Advice please

[karenl]

We have new babies very exciting will post pictures on another thread to ask what colours they are. But I am undecided what to do they are all warm and snuggled up in a box in the rabbit hutch do I just leave them or should I bring the box inside for the night the temp gets down to about 2 here at the moment we are in NZ and we sometimes have frosts. If I do bring them inside for the night what time do I need to get them back out to mum in the morning?early while its still cold Thanks for the advice
K

 

[hucklekree]

:congratulations:
I still get excited about new kits after all this time!

Taking them in or not is up to you and how well you know your rabbits. Some does will have no problem with this arrangement but some does won't. If you take them inside make sure to keep them somewhere safe and away from other animals that may find them as some does will have a problem with different smells and other pets may not know how to treat kits. Again it all depends on you and your does. Another issue to consider is temperature shocking them with going from room temp to outdoor and back. If you had an outbuiling that stayed warmer than outside but cooler than a house, might be a better choice. The other option is to bring them all inside until the kits fur out and then gradually reintroduce to outside.

Now with all that said unless there is a small amount of kits, a badly built nest, subzero temps and/or a completely exposed housing rabbit kits can and do survive the night outdoors in their nestbox.

 

[karenl]

we are all newbies rabbits first (do you call it a litter?) they are about 8 months old the mum and our first time breeding rabbits there are 5 kits and a good nest so i think i will just leave them in the hutch and put some tarps or blankets over to help keep the hutch warm.

 

[hucklekree]

yes litters .

Keep us posted on how they do :

 

[Dood]

Just to clarify, I believe the OP means 2 Celsius which is about 34 Fahrenheit

and not 2 Fahrenheit which is -16 Celsius :x : If it was this cold I would be bringing them in but I don't worry if it's around freezing or even down to -10 C once in a while; as long as there is a lot of straw and fur in there and more than 5 kits in the nest.

 

[karenl]

Yeah its just down to frost level no snow or anything they have heaps of hay and lots of fluff didn't know a rabbit could pull so much without looking bald we left them all snuggled in hutch 5 in the litter and I checked this mornings and they are all fine so far. <br /><br /> -- Fri Aug 08, 2014 12:56 pm -- <br /><br /> Some day 2 pics they look bigger already so guessing they are getting feed.
http://s751.photobucket.com/user/gillyl ... 4714914793[/img]
Kids are very excited im going to wait till they have their eyes open before i let the kids handle them.

 

[SA Farm]

Congrats on your first litter, they look like they're doing well

 

[grumpy]

Rabbits are amazingly resourceful. I've had does deliver youngsters when the
temperatures were well below zero Fahrenheit. Just make sure they've been
supplied with plenty of bedding and keep a direct wind off of the nest box.

Hopefully, the doe has pulled plenty of fur. That's always a concern with a
first time mama. To be completely honest, I "NEVER" expect a first time doe
to do very well with their litter. And when they do.....I'm pleasantly surprised.

Grumpy.

 

[karenl]

she has pulled heaps of fur so fingers crossed. We got her from my sister in auckland and the mother of our doe also never lost any of her first litter either so they are proving to be good breeding stock so far.

 

[PSFAngoras]

I had a first time doe kindle in -17 degrees Fahrenheit last winter. I never brought the nest in as momma was mental and I feared she'd just act like they never happened. All seven were perfectly warm and happy. One went on to an awesome pet home, and the other seven turned out just as mental as momma and went to freezer camp, but the cold never bothered them.

 

[Miss M]

Your kits are looking great! Sounds like they're fine outside.

Just wanted to let you know, as long as your kids know not to squeeze, it's okay to let them hold them, with close supervision. We always did. Now, they might pee... so have some paper towels or something on hand.

 

[karenl]

i could trust the 10 and 7 year old but the 3 and 1.5 year old is another story. So just easier at this stage to keep a blanket rule for all of them especially as its her 1st litter and as the kids get more experienced we will let them learn to be more hands on earlier.

 

[hucklekree]

Those kits look sassy!

So I have an interesting story that applies here.

It happened just today as I just had a litter kindle this morning.

The background info: we have been in the high eighties for the past two weeks which paired with virtually absent precipitation has been wreaking havoc.

This morning however, when the new litter was born, it was low sixties and mama pulled almost no fur.
This is her second litter this year and shes done fantastically well at nest building until now. Sad to say we lost three of the nine to chilling.

This sad story only serves to illustrate that as long as the nest is well made for the weather; kits will be fine. I think my poor mama thought it was going to be eighty something still.

 

[squidpop]

I don't think 2 celcius is a worry if the babies all stay in the nest but I would just be careful that one doesn't somehow get out early, like attach itself to a nipple and ride out with the mom somehow. I found one of my kits out of the nest on the 4th day after being born so I raised the sides of the nest box up a couple centimeters. And also baby saver wire is also a good idea.



:congratulations: on the babies!