Are you sure they are only fed 2x a day?

[Secuono]

When I was bringing the nest with a litter of new borns 2x a day, they really weren't growing well. A week and a day of that and they were getting no where. The doe would sit in there for a good while, so that wasn't it.

But then, I believe 4 days ago, I left the nest in with the doe full time. And guess what, they are already 2.5 times larger than they were just days ago! I really don't think that they are feeding just 2 times a day. They don't live out in the wild, they are locked in small pens. Less danger of 'being found out' so I'm thinking they may be sneaking in a 3rd meal late at night or middle of the night. What else do they have to do? Most of us aren't out there all night long, so it's possible. At least, I believe some of my does may be doing this.

I think I'll try to remember to set up my game camera on one of the pens and we will find out how often they are fed.

 

[3mina]

Good idea, I'd be interested to see pics

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I think I'll try to remember to set up my game camera on one of the pens and we will find out how often they are fed.

Great idea!

I think it depends on the doe. Since they aren't wild anymore, and have been selected for good growout of their litters, breeders may have inadvertently been selecting does that nurse more often than normal which would account for the better weight gain. :hmm:

 

[ottersatin]

Rabbits feed their kits mainly near dusk and Dawn.
They do not spend a lot of time in the nestbox.
If they do this can cause problems, as they may tend to
urinate on or mistakenly trample the kits.
Rabbits usually feed once a day, if you bring the nestbox
out when you tend to your Rabbits in the Am for watering and feeding
by the time your chores are done the kits will be ready to go back inside.
I only remove the nestbox in the dead of winter. In spring and summer
the Kits stay with the Dam until they are weaned.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Secuono]

Put up the game camera, I'll check on it tomorrow.

 

[skysthelimit]

Perhaps there are a few who feed more, perhaps not. I have always taken the boxes in, of course I started this whole thing in cold weather, and then it was so hot, so the boxes were in again. I have not had a problem with kit growth, but the kits are in the cages before I start chores, and after work they are in till 9pm, the doe sits in the box probably 5-10 minutes. I've had some more or less. The ones with more tend to leave the box damp.

 

[Secuono]

I'll move the cam on other does w/nests each day, have 2 others.

Either way, it was weird for this litter to be growing very slowly when I brought them out 2x a day. Just like y'all are saying, left them out while I did other things, when I saw the doe in there, then I'd watch to see when she got out and I'd pull the nest. Same at night. Either way, as soon as I left the nest in full time, the kits started to grow a lot faster.

 

[skysthelimit]

I'll move the cam on other does w/nests each day, have 2 others.

Either way, it was weird for this litter to be growing very slowly when I brought them out 2x a day. Just like y'all are saying, left them out while I did other things, when I saw the doe in there, then I'd watch to see when she got out and I'd pull the nest. Same at night. Either way, as soon as I left the nest in full time, the kits started to grow a lot faster.

look at the other litters too, perhaps that group just needed extra. not all of my kits from the same does grow the same speed. I worked all day in the barn the other day, going in and out from 7:30-6:30. Big hair did not get in the box not once. Scream got in the box twice while I was there. Mine you, they are not shy of me, I've stood there waiting for them to finish many times. Scream seems to take more care of her kits. But perhaps Big hair is a better milker, and doesn't need to spend as much time? This is very interesting, as I wondered what the kits do all day.

 

[Secuono]

Every time I pass the rabbits, kits are sleeping, they don't really do anything else until their eyes start to open.
There was nothing special or different about the other litters, only the one where I had to take the nest away had this slow growth.
My does also don't care if I watch them with my face up close to them. Actually, when they are in hanging cages, I stick my head in to say hello. Kits come up to sniff my nose, so do the adults. Few don't, those are newly out of nest or new rabbits to be here.
If I have to take nests out again, I'll remember to note if they also grow slower.

 

[skysthelimit]

When I carry the box around, they seemed to dig a lot. Probably trying to get comfortable. One night there was so much digging, I had to put the box in the bathroom.

 

[ollitos]

Rosebud feeds her babies several times a day. I'm sure she does it more than once during the night.

I try to always leave the nests with the moms. Less work for me and it doesn't cause any problems. I only recently started bringing these last two litters inside because of the extreme heat. Every time I tried to thin out the fur for Matilda's litter, she'd pull enough to knit an afghan. D'oh! But even in the super cold of February, I left the litter outside with the mom 24/7.

