Fostering a Kit...HELP

[Peach]

Well long story short my boyfriend who works at a pet store had some costumers point out some kits in the middle of the pen were they keep all of their rabbits. One was dead, but one was still alive. He called me up to see if my doe that is about to kindle would foster her because they didn't know the mother. She hadn't made a nest or pulled fur. It's one of those cases that this one lion head cross I know has been there for several months and I witness her brother hump her had to be the mom. She was just moved to a different holding pen with a guinea pig in the morning. I brought the kit and her home, put hay in her cage, and put some cloth in a circle with hay to keep the kit warm....she really isn't doing much else for her baby (atleast I'm pretty sure it is with her protruding nipples. The rest of the rabbits there are few week old babies) expept eating the hay I put out for her to make a nest for her baby. My doe is expecting any day now. Do I just wait for her to kindle and mix the kit in? Do I feed the kit Esbilac for now if the mother doesn't take over her duties?

 

[ladysown]

i would hold mom over the kit just to keep enough in it to keep it alive. When is your doe due?

OR call around and see if you can't find a foster mom...even kits a week older would be fine. the important thing is to keep her warm and to get it fed. Kits can survive for a couple days without milk, but they MUST stay warm.

 

[Secuono]

You can flop the mom on her back and lay the baby on mom's belly so it can get some milk. But that's if she won't let you hold her over the kit w/o kicking or doing something else not so safe.

 

[Peach]

I attempted putting the mom over the kit and she growled and thumped....not going to try that again. I held her up and the kit wasn't interested in drinking