I went out this morning and two of my does kindled. One had 13 and the other had at least 11 can't tell yet. The one doe had hers on the wire but I got to them soon enough. I only lost 2 out of each litter. The one doe didn't look like she fed hers cause they were wrinkled and not plump. Are there any tricks to getting her to feed or will she just go and feed them when she wants to. Thanks much for the advice.
bunnie explosion this morning
- Thread starter sam
- Start date
Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:
dayna
Well-known member
I had a doe that didn't feed her babies on her own for the first few days. On day two I was getting worried about lack of feeding so I held her on the nest. She struggled at first and then she had a "lightbulb" moment and relaxed. I had to hold her in there once or twice more (I don't remember) but after that she was a champ and those were the fattest babies! Now she is feeding them pretty much before they are even done coming out of her!
dayna
Well-known member
For now, if they kindled this morning, yes. I would just wait and see how the does do. Make sure the does have plenty of water and lots of extra food.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
Some does milk doesn't come in right away. If they don't have full bellies in the morning, I would start to worry, although it can be as long as 48 hours sometimes. Since you have the other doe you could swap the nests so they get a good feeding while waiting for the milk to come in.
They should pretty much ignore the box all day long and only hop in to feed a couple of times a day. Does that stay in the nest often crush their kits, so is not something you want to see. If your doe does that, it is best to remove the box and only give it to her in the morning and evening so she can nurse.
:congratulations: on the litters!
sam":12ty7mtl said:
They should pretty much ignore the box all day long and only hop in to feed a couple of times a day. Does that stay in the nest often crush their kits, so is not something you want to see. If your doe does that, it is best to remove the box and only give it to her in the morning and evening so she can nurse.
:congratulations: on the litters!
MamaSheepdog":1mqvelbw said:
I swear I get all of the weird animals. One of my does that just kindled is a first timer, and my boxes are oversized. She just sits in the very front of the box and stares at the kits in the back for hours on end. They're all fat and happy, and she doesn't sit far enough in to smother anyone, she just has to stare at her little babies and make sure everything's alright...
we had 10 more yesterday afternoon with no dead, but our first mom has not fed her babes and hasn't covered them well so we have lost 6 more and I relocated the other ones to the other two moms I hope it works out they both have large litters to take care of.