 

[Secuono]

Yea, this nest was taken because she kept sitting, peeing & pooping on the kits. But now she is fine and has a nicer floor to lay on and the top of the bin instead of in the nest.

My SF doe who is now bald...lol...kept pulling fur, I kept taking it...she's now fairly bald and I stopped taking her fur...she'd have nothing left if I hadn't stopped taking the fur..

 

[skysthelimit]

Rosebud feeds her babies several times a day. I'm sure she does it more than once during the night.

I try to always leave the nests with the moms. Less work for me and it doesn't cause any problems. I only recently started bringing these last two litters inside because of the extreme heat. Every time I tried to thin out the fur for Matilda's litter, she'd pull enough to knit an afghan. D'oh! But even in the super cold of February, I left the litter outside with the mom 24/7.

I started it because first time does with babies in Ohio winter didn't seem like a good idea. The one doe kept emptying the nest, killed two kits, scratched them all up.
It was too cold for me to really look at them, and once inside, I sure wasn't interested in taking them back!

 

[ollitos]

Here's something interesting to consider about nursing instincts with the does.... I had to take Matilda's kits out because of the heat. Greg put them back in last night and left them in all day today. When he checked them this morning, none of them looked fed. I checked them around 4pm. I removed a lot of the fur, rearranged all the hay and moved the babies around. Matilda came into the hutch, sniffed the big pile of fur I had removed from the nest and set to the side, then went over to her babies and fed them.

I think sometimes it helps to rearrange things. It makes them a bit more possessive. Today it worked in my favor and got her to feed them.

Rosebud pees and poops in the nesting box too. It makes me crazy. Mostly she likes to sit on the lid on top of the nesting box and poop all over it. I pulled it away from the back wall so that her butt would hang off the back and all the poop would fall behind the nesting box. Still a mess to clean up, but at least it wasn't all over the kits.<br /><br />__________ Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:00 pm __________<br /><br />

I started it because first time does with babies in Ohio winter didn't seem like a good idea. The one doe kept emptying the nest, killed two kits, scratched them all up.
It was too cold for me to really look at them, and once inside, I sure wasn't interested in taking them back!

We live in the Shenandoah Valley in VA, almost in WV and it gets pretty cold. As long as it's toasty warm when I put my hand in under the fur, I let them be.... IF the mother is a good mother. If she's tipping the box, then I'd definitely bring them in like you did. It depends on the doe. My goal is as little intervention as possible. For the most part, they know what to do and do it successfully. If I have to step in, I will but I'd rather not.

This winter, the rabbits won't be as close to the house as they were this past winter. I'm not looking forward to the cold walks to take care of them all!

 

[LauraNJ]

I'm excited to find out your results with the camera.

With dogs, I have had some Dams who were in and out of the whelping box every hour to two hours, others that would go in every few to four hours. Same breed, but my lines seemed to be better Moms to their pups than another line I brought in.

I think it is a very likely theory that some lines are more attentive than others.

 

[Brody]

They vary a lot!
I have had only one doe who I was sure fed the classic twice a day.
Many feed 3 or even 4 times. <br /><br />__________ Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:34 am __________<br /><br />They vary a lot!
I have had only one doe who I was sure fed the classic twice a day.
Many feed 3 or even 4 times.

 

[Secuono]

Ok, got only one pic of her feeding them. Tons of pics of the chickens ducks and other rabbits moving.
It is very possible she was feeding while another animal crossed the cam's view, since there is no image of her feeding in the AM, just last night.
I've moved everyone into better pens and will set up the cam again tonight. Hopefully I can get the cam closer or block the path so birds don't trip it all the time.
Here you can see, in the yellow square, the doe feeding them. I'm sure many of you can recognize the scrunched position. The date/time is off, I was in a rush when I got it to get it working and spot the animals that were killing my critters. Unfortunately, all I keep seeing on the cam are my own animals and the grass...eh.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Do you think she would care if you removed the top of the carrier? You could put the camera on top of the cage pointing into the nest. (I'm assuming the camera has settings that can be adjusted for the size animal you are trying to capture, so the kits wouldn't trip it.)

 

[Secuono]

The top is there to keep her from just hopping in and stomping the kits. She now jumps all the way up or runs around to get in, no more smashed babies because it's open. So no, I cannot take the top off w/o risking her killing them.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Oh. Too bad.