Delivery trouble, what to do?

[JessicaR]

My ND doe is having trouble delivering and i dont know what to do Yesterday morning at 8am I went out to check on her. First thing I noticed was she took all the hay out of the nestbox and spread it all over the cage. Then I noticed she had some mucus discharge and she was having contractions. Since she was nervouse about me being out there I went back in and was watching her from the kitchen window. By noon there was still no kits, so I went out to check on her. I looked her over and felt her belly, I could feel kits moving. I had to go away when I came back the evening, still no kits, no contractions, and now no movement felt. So far today when I checked she is having contractions again but not as strong as yesterday.

I gave her tums yesterday, she wont eat it. She is still eating food and drinking even during the contractions! Never had a doe do that before. Is there anything else I can do for her? I doubt if the kits are alive anymore, and i would really hate to loose her.

 

[MaggieJ]

Try giving her some sage or lavender buds, fresh or dried. It should help her expel the kits. If you don't have your own herbs, the produce department of the grocery should have fresh sage. It won't hurt her and my rabbits love it.

 

[skysthelimit]

Any lavender on hand, fresh twigs?

You can also take her in hand and massage her, it will cause contractions. Electrolyte solution in the water, i put the tums in the water as well.

When this happened to the mini rex doe, I checked to see if a kit was stuck. If you are not squeamish, insert your finger as far as it will go, carefully of course. I had to push the kit back in to get it to come out right.

Some suggest oxytocin. I am not a fan, because if the doe is to narrow, it can cause uterine prolapse.

 

[JessicaR]

I had to run to the store to get sage. So far 2.5 kits born all dead

 

[garden lady]

I had to run to the store to get sage. So far 2.5 kits born all dead

0.5 :x I hope she gets them all out soon! Sorry you have to go through this.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Aww... Sorry about the kits, Jessica.

At least she is passing them, so hopefully she will be okay. :clover:

 

[dragonladyleanne]

Half a kit?! How does that happen? Or do you mean one is stuck halfway?

 

[skysthelimit]

Sorry they didn't make it, but so relieved she is passing them.

 

[MaggieJ]

Yes, at this point it is the doe that is the priority. It's sad about the kits, but there is always another time.

 

[MamaMandy]

I'm so sorry things aren't turning out well. We had a run of bad luck over the summer with a Holland doe. She had a live litter on her third try. I know how disappointing and frustrating it is. Do you have a buck to use to rebreed her right away? They're usually very receptive a couple days after delivery if they lose them all. Keep us posted on her progress.

 

[Miss M]

So sorry about the kits! Hope the doe makes it!

 

[ZRabbits]

Truly sorry to hear about the kits. Hoping your doe is OK.

Karen

 

[JessicaR]

Thanks everyone for the help and kind words.

Sorry the posts were so short I was worried about Nutmeg Yes the .5 was a stuck kit. I was worried about hurting her and tearing the kit in 2 (even though it was dead) it took about 4 hours for her to deliver the stuck kit. I would slowly pull to try and help get it out, then give her time to try and deliver it, finally it came out at 8 pm. I didnt feel anymore kits in her so hopefully she is done. She had 3 kits looked like 2 were chestnut and 1 orange. She is such a sweet rabbit even though she was in pain, not once did she growl or try and bite me. I will probably try to breed her again 1 more time and see if she does better, after she recovers of course.

 

[ZRabbits]

Thanks so much for the update on Nutmeg. Poor sweet girl. Hoping she recovers soon and the next time Nutmeg and you have a better experience.

Karen

 

[JessicaR]

Went out and checked on her again after I took the kids to school, she had 1 more kit, a broken chesnut I felt around again and I am fairly sure she is done now. I also dont know if me feeling around caused her to pee or if she has an infection? When I felt around her belly, a yellowish liquid come out, it looked like pee but I just am not sure anymore. I was going to be giving her penicillian anyways when the kits were older, I guess i dont have to wait now.

Should I give her more sage today, how about mint since she doesnt need her milk now? She is still acting fine eating and drinking so I am taking that as a good sign.
I think I will give her a month or so to recover before i try and breed her again, and if she has trouble the next time I think she will just be a house bunny. I have never had such a laid back sweet doe before!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

What were you going to give the Penicillin for?

 

[JessicaR]

she had what looked like vent disease, but I will say I am not 100% sure. She was scabby looking on her vent area but she didnt have any signs of it on her face. Her vulva looks fine today other than a bit red and swollen. I dont know if she is just leaking urine or if it is pus but everytime I rub and press on her abdomen a thicker yellow fluid leaks out. She is eating still but not as active as normal, but I dont know if that is just because she is a little sore from being in labor 2 days or if something else is going on.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

If she had vent disease, that is likely what killed the kits. I would go ahead and treat her with ABX and also the buck you bred her to....

 

[JessicaR]

Ok I will start treatment immediatly. I bought her bred, she is still seperate from the rest of the herd and will be staying in QT until I finish treating her. I wont be breeding her for a while, at least until I am sure she no longer has vent disease.