Belgian Hare doe had 9 kits!

[BC Belgians]

I wanted to share that my senior Belgian Hare doe kindled successfully on Wednesday evening despite the heat wave we have been experiencing in our area and a case of GI stasis with her ad mid-term (probably a consequence of the heat and not eating enough). It was probably not wise to breed her in summer, but all is well that ends well. She had 9 kits, one dead at birth - which is a marked improvement from the two previous litters!

Now I do have one question: I am sitting on the fence whether or not I should let Nature take its course, along the line of survival of the fittest. I have one smaller kit that is clearly under-fed. I don't have another doe that could foster this kit. Flipping the doe to give this kit an extra feeding isn't possible with this doe. I could, however, give it an extra feeding of a formula while keeping it in the nest and see if it will get the extra strength to be able to compete. Is this advisable?

 

[Marinea]

There are a couple of options besides formula and hand=raising, which can be very difficult.

One is to take all the kits out after a feeding, and then put the little one back in alone for the next feeding. Alternate feeding all and one for a bit and see if it catches up.

Another option is along the lines of the flip-feeding, but is easier on the doe. Sit down in a chair with a towel on your lap. Put the little kit in your lap on top of the towel, with your legs slightly spread apart so the towel dips in between your legs and the kit is in the dip. Sit the doe on your lap. It is a more natural position for both the doe and kit.

*fingers crossed for the little one*

By the way, since you've only been in RT for a month, I will let you slide on the no pictures thing...for now

 

[PSFAngoras]

Congrats on the litter!! I wish I lived closer, I'd happily take one of the kits off your hands in 8 weeks!

 

[squidpop]

I did a similar thing to what Marinea suggested. When I had 6 kits, I would put the runt and two smallest kits in the nest box and give them to the mother to feed first, the mother would jump in and start feeding and I would wait 1 minute, then sneak the other three fattest kits into the nest box. This way the runt and his smaller sibblings all got the best nipples for at least 1 minute before the big ones pushed them out.

 

[squidpop]

I did a similar thing to what Marinea suggested. When I had 6 kits, I would put the runt and two smallest kits in the nest box and give them to the mother to feed first, the mother would jump in and start feeding and I would wait 1 minute, then sneak the other three fattest kits into the nest box. This way the runt and his smaller sibblings all got the best nipples for at least 1 minute before the big ones pushed them out.

 

[Schipperkesue]

Congrats, momma! and good luck!

 

[BC Belgians]

Well, so far so good. All 8 kits are still alive and this morning everyone looked like a fat toad - although they are very different in size to each other. My doe is a great mom, although some of you here wouldn't appreciate her being rather high spirited.

I can't tell when my doe feeds her littler, which is why it is difficult for me to give the small ones a head start by removing the bigger ones for a while. My rabbits are not in cages or hutches, but live in big pens - colony style.

So, what I have done is pulled the little one out for two nights to fed it supplementally with my own formula - which has proven itself when rearing wild eastern Cottontails. I have no way of telling if that made any difference or if the kit would have made it on its own anyway, but here we are.

My orphan rabbit formula is similar to the formula suggested on this forum, except that I use 10% Half&Half coffee cream and no corn syrup. The ratio is very precise in order to mimic the fat and protein content of rabbit milk:

40g raw egg yolk, mixed with 100 ml 10% Half&Half coffee cream. I strain this through a fine sieve and warm a small quantity in a glass of hot water. The formula is fed via eye dropper.

Thank you for everyone's suggestion. I'll post pictures shortly. The Belgian Hare babies look nicer when they have some fuzz. <br /><br /> -- Mon Aug 11, 2014 9:21 am -- <br /><br />

 

[SA Farm]

They are so cute! Thanks for sharing!

 

[SilverDesertRabbitry]

Such beautiful baby Hares!! Can't wait to see some more pics of when they grow up!!

~SDR

 

[Marinea]

Yes, definitely worth waiting for those pics! Beautiful buns.