Doe in labor - urgent question

[Dragongreg]

Ok, so one of my experienced NZ does at the last minute abandoned the next box and built a make shift nest on the wire. She did bunch up a ton of hay and a lot of hair, but I'm concerned about the kits being born out of the nest. I took a peak and she is hard at giving birth and I can hear the kits under her. Should I leave her to her own? Let her finish and perhaps check on her in 30 mins or so? After she's done should I move the nest to the box? Naturally, it's pitch black out and I don't want to spook her. Not sure what to do??? Any comments would be most welcome :!:

 

[skysthelimit]

If she is in the middle of kindling, I would leave her. That happened to me and the rex doe gave me such a look, so I turned off the flashlight and left. And then again, the holland doe kindled five while my back was turned grooming another bun, so I guess it depends on how comfortable the doe is with you.

 

[3mina]

I'd leave them til she's done then move them into the nest box.

 

[Cowboy1]

I would give extra nesting materials and leave her until she is done.

Congrats!

 

[Dragongreg]

I'll check on her in a about 30 mins and if she looks done I'll ad
D some more hay and pine shavings and go from there. She's normally pretty good with me and I may try to move the nest to the box before calling it a night.

Thanks to all!!!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I would definitely move the kits to the nest when she is done. Put a layer of shavings and some hay in the bottom, and then transfer her nest to the box. Put the box on the spot she chose to make her nest. Also make sure to look all around the cage area for any kits that may have crawled out of the cage.

 

[Dragongreg]

It's been an hour. Heading out to check on her progress. Thanks<br /><br />__________ Sun Nov 04, 2012 9:11 pm __________<br /><br />Update, the start of a save: added fresh shavings and all the loose hair I could gather and moved 8 kits to the box. Placed the nest she made with some of the hay over the top and placed the box in the corner she had made the nest and left her to adjust the new nest. She was a bit nervous. But my Wife stroked and "talked" to her as I made the move. Pretty cool stuff actually! Fingers crossed!!!

Thanks to everybody for the quick advise.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Good job! She should accept the nest just fine. Congrats on eight kits! That's great.

I like to give my does parsley as a post-partum treat. It stimulates contractions (to expel any more afterbirth and return the uterus to normal size), and enhances milk production and appetite. All good things for a new mom.

Good luck with the new additions!

 

[Dragongreg]

Hi all,
Just checked on the new born kits and all 8 look great!

Fat little belly's and mom is doing fine.

We also had a early surprise this evening with our Cali doe that was crossed with our creme d buck with 6 more newbies. She pull hair and delivered on day 29 all in about two hours. The kits are all molted colored with black, white and rust. They should be really beautiful.

Thanks for all the advice!