trinityoaks
Well-known member
First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who helped me through this situation with Branwyn and her kits. Y'all don't know what lifesavers and sanity-savers you've been. :thankyou:
I have some questions, though.
First of all, what would induce a rabbit to trample her kits in the nest box? Can it be prevented, or is it just one of those things? Should I have pulled the nest box that first night, considering that she had them on the wire to start with? Should I watch her much more closely next time (and perhaps Dot, her sister, as well)?
Secondly, although I read everything I could find on HT (as well as some other links) on hand-feeding, but I'm still unclear on some details. I tried a kitten bottle, a cotton swab, and a syringe. The nipple on the kitten bottle is clearly too big for a 2-day-old kit. It didn't seem as though they were getting anything from the cotton swab. They just kept trying to bite it. The syringe seemed to work best, but I couldn't tell how much they were actually getting. How do you tell whether they're actually swallowing it or aspirating it? Is there something better to give them than kitten milk replacer (other than goats' milk)?
I have some questions, though.
First of all, what would induce a rabbit to trample her kits in the nest box? Can it be prevented, or is it just one of those things? Should I have pulled the nest box that first night, considering that she had them on the wire to start with? Should I watch her much more closely next time (and perhaps Dot, her sister, as well)?
Secondly, although I read everything I could find on HT (as well as some other links) on hand-feeding, but I'm still unclear on some details. I tried a kitten bottle, a cotton swab, and a syringe. The nipple on the kitten bottle is clearly too big for a 2-day-old kit. It didn't seem as though they were getting anything from the cotton swab. They just kept trying to bite it. The syringe seemed to work best, but I couldn't tell how much they were actually getting. How do you tell whether they're actually swallowing it or aspirating it? Is there something better to give them than kitten milk replacer (other than goats' milk)?