doe, Onyx, so they could get some milk last night. I do think she is trying to feed them, she just has not quite got the hang of it yet. I am hoping the force feedings do not have to last to long, but if they do, it was not to terrible and Onyx was very calm throughout the whole process. I also noticed last night how very much hair she pulled. Wow!!! She has a bald belly and patches on her sides.

 

[Bunnylady]

Does often continue to pull fur after the litter is born. I've seen them adding to the nest a week after kindling, particularly if the weather is cold.

When the doe nurses her litter, she jumps into the nest box and just stands there. Frequently she will nuzzle and lick the pile of kits to let them know she is there, but it is up to them to crawl to her and find a nipple (newborn kits are surprisingly mobile). When the doe decides she has had enough, she leaves, and any kit that didn't manage to make the connection is just out of luck until the next feeding. Most does only nurse once or twice per day (around dawn and dusk, usually); you can see why a lot of nest box losses occur during the first few days. And of course, there are the strong kits that hang on fiercely and get dragged out of the nest and wind up dying of exposure on the cage floor . . . .

First time mothers frequently don't have a lot of milk during those first couple of days; it only really comes in at about day 3. Within the next couple of days, you will probably notice that the babies' tummies look like little balloons after a feeding; they connect faster as they get stronger, and the doe's sudden increase in production means that they fill up pretty fast. Unless your doe has a problem like non-producing nipples, all of her kits should be getting enough each time she feeds, and they will start growing like weeds!

 

[Melanie]

Thank you bunny lady. I only had to hold her to feed them all once. I have held her to feed the two very tiny kits that appear thin an extra time. My doe also goes to the bathroom in the nest box. It was so bad I had to clean it out so they do not have her fur anymore. They are kept inside and still seem very warm. I hope they will be alright.

 

[Bunnylady]

Ugh. Peeing in the nest box is so gross! Does can be such dingbats sometimes.

Some people find that using a nest box that is barely bigger than the doe helps to avoid that problem - it can keep the doe from sitting in it, too. If you don't have any fur for insulation, you might try dryer lint.

 

[Melanie]

All kits are still alive and well and Onyx is feeding them well on her own. She continues to use the nest box as a litter box , I have to clean it every other day. I will try to get some pics up later today of them for all to see.

 

[Melanie]

Here are pics of the kits . One black one is super tiny.