Bad First Time Mother

[lyssaloy]

Man, I'm not sure I'm cut out for this anymore.
Our first doe to kindle was amazing. 9 kits, not a single lost.
But her cousin, Smokey, is an awful mother. Here's the story:
First off, she NEVER made a nest, no matter how much hay I gave her. She just gobbled it all up. Then about 3 pm on Wednesday I went outside to find two kits on the wire. One was very cold and its leg somehow got severed in the wire and was dangling by a thread. The other was slightly cold so I wrapped it in dryer lint, got it pink again, and fostered it to the other doe we bred at the same time. I was out there a good hour and Smokey didn't have any other babies so I thought she was done and I left.
I came back out two hours later and she had 10 more babies! All on the wire, and all chilled. I brought them all inside to warm them up along with Smokey. Brought them back outside, built a nest for her, and put them all in there with dryer lint on top (she still hadn't pulled any fur). Ca
I came out the next morning and she had taken the dryer lint off the babies and pulled her own fur but left it on the wire instead of putting it on the babies. Mind you, the other mama, Snowflake, has a beautiful nest with lots of warm fur. Smokey's babies were about half the size as Snowflake's (the other new mama) babies but I thought it was just because she'd had twice as many babies as Snowflae.
I covered the babies again, with her fur, because it was supposed to freeze that night. Now, this morning I come out to 10 cold babies. 6 of them are already gone. 2 are all grey with pink spots only above their hearts, clearly almost gone. And two more mostly pink, but still cold. I warmed the last two up and fostered them to Snowflake. The rest, I culled/buried.
So now I'm wondering if I'm really cut out for this. It was so sad and hard to kill/bury that many kits. And I'm wondering about Smokey's future litters. I've read that you're supposed to give a doe three trys before deciding she's a bad mother, but what do yall think? Unfortunately she's my son's favorite and I have only three does and a buck.

 

[KKRabbitry]

That's crummy
It's always hard to lose babies.
Just remember that it is part of life, part of raising livestock, and it's not your fault.

If your doe is nice, she is your favorite, I think it is certainly worth a second chance.
I also usually go by the "3 strikes and your out" rule.

I have had a couple does that just don't "get it" the first time around, and the second time the seem to figure things out.

I have one little Jersey Wooly doe that is also really nice, and throws some beautiful babies!
The first time around she did everything right, and raised a big healthy litter.
But the past 3 times have been disasters.
She always goes nuts make a great big nest AFTER they are born, and in the process she tramples them, or throws them out on the wire.

None the less, because she is so nice, I have actually bred her a fourth time.
I always breed her at the same time as a bunch of other does so I can foster, and then watch her like hawk when she is due.
Last time I only managed to save one....but that baby was worth it, because she is NICE!!
She is due again in two weeks, so I am sure I will lose sleep that weekend. Going out to the barn at midnight to check on her, waking up at 6:00.....
But if I can save just one more it will be worth it.
Now that I have two of her daughters to replace her, this might be her last litter.
But to me it was worth the stress of breeding her to get those other two nice babies from her, and improve the quality of my herd.

 

[ladysown]

I'd give her one more shot and see how she goes. I do two strikes and gone here as my philosophy is ... if everyone else is doing their job, why should I mess with one who isn't?

That said... I do find room to say... okay, I'll give you a slide this time.. BUT NOT AGAIN! (and they usually mind that and get back on task).

 

[Zass]

Maybe something is stressing her?

If she's a fav you should certainly try again, and have a foster doe ready!

 

[Dood]

I give does 2 chances as I always have 1 or 2 replacement does growing out. This summer I was more lenient since their food was free and the doe messed up for the 3rd time and was culled.

Perhaps you could let your son pick a buck as a 'pet' and replace your current male since there is less chance of them needing to be replaced for production problems, my nephews first pet rabbit is now 10 years old and still fathering litters of 12.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm so sorry about the lost kits! It is heartbreaking when they lose them.

Just remember that it is part of life, part of raising livestock, and it's not your fault.

This is very true! The more animals you raise, the greater likelihood of something sad happening. It is a numbers game.

I've read that you're supposed to give a doe three trys before deciding she's a bad mother, but what do yall think? Unfortunately she's my son's favorite and I have only three does and a buck.

Since you only have three does, I would give her the full three strikes. When you have a bunch of does you can afford to be stricter in culling since you have so many to choose from.

She actually did okay overall. She pulled fur, albeit too late and in the wrong place- and she had a nice big litter. Even though you took all of her kits away, I would leave the nestbox for a day or two to see if she builds a nest.

First time does sometimes get all of the preparations out of order, so giving her a chance to complete the next step is a good idea.

I would also go ahead and breed her back today... and if she messes up again next time, breed her again as quickly after kindling as possible. That way you will know in two months whether she is worth keeping.

Since she ate the hay instead of leaving it in the nest, I would try less palatable alternatives next time. Straw is a good choice, as is shredded paper. I prefer brown paper, and simply run grocery and feedbags through our document shredder to add to the nests. I would also recommend putting a 2" layer of pine shavings on the bottom of the box since the temperatures are low now.

Also make sure to give her plenty of hay to eat in the week before she kindles. If she isn't used to getting hay that would make her nesting material all the more tempting.

Better luck next time! Hopefully you will see a big improvement. :clover:

 

[Planet Jr]

I would give her another try. I have had a couple of new mothers that did the exact same and then did excelent the second time around. I also use pine shavings in the nest box with hay on top. A bag is only around 5 bucks at Tractor Supply and last a long time.