Fed vs. Unfed Kit Pictures
- Thread starter MaggieJ
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MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
What adorable kits, Disney! Great picture quality too. 
WildWolf
Well-known member
Those are good, thanks!
garden lady
Well-known member
Thank you, very helpful. I will check mine in the morning.
Ok, so now I'm worried...I've been flipping my doe and feeding my singleton kit twice a day. Last night her belly looked really nice and full, but after both feedings today her belly just doesn't look full at all. I let it nurse as long as it wants on 4 different teats but it just doesn't look plump like it did. Anything else I can do?
MamaMandy":1r619yxo said:
How old is the kit now?
It may be that the doe is tense and not letting down her milk. I'd try putting the kit in with her and giving her a bit of time to feed it, rather than flipping her.
It'll be a week old tomorrow. It doesn't have much fur yet and it's pretty chilly here. It's belly looks more full this morning but not tight and plump like before. I sure hope it's not a peanut...it's eyes are bulgey, but it's ears look fine. It's hindquarters look pinched but it has good use of it's back legs. I'm just worried because I swear it's barely grown in a week. Every other peanut I've tried to help nurse can't seem to latch on properly and never, ever gets a full tummy. (I know peanuts won't survive but I hate seeing them starve to death so sometimes I flip the doe ) Also, the doe is a true dwarf, I'm pretty sure, but the sire isn't...he's a bit large for a Holland. So, I don't think it could possibly be a peanut...maybe it's just the runt? It's proved it's a little fighter being the only surviving kit out of 8! I just hope it can live...
) Also, the doe is a true dwarf, I'm pretty sure, but the sire isn't...he's a bit large for a Holland. So, I don't think it could possibly be a peanut...maybe it's just the runt? It's proved it's a little fighter being the only surviving kit out of 8! I just hope it can live...
I don't know much about Hollands and peanuts. You might be wise to start a new thread in the Rabbit Care forum so more people see this.
Thanks for this Maggie. I wish I had seen this before my does kindled. I ended up with 3 does that had kits the same day and knew one of them was a first timer but didn't know which one. Ended up being my Cali. She lost 4 out of her 6 kits do to poorly made nesting box and starvation. I didn't know anything about flipping the doe over or what starving kits looked like but I do now. Thanks
I'd like to add overfed kits to this thread. During the summer, we lost quite a few kits and didn't understand why. Their bellies were so bloated and they ended up with slow, painful deaths.
We have a very small litter of kits and they are being overfed. You can compensate in one of two ways - either remove the nesting box and let the doe feed only once a day until her milk supply adusts, or add kits from another litter into the small litter. Overfed kits need to be watched closely after feedings. It only takes a few feedings for them to get to the point that they can't come back.
When laying down, the bellies are very pronounced and pop out the sides. The kit farthest on the left is the worst.
The belly is too full, too round and the skin is too tight. This is about 8-10 hours after the last feeding. The kit should not look like a freshly fed kit.
We have a very small litter of kits and they are being overfed. You can compensate in one of two ways - either remove the nesting box and let the doe feed only once a day until her milk supply adusts, or add kits from another litter into the small litter. Overfed kits need to be watched closely after feedings. It only takes a few feedings for them to get to the point that they can't come back.
When laying down, the bellies are very pronounced and pop out the sides. The kit farthest on the left is the worst.
The belly is too full, too round and the skin is too tight. This is about 8-10 hours after the last feeding. The kit should not look like a freshly fed kit.
sommrluv
Well-known member
I would respectfully disagree that these are overfed. Sometimes in the summer, kits can be subject to bloat if they don't have a way to get out of a very hot nestbox. Because of the way rabbits drink, they aspirate easily...there's really no way to 'overfeed' unless you are feeding them yourselves. I have kits that get even FATTER than this, and it's shocking looking but they do just great.
My newest litter is struggling, I think. They are 3 days old now, not sure if the doe has fed them on her own..but, we've turned her over for them to nurse for the last 2 nites. They still don't seem to get full looking, so I brought our other doe(who has a litter and is feeding them well) in and flipped her for them. Still not certain about them, especially a couple of them that seemed so lethargic they kept falling asleep while sucking/looking for a teat, etc.
They definetly don't look as full as the older kits do and did the first few days. In fact, the older kits maybe overfed if that's possible when there is 9 kits??? One out of that group is a runt and probably underfed.<br /><br />__________ Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:15 pm __________<br /><br />Actually, today they look fed-hooray! Last nite's feeding was difficult, hopefully we won't have to do that again!!
They definetly don't look as full as the older kits do and did the first few days. In fact, the older kits maybe overfed if that's possible when there is 9 kits??? One out of that group is a runt and probably underfed.<br /><br />__________ Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:15 pm __________<br /><br />Actually, today they look fed-hooray! Last nite's feeding was difficult, hopefully we won't have to do that again!!
Amy, next time, you might just switch the litters for a couple of feedings ... the older litter with stronger nursing drive will help the slow-to-milk mother get her milk in and get the idea of what nursing the kits is all about. The struggling kits will get a couple of good feedings in giving them the energy to nurse strongly when put back with their mother.
Thanks AnnClaire, that was going to be my next step..but, as much as people do that I was worried about how the mom's would react to babies that were a few days apart.? Do you just switch the nestbox? Or switch the kits and keep the nestbox in with the doe to help with scent?
Amy, I "mix and match" the litters here ... but your point about the nest box is an important one ... even if I completely switch one litter for another, the original nest box goes back to the original doe ... it has her scent on the outside and her kits scent on the inside. I give the new kits a few minutes to acquire the original kits scent, then take the box to the doe. Generally, the doe is more than ready to nurse the kits, so most of the time she just hops right in.
sommrluv":22asxvzz said:
These weren't summer kits. It happened with summer kits and this litter as well. If they still look freshly-fed with full and distended bellies at 2pm, they are being over-fed and could have problems. I wouldn't have been concerned if they looked like this at 10am.<br /><br />__________ Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:32 am __________<br /><br />I found pics of the overfed kits from the summer.
sommrluv
Well-known member
That looks like bloat to me.
Wyldrose
Well-known member
Here are my fed and not fed kits
Left is fed, full tummy, fat and the right kit is thin, wrinkly and skinny.
Left is fed, full tummy, fat and the right kit is thin, wrinkly and skinny.
