Both does had their litters uncovered?? Normal?

[Comet007]

I just went down to check on the buns - it's 63 degrees here, so not too hot. Both does were laying in their cages, and there were piles of fur in both cages on the floor. Down in the Sani-nest, both litters only had a thin veil of hair over them, and the hay that formed the top of their nest was pushed back so it wasn't covering them.

The kits are wiggling around in both litters, and I don't see any dead ones. Is this normal, that the does are uncovering the babies? It does appear that the kids have been fed, though I didn't move them all, so I don't know if all have. Velma's kits are almost a day and a half old, and Daphne's are just over 48 hours old - they definitely do not have their own fur yet!

 

[akane]

If there is fur outside the nest put it into the nest. The kits will regulate their temp by climbing to the top and pushing stuff off them or burrowing down and shoving hay and fur over themselves. You just need to give them the option with enough loose materials. Some have said to add dryer lint in place of fur but I'm not sure I really like that idea. Often things in the nest get chewed on and some eaten by the kits and the doe will sometimes snack on stuff in the box. I've had everything but the pine in the bottom of the box disappear by the time they are 10-12 days old. Maybe some of mine are trying to eat the dirty stuff so the kits stay clean. :shrug:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I have never had a rabbit take fur out of the nest. I wonder if they just pulled more fur but didn't get it into the box?

 

[ek.blair]

I have seen my litters uncovered a few times, but it has been on warmer days. My rabbit area stays right around 50-55 degrees, but when it gets closer to 55 I have noticed less material over the babies... I don't think it would hurt to put the hair back over them. Oh, and like mamasheepdog said, I had the doe from my litter that was born this last Friday pull more fur last night.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I had the doe from my litter that was born this last Friday pull more fur last night.

I have only seen a few of my Rex do that (although I am not watching them all 24/7 so it may happen more often than I know), but I had a Lionhead doe that would add more fur and hay to the nest for at least the first week.

It made me think that either my Rex were just mediocre moms or she was incredibly dedicated. :roll:

 

[ek.blair]

My does seem to be really good, attentive does. I mean, I know that rabbits don't "tend" to their babies like other species, but when I put the nest boxes back in after messing with the babies both does run up and stick their noses in and will even "resituate" the stuff on top of the babies because I didn't do it right! :shock:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I know that rabbits don't "tend" to their babies like other species, but when I put the nest boxes back in after messing with the babies both does run up and stick their noses in and will even "resituate" the stuff on top of the babies because I didn't do it right! :shock:

Mine don't do that. They might hop in to check that I didn't take any, but beyond that they don't do anything. :?

Maybe I'm a better "nest builder" than you! :tease: :twisted:

I haven't ever seen mine cover or uncover their babies either... I guess they want to raise "do-it-yourselfer" kits. :roll:

 

[ek.blair]

Maybe I'm a better "nest builder" than you! :tease: :twisted:

I'm sure you are... you have a bit more experience at it!! ldgeezer: :twisted:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm sure you are... you have a bit more experience at it!! ldgeezer: :twisted:

Well!

I never! :angry:

Wait... yes... yes, I have been called ldgeezer: here before. :?

MYSTANG!!! You have competition!

 

[Comet007]

Ok - we were going to try to sex the kits tonight, but I just went ahead and brought them in to do it and check on all the kits. Bear with me, I'm a first time kit gma! I'm so glad I did - there was a kit that was buried far into Velma's nest - opposite of where the does enter - that was dead with a black bloated belly. By my count this was one of the all pink ones. There were tiny puncture marks in the black part and it appears that the kits themselves pushed the dead one down there, and it was starting to smell. I didn't actually smell it until I went searching for that last kit, but I'm sure their nose work better than mine!

So the hay above the nests may have been disturbed by the does, and it does look to me now like Daphne and Velma had pulled more fur. I have the kits in the house right now, and I checked Daphne's nest first then covered them back up. When I was finished checking on Velma's crew, Daph's had already crawled up until they were barely covered by fur, so I am guess it is warm enough for them!! I'm wondering if Daphne and Velma moved the hay to try to investigate the odor, since their subterranean nests are only 10-12" apart. They probably pulled more fur to have it ready for tonight, since they both had a pile of fur sitting within a few inches of the nest so it was all ready to go!

Sheesh, I am being a helicopter mom, which I never was for my own two "kits"! Glad I checked anyway and got the expired kit out, and DH will be happy he didn't have to do it!!

It looks to me like they are being good mama's, so I am taking the nests back outside.

 

[ek.blair]

MYSTANG!!! You have competition!

WOW! I feel honored (I think) to be compaired to Mystang!! :wr_power:


@Comet007 Bummer about the lost kit Glad to hear they are being good mama's though!

 

[Comet007]

One other weird thing - Velma had a bunch of what looked like milk in her little herb dish! It had mostly dried in there and there was quite a bit of it. Do does walk around dripping milk? Strange. :shock:

I forgot - there were a couple kits in each litter that had dried bunny poo stuck on them, thereby blocking them from going to the bathroom. I kind of feel like it was good that I caught it, because I imagine it would cause problems if they couldn't go to the bathroom. I used a warm damp paper towel to gently clean them off, and all of them peed way more than I would except from such small creatures! I guess I know how to help them pee now anyway.

Oh! Almost forgot - if I did it right, Daphne has 7 girls and 3 boys - Velma has 8 girls and 1 boy. Is it usual for so many of them to be females? I will check them all again in the next couple days to see if I come up with the same results. I ended up just taking pictures of them and assigning a number to each one to keep track of it.

 

[akane]

Kits pee giant puddles. :lol: We hold them out for the akita to check and she licks up their bottom and belly. Half the time they start peeing and this huge stream just keeps going. The doe should be keeping their genitals clean and helping them pee. If you start seeing them dead with full bellies though there could be a problem.

My does never messed with the nest after giving birth but some would hang around it. Especially in colony. As you approached the nest a doe would start circling a few feet away and sometimes growl or push their way between you and the box when you reach for it. I never penalized those does. They were good mothers who kept other things from harming their kits. It was only demon rabbit who fully attacked my hand (and everything else). The dogs said their first rabbit was tasty. :

 

[skysthelimit]

Toile had her litter Friday, as of this morning, when I returned the box, she started pulling fur and stuffing it into the box. Most of the Rex peak in when I put the box in, and I've had a few pull more fur the nest day, but she's almost 4 days in and still pulling her and collecting paper? Gee. Mom of the year.

I do find litters uncovered all the time, just figured the kits squirmed and did it.