4 born today, 3 died, 1 is alive..... what now?

[jimmywalt]

Today we had a lionhead have 4 kits while we were at work. 3 were dead when we got home from work, and 1 is alive in the nest. Of the 3 that were dead, 2 were in the nest and 1 on the wire.

What do we do now with the 1 that is alive? We do not have any other does to foster it.

We are concerned whether it will live or not being all alone, and if it lives how to prevent it from overeating so it doesn't get splayed legs (we had a Holland lop that had 2 recently and 1 now has terrible splayed legs from overeating).

So what can we do with this single lionhead kit?

Thank you for your help.

 

[Tiny Buns]

So far we have had no success with singletons. We haven't managed to keep unfostered singletons alive for more than 48 hrs. The big issue is keeping the 'lonely only' warm with no siblings to help generate heat. I think if you can find a solution to that initial problem, the overeating problem can be dealt with by removing the nest and only bringing the kit to mom for feedings.

 

[MaggieJ]

You had a similar situation in April, jimmywait. I made a suggestion then for keeping a singleton kit warm. Here it is again:

Take a screw-cap glass bottle, such as a wine bottle, preheat it with hot water and then refill with fresh hot water. Pull a sock over it for insulation and lay it along one side of the nest box. That way the kit can gravitate towards or away from the heat source as needed.

is-it-okay-for-only-1-kit-to-stay-in-nest-box-in-michigan-t29790.html

 

[Olimpia]

Oh my goodness I'm raising a singleton and she's so fat.. did not know about the leg splay risk with that, I'll have to watch her...

When it was still chilly at night I would just pack it up and bring it indoors overnight then return it in the morning.

 

[Tiny Buns]

You had a similar situation in April, jimmywait. I made a suggestion then for keeping a singleton kit warm. Here it is again:

Take a screw-cap glass bottle, such as a wine bottle, preheat it with hot water and then refill with fresh hot water. Pull a sock over it for insulation and lay it along one side of the nest box. That way the kit can gravitate towards or away from the heat source as needed.

is-it-okay-for-only-1-kit-to-stay-in-nest-box-in-michigan-t29790.html

Note to self: try next time. I wish I had read this sooner!

 

[mike17l]

I try to breed does at the same time so I can foster if necessary. In this scenario, where that is not an option, I would kill the kit and rebreed the doe ASAP.

 

[macksmom98]

We had a buck who didnt know how to do his job, and ended up with a litter of 1. That kit has been one of the healthiest and happiest we have had! We did play with her a lot, and her mom is a good one. She groomed her well and made sure she was eating well But just because there is one doesn't mean it won't survive and thrive. It boils down to your personal preference. We don't cull for much, unless I know for sure there is a problem, but I know others have their own system too I would let momma feed the baby. If you are worried about her caring for the kit, you can easily remove it and bring it inside. Then you can make sure it gets fed once daily, as long as its looking good and full. Sometimes kits that overeat are eating twice a day, so limiting to one time is something that is easy to control and may end up helping. We bring ours to mom and she usually feeds them immediately. If that isn't happening for you, you can also help her by sitting her on your lap, with the baby in-between your legs. The baby will usually reach up and eat from underneath the mom. I have tried this multiple times and it has worked well.

 

[jimmywalt]

Good news the single kit is alive and doing well. It's been 5 days since birth.

We bring it in the house and let the doe feed it once (sometimes twice) a day.

The only thing is that the doe is very mean since she had the kit. We can barely get out hand in the cage to feed her each day and to put the next box back in for feeding. I have to use a golf putter to put in the cage between my hand and the doe. She flips her front hands at it and tries to push it away. Hopefully her temperament will change otherwise she is going to need to go.

 

[macksmom98]

She's probably just being overprotective, I hope it changes for you tho! Mine are always curious about who is messing with their babies, and even tho they only feed them twice daily they still like to keep tabs on them