Flipped to nurse but no full belly

[ollitos]

One of Matilda's kits isn't getting a full belly at feeding time so I flipped her this afternoon and held it on her. She's normally unwilling to let us do this but wow did she trance out for me!

The problem is that after at least 15 mins of nursing - and I definitely heard sucking - the kit's belly looked the same. What gives??

 

[akane]

Rabbits can hold back their milk. If they aren't normally comfortable being held in weird positions they often won't give off any milk unless they are very full. If upside down doesn't work it can help to hold the doe upright over the kit in a more natural position if you can keep her from fighting and potentially injuring the kit. They are more likely to release their milk that way. If the other kits are getting well fed you can also remove them or most of them to another nest for the night. It will do them no harm to miss a feeding if they are otherwise getting well fed and give the runts a chance to catch up.

 

[AnnClaire]

Man, did she go out! LOL

I would recommend that you keep trying before she feeds the other kits. Keep them out of the cage and only return them morning/night so you can be sure that the doe is full of milk when you try the runt.

You might also want to put one of the more active feeders on at the same time as the runt ... that way, the doe is stimulated by more than one kit nursing. If the runt isn't nursing vigorously enough, the doe may not be letting her milk down.

Don't give up, it is a process for you, the doe, and the kit.

 

[ollitos]

Thanks! I'll pull the kits out tomorrow if the runt still isn't looking full.

 

[AnnClaire]

Remember, it is all about COMPETITION between the kits as to who gets most and which will be eliminated by being out-competed. Once you get the baby nursing, you may or may not be able to return it to the litter. I would definitely recommend returning the kit to the litter, then waiting about 15 minutes before putting the litter with the doe. This will give the runt time to digest a bit of the milk and let it get in there and compete for more milk.

One runt, I would let it feed in the morning, then put it with the litter and take the litter to the doe in the evening ... basically, the runt got 2 feedings per day for the first week. It never caught up to the littermates in size, but it held it's own and I sold it as a pet. Another runt, with a week of feeding 2x per day, by the end of the week had caught up with the next larger kits and by 10 weeks, I couldn't tell it from any of the other litter mates.

 

[ollitos]

In the past, I've been able to get runts fed a few times by themselves and then they're strong enough to fight for a nipple. But since Matilda wasn't letting down her milk, I'm concerned that this one might start going downhill without at least one good feeding very soon.