Doe peeing on kits? and just being a bad mom over all??pics*

[Dogwoodrabbits]

I have 4 day old kits, the moms second litter, first live one, she had her first litter on the wire a few days late. she had these late as well. she had 9, 2 doa, and one we had to bring back to life. but its doing well still.

main question- is she peeing on them ( ill add a picture if i can figure it out) they look... dirtyish. youll see hopefully.

5 of them are doing great, super fat, maybe WAY to fat? two of the 5 have HUGE bellys... so im not sue if that is nomral either. i havent seen that before. and 2 out of the 7 are SUPER small. half the size of the rest. they were all the same size when born, but these arent getting feed i think. they look weak. im going to going to force them to nurse here in a bit.

she has been in the box with them. there is a poop pile on the other end of the box, where i would like to think its from her just standign thre nursing them, but there is so much i doubt it, none of our other does had that much poop in there, and no its not in her potty coner.

 

[MaggieJ]

Not all does get it right even on the second try. You could try helping the weak ones out. I've never actually done this, but I know some people will flip the doe over and place the weak kit on its belly, allowing it to nurse without competition. This helps it stay strong enough to compete at the next scheduled feeding. Many time a rabbit will be quite docile once it is on its back.

This might go better with two people. One person sits down and holds the rabbit on its back in his lap. The second person puts the kit on the doe's belly and helps it find a nipple. This person is also responsible for catching the kit if something goes wrong, like the doe kicking suddenly.

I understand the doe gets used to this fairly easily and that it is often necessary to give a weak kit only a couple of extra feedings to help it through. But as I have said, I have never actually done this.

Even if you're sure the nest box is not over the potty spot, I would try a different location if there is enough room. I would also switch to a clean box without lingering odours if that is possible and all fresh bedding, although you may have to salvage the fur.

 

[ladysown]

clean out the box, repeatedly if need be.

is the nestbox her very own or has it been shared with other buns? some bunnies like their very own nestbox and dislike sharing...others could care less. Those who dislike sharing will make a mess out of their nestbox even while using their potty corner.

so if i'm understanding you...she has seven kits, but two of the kits are failing?

Do you have another doe you can foster the small ones onto? This especially works well I find if you have a younger litter. Sometimes first time mommas can only raise a smaller litter. The fact that she had nine and is trying to raise 7 is not a bad thing. Next litter she may do even better for you.

 

[Dogwoodrabbits]

clean out the box, repeatedly if need be.

is the nestbox her very own or has it been shared with other buns? some bunnies like their very own nestbox and dislike sharing...others could care less. Those who dislike sharing will make a mess out of their nestbox even while using their potty corner.

so if i'm understanding you...she has seven kits, but two of the kits are failing?

Do you have another doe you can foster the small ones onto? This especially works well I find if you have a younger litter. Sometimes first time mommas can only raise a smaller litter. The fact that she had nine and is trying to raise 7 is not a bad thing. Next litter she may do even better for you.

so if clean out the box, do i remake the nest for the kits? and im really not sure if that one has been used before. i just stack them up. but ill change the whole box to a new one, that i know for sure hasnt been used and see if thats better.

and yes she had 9, 2 died, and 2 are not doing so well. i force feed them on her, and one went to town, the other didnt do a thing. so i m pretty sure we are going to lose that one, if it has no interst in eating.


we nomrally do two at a time, but the other doe didnt take. so it was just her, so i cnt foste them out. we should be having more babies next week tho. s maybe then<br /><br />__________ Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:21 am __________<br /><br />But, as for her peeing on them? you cant tell in the picture, but they arent cleaned up to well. kinda like crusty looking. patches of dirty look spots... idk but not like dirt just haha i cant expain it. but do i clean them up my slef? so they dont get sick or gross?

 

[MaggieJ]

Quite honestly, I don't know what you should do about cleaning them, if anything. Cleaning them with water may lead to them being chilled. I'd be tempted to try a cotton puff with a bit of warm olive oil on it. Oil cleans and protects... They used to use it to wash preemie infants back when.

If the doe shows further signs of peeing on the kits, you may have to remove the nest box and just give it to her for a short period of time twice a day, so the kits can nurse. It's not ideal but people do this to prevent kits from freezing in extreme winter weather.