Foster runt question

[lereg15]

I had a runt that I fostered out to another doe and it has since been doing really well. I am not sure what to do with him now though. Should I return him to the original mother or should I leave him where he is? What do you do with your fostered kits?

Anyone?

 

[katiebear]

Keep him where he is doing well, then after weening treat him like anyone else....in my case it is dinner....

 

[skysthelimit]

I usually only foster if the doe dies, or if I bred back to back close after kindling. All my does have big litters so I don't burden them with others.

Sometimes I pull out kits that are fat while the doe is nursing. Most of the time the runt begins to grow normally when it starts eating pellets.

When I had a doe without milk and had a foster available, the kit would stay with the foster doe.

 

[ladysown]

leave him where he is, he'll continue to do well.

 

[lereg15]

Keep him where he is doing well, then after weening treat him like anyone else....in my case it is dinner....

I'm not sure if he'll be dinner or not. I told my neighbor's daughter that if he made it, I'd give it to her. If the neighbor wont let her have it, yum yum!!

I was just thinking about the whole genetic thing. Although he would probably be culled in a few months, I was thinking I should keep the litters of each doe to herself. After another week or 2, I won't really be able to tell them apart.

 

[Zass]

Perhaps you could mark the ear with nail polish or something similar?
I wouldn't move a foster kit back. It's it's doing well, it'll continue to. Also after the eyes open, you would have a REALLY hard time getting it to recognize or accept it's own mother.

They don't have any kind of "scent memory" for that. Mom seems to be whomever fed them last, until they can visually recognize her.

 

[lereg15]

I'll try and use a sharpie for it's ear. All their eyes are open now and they are starting to eat some oatmeal. I took out the nest box this morning as well/

The thing with the sharpie is that it seems to come off pretty quick, so I'll have to keep up with it.