First time mamas

[desertcat]

First of all, I apologize for no pics, but I ran out of hands!

Had 2 first timers kindle on Tues. Nest building was a B- , hairpulling A+ so that evened out. Both does had HUGE litters for Dutch ( 7 in one litter & 8 in the other) with all babies in the nest boxes.

We showed both of the girls extensively this spring, which I think came in handy. My super-star black doe is continuing to be a star...all her babies had full tummies last night.

My semi-psycho chocolate doe just couldn't wrap her mind around the wiggly things touching her! She'd get in the box, start to feed & fly out scattering kits everywhere. Time for a lap feeding. Getting her out her cage & into my lap was an event (always is) but once she's there she settles quickly. Started putting babies under her and the look on her face was on of sheer terror...and then the magic happened. She gave a big sigh and started grooming me. She stayed snuggled while all the kits got full tummies and truly seemed peaceful & content for the first time ever.

All we needed for a Norman Rockwell moment was a rocking chair :wr_love:

 

[Miss M]

Awwww... that's wonderful! And neat that you got to make that happen.

 

[Marinea]

How sweet.

Be prepared. My chocolate doe's first litter was seven. Her second litter was eleven! Luckily, I was able to foster a few over.

Congrats on the kits!

Once your hands are free, maybe some pics??

 

[HoppinHalfPints]

Awwww! That's so cute! I think she finally resigned herself to her fate. :lol:

 

[khellendros05]

hello, i am still learning and picking up things so dont mind my obnoxious questions, but i heard does will kill their first litter, is this incorrect?

 

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

Its possible, but most likely not on purpose. Because its the first litter, she has NO idea what to do, so she freaks.

 

[khellendros05]

oh ok thanks i am learning alot

 

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

But, you may get an Olivia, who is my Mini Lop doe, who with her first litter (of 7), lost 4, and took better care of those babies than my proven Mini Rex doe who had a litter 8 days before

 

[desertcat]

We've been really lucky on our first time moms. Three have really freaked out over the babies, but only 1 stayed nutty after we did the lap feeding routine.

I do not have any idea why we are having huge litters all of a sudden. Up until this batch, 6 has been a really large litter. Of course I get more babies to chose from this way, but if it keeps up, I'm going to have a major cage shortage!

 

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

Hey, I wouldn't argue with having lots of big litters... I would only have 3 rho because I only have 3 brood does, but if in the next breeding (hopefully sometime in August), Olivia (Mini Lop) has 7 again, Fat Girl (Mini Rex) has 7 again, and Sweet Heart (Mini Rex) has 6 or 7 again, and they all survive, (or at least the majority, these last 2 litters, were 7 and 4. 2 died. Before them I have had about 34 rabbits born in my rabbitry. 6 rabbits lived to sell. These litters I lost 2 out of 11. We're making progress) I wouldn't be upset

 

[MamaSheepdog]

She gave a big sigh and started grooming me. She stayed snuggled while all the kits got full tummies and truly seemed peaceful & content for the first time ever.

Aww!

I wonder if she will nurse them in the box now that she knows they aren't something to fear? opcorn:

If she tends to be skittish with you, now is a good time to give her extra petting and attention. Mammals secrete a hormone called prolactin when they give birth and also when nursing their young. It helps them to bond with them by creating a kind of loving euphoria, and by petting her at this time she will also associate that feeling with you.

 

[desertcat]

Yep, she's doing a great job taking care of her babies! She's one of the goofiest rabbits we have until you finally get her captured & then she's an absolute doll. Would be nice if the prolactin hit would calm her just a little bit.

 

[Sagebrush]

I have a doe who has 3 day old kits that I am using the prolactin on to tame down just a bit more. I want her to actually seek me out for petting instead of me having to try and catch her. So Prolactin and BOSS are my best friends right now.

 

[michaels4gardens]

hello, i am still learning and picking up things so dont mind my obnoxious questions, but i heard does will kill their first litter, is this incorrect?

I have rarely had a doe kill it's first litter,[its been years] and IMHO the nervous, skitzo does who do-- usually are not worth keeping for breedstock, how a doe does with the first litter - is a good indication of just how much mothering instinct / ability they have. I do often have slightly smaller litters, and smaller kit size in first time moms, and often the kits start out growing a little more slowly then older ,experienced, and bigger does, -- but the good moms, will develop the milking ability soon, and then the kits will take off.
I see a lot of litter troubles with people who are messing around with the doe, and looking into her cage while she is trying to kindle, especially with first time moms. Try to remember she will feel vulnerable and a little scared any way, so leave her alone until she has finished, and cleaned the kits. -- then,if you must - disturb her /try to help her.
I raise meat rabbits, - I try to provide the best situation I can for the rabbits, and then just leave them alone to do their job . I check and clean nests at day 1 and remove dead, and foster if needed , and then again about a week later. - -When I feed I glance into the nests, and also look for flies, or bad smells, if I see neither, I try to let the doe raise her young with out my help. When the young are coming out of the nest, there will be plenty of time to hold, and "socialize" them if you wish.

 

[Miss M]

I see a lot of litter troubles with people who are messing around with the doe, and looking into her cage while she is trying to kindle, especially with first time moms. Try to remember she will feel vulnerable and a little scared any way, so leave her alone until she has finished, and cleaned the kits.

I agree, experienced does with several litters under their belts can probably handle having someone around while they are kindling a bit better than first-timers.

I did have a doe once, though, who we caught kindling her first litter. It was a good thing we did, because she had stubbornly refused to build her nest in the nest box (we had tried putting her nest in there and moving the box repeatedly), and was kindling in the nest she had built behind the nest box. Galadriel and I stood outside her cage with a bucket of hay, collecting babies as they wandered out of the nest and onto the wire. Thankfully, the doe didn't seem to care that we were there or that we were taking the babies. That certainly is not the case with a lot of does, especially first-time moms.

We moved her nest and babies into the nest box, and she used it after that. She was a great mom... unfortunately, I lost her to gut stasis as a side effect of antibiotics given for an abscessed injury we drained and treated.

I check and clean nests at day 1 and remove dead, and foster if needed , and then again about a week later. - -When I feed I glance into the nests, and also look for flies, or bad smells, if I see neither, I try to let the doe raise her young with out my help. When the young are coming out of the nest, there will be plenty of time to hold, and "socialize" them if you wish.

We also check and clean the nest after the doe is finished kindling. After that, well, we frequently bring them in to hold. It's just fun to sit and relax with a popple or two sleeping in one hand.

 

[Ramjet]

But, you may get an Olivia, who is my Mini Lop doe, who with her first litter (of 7), lost 4, and took better care of those babies than my proven Mini Rex doe who had a litter 8 days before

This seems pretty typical of first timers in my experience.

They don't have a clue to start but if you can save a few thru the first few days they get the hang of it and the majority of those will survive. Two of my three does have gone thru this learning curve & done things perfectly the next time around. The other one just knew what to do from the get go.

One of them had 12 in her first litter , all on the wire , pulled no fur and would drag them out of the box after feeding , part of that was due to their size I believe as they were very small being such a large litter.
On day 4 or 5 she pulled fur and stopped freaking out when feeding , all those that survived that first few days (4) lived to reach the grow out pen.
On her next litter she had 11 doing everything just right , all of them survived to the grow out pen. She's been a fantastic mother since that first disaster of a litter.

The other that went thru this same learning curve is much the same , she just doesn't have such large litters.