finally!!

[pyronymph]

So after waiting and waiting, and lots of "you should have babies tonight" conversations between myself and my does (I'm real patient... :mrgreen: ) we have finally been given a sigh of relief! Monday night we had our first kindling here! Last night we had our second! Each were 8 kits, and all seen to be doing great. I am so excited! How do you guys keep your hands off the adorable little buggers?!!?

PS - that's 2 out of 5 that have kindled so far. When we got the does we were told they were all exposed. There is one more that I'm expecting to go tonight (fingers crossed) but the other 2 I don't think took. They have nest boxes just incase, though.

 

[trinityoaks]

Awesome! Can't wait to see photos! As for keeping our hands off, two words: WE DON'T! :lol: Seriously, though--it's a good idea to do a full pull-and-count once or twice a day for the first couple of weeks at least. That way you can make sure all is well with the kits.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hands off? Nonsense! None of my does have ever seemed upset by having their kits handled, and I always give them a treat for their good behavior. It does the kits good too, to get used to your scent and being handled.

Congratulations on your litters! I hope all the kits thrive for you!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Congrats! And nope, we are totally hands on bunny raisers. I handle the kits daily from the time they are born.

 

[Secuono]

I check them in late day two, mom should of fed them by then. Take out any doa's at that point, but it's winter now. When it's warm, I'd check them day one just for doa's. I don't bother checking them several times a week for the first few weeks. I just let mom do her thing, I do peer into the nest, but not bother with scrambling them.
Though I do love to pluck one out to rub it on my cheek, kiss it, baby talk to it and just go aww over it. =D They are too soft and tiny not to!

 

[pyronymph]

3 litters -- 8 kits each! All have survived so far. I fuss with them 2x per day, at feeding time. I have one over-protective mother who charges me every time I go for the nest and has chewed a hole in the box so she can see that I'm not hurting them when I reach my hand in (surprisingly this is not my cranky attack bunny... go figure, she doesn't have a problem with me checking the babies! HA!).

Thanks for the input, guys! I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling! lol

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Congrats, pyro! 8 is a nice sized litter.

Don't be too surprised if you lose a couple over the first few days- I have come to expect it. I lost one more 2 days ago... a broken, of course. I'm still waiting for the doe that can kindle a large litter and keep them all!

Have fun with the little guys... and watch out- they just keep getting cuter!

 

[Miss M]

Congratulations! :mbounce: :mbounce: :mbounce:

Yep, as soon as they're dried off and discovered by one of us, we pull out the nest and count them and look everybunny over. If it's cold, we bring them into the kitchen.

Seems like every time the kids go outside, they're carrying a popple around, when we have them. :lol: They're just irresistable!

 

[Cattle Cait]

Woohoo! Congratulations!

 

[pyronymph]

We lost one I found it squished in the bottom of the nest this morning. I counted the box again and, only finding 6 babies, started frantically digging. Found the squished one, and one that looks like it is about half the size of the others. So we grabbed another mother (this kit was from my super over protective doe who attacks me if I even look at the nestbox) and tried to get the little guy to eat something. He latched on once, but since we don't know what we're doing, I have no idea if he got anything at all. We put him in with his foster mom's litter who are about a week older and 4 times his size, and hope that they'll let him get something to eat.

What kind of milk replacer should I get incase he's still alive in the morning? I have medicine syringes that I think will be the perfect size to feed him, but don't know what to feed.

 

[Miss M]

It really is more probable that he will have a better chance with his own litter, as the older litter will out-compete him even more strongly for space at the milk bar.

As long as he is warm and active, he's got a fighting chance. You never know, sometimes the little ones surprise you. You can try to supplement the milk he is hopefully getting from his mom, but at only four days old, it'll be really hard to help him. If he isn't getting milk from the doe, your chances of saving him at this age are slim. So hopefully, he actually is eating, he's just little.

I have supplemented kits for a doe who was not producing enough milk, and I did start when they were less than a week old (but they were still nursing, I was just helping). This is what I used:

1/2 Cup canned goat's milk (evaporated, so it's concentrated)
1/2 Tablespoon corn syrup
1 Egg (raw)

I wrapped a baby in a rag, and fed it VERY slowly with an eyedropper. You have to be very patient and slow. I would squeeze the eyedropper so that a bit of a drop appeared, and I'd touch it to the baby's mouth. I'd try to get the tip of the eyedropper into the mouth, and squeeze out just a slight amount at a time. I did have one baby who would not let the dropper into his mouth, preferring to sip from it. Watch the nose, and have a soft cloth handy. If it gets milk on its nose, get it off quickly. The baby will sneeze, too, if the formula gets into its nose. Little nothing puff of a barely-there sneeze :lol: . Keep the nose clean, and feed painfully slowly, at least until it figures out how to suck the formula out. They can drown or die of pneumonia from aspirating the formula. You stop when they look like they swallowed a shooter marble. You can overfeed, as I learned.

 

[pyronymph]

I tried feeding him last night. But I had trouble keeping him warm enough to keep him focused on eating. Is it better to feed all at once, like the momma does, or can I feed every couple of hours, like you would any other baby animal, and just let him stop when he's not interested anymore?

ETA - He made it through the night, and ate a little bit more this morning. Poor little thing is all ribs, but he looks like he put some body fat on just from last night, even. So I'm going to keep at it. I'm not gonna give up on him until he gives up on himself

 

[Bramble Hedge]

Hands Off Kits? Didn't think that was possible lol, I have even walked around with one or two in my dressing gown pocket ( they told me too )