Doe dried up with 5 day old kits?

[philothea]

I think the my doe has dried up for some reason. The first few days everyone looked fed and doing well. Then I had one dead kit last night (runt), then another one this morning and the kits were in different places in the nest a little skinny and not feeling really warm either? I flipped the doe and it doesn't look like she is really full of milk at all.
Suggestions? (I have been giving her a little bit of calf manna with her pellets (as I always do when she starts nursing.) She had 12, 1 doa, 1 revived so now she is down to 9. She has always been a great mom so I am not sure what it going on.
Suggestions, thoughts?

 

[MaggieJ]

That's a tough one. What do the kits' bellies look like? That is usually the best indicator of whether or not they are being fed. There are plants you can feed that support lactation... I'll see what I can find out for you.<br /><br />__________ Fri Sep 13, 2013 9:28 am __________<br /><br />This list is from the website of the International Breastfeeding Center
http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com ... &Itemid=17

fenugreek
blessed thistle
alfalfa
spirulina
goat’s rue
raspberry leaf
fennel
brewer’s yeast
stinging nettle
shatavari

I don't know what you might have available, but it also mentions oatmeal. Oatmeal, raspberry leaves and alfalfa should be doable. If you use stinging nettle, it must be dried so as not to sting the rabbit.

 

[philothea]

I have been giving her some oats (not alot) Some bellies are ok, (not great) some look a little skinny. The fact that they were not really warm worried me and did not give me the 'popcorn' effect when I checked them in the nest this morning.

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree that sounds rather alarming. Sorry, except for boosting her milk supply, the only other thing I can think of is to supplement by hand-feeding. They must be warm to digest milk. You may want to take them indoors between feedings or add a hot water bottle to the nest. I use a screw cap wine bottle with very hot tap water. Pull a sock over it so they don't get burned and lay it along one side of the nest box. That way they can move toward it or away according to their needs.

formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html
tips-for-handraising-kits-t2486.html

 

[philothea]

Well, she hasn't dried up, some are just dying. The odd thing is it is just the brown colored babies, the black one are fine. Not sure why a particular color is dying. (This was a multiple mating with two different bucks so the brown ones are one sire and the blacks another. First time for both bucks.) Wondering if there is a genetic issue with the brown ones.

 

[MaggieJ]

It does rather sound like a genetic issue. Perhaps the doe and the sire of the brown kits are not compatible. I've never seen this... but I have heard of other instances of incompatibility.