Caring for a large litter; advice appreciated.

Hi gang.
One of my new does kindled yesterday afternoon [4-6-2017]. She had a litter of 13 and so far everything is going well. This is actually my first large litter, and I anticipate an issue with all of the kits getting fed. Since this is a new doe, I know little about her (except what I was told, she's a good mother and has large litters). So I don't really know the specifics such as: if she feeds twice a day or only once; how long she nurses; how many kits I can expect her to reasonably take care of; etc.

I would like to be proactive on this and could use a little help developing a game plan. I know the standard advice is when you notice some are not getting fed; split the litter up and only put the smaller, unfed kits in with the doe for a feeding. In fact I have done that before just in litters of 7 or 8 kits.

Additional info: I don't have another litter that I could foster kits out to; I have a second next box I can use to split them up; I have no interest in trying to hand feed kits; I realize I might lose some regardless of my efforts; and ultimately I am fine with nature taking its course if that's what it comes to.

MY CURRENT GAME PLAN
I will leave the litter alone until Saturday morning (approx. 36 hours after kindling). See how many have been fed (if any). Check back Saturday evening to see if she did a second feeding. I figure by then I'd have a good approximation how many can fight to get fed.
If she feeds twice a day I might split the litter up in the afternoon and let any underfed kits get the second meal alone.
If she feeds once a day I figure every other day let the underfed kits get fed alone.
And I'd probably repeat this until it's time for everyone to leave the next box.

If anyone has tips, tricks, or suggestions I'd appreciate them. Thanks.

I have split litters for feeding. Your plan sounds good. I have removed all the kits, split them into two groups, and taken one group out in the morning and the other in the evening. Most times, the doe jumps right in, I suppose to relieve the pressure.

Another note. When I have larger litters, I add some oats and sunflower seeds to the doe's feed three times a week.

Good luck! And...Pictures!

Marinea":2udqcmu7 said:

I have split litters for feeding. Your plan sounds good. I have removed all the kits, split them into two groups, and taken one group out in the morning and the other in the evening. Most times, the doe jumps right in, I suppose to relieve the pressure.

Another note. When I have larger litters, I add some oats and sunflower seeds to the doe's feed three times a week.

Good luck! And...Pictures!

Click to expand...

Pictures are in this thread.
post314449.html#p314449

Good call on the BOSS and oats. I have been feeding her those, alternating between seeds and oats. Plus I gave her a tums yesterday for the calcium boost... and a congratulatory carrot! Although I am careful not to overdo it with the extras.

i've had does handle 12+ kits before, but it depends. one time she didn't get milk in for three days so i split the litter and gave them to another doe to feed until she caught up. the next time she had a litter she fed them all herself. does produce milk in accordance to how many kits they have, so she may be able to feed them all herself. it's a good idea to keep a close eye on them though. i would check every couple of days at least to make sure there were no dead kits and to remove them promptly. with big litters there's usually one or two runts that may or may not make it.

in addition to BOSS and oats, all my newly kindled does get a good handful of milk thistle and dandelion for the first couple of days too. those weeds can help boost milk production and are usually easily found by walking outside usually by day 3 they have worked it all out and i don't really worry too much about them after that. once the kits start hopping around i'll give them a little alfalfa to munch on for the extra calcium.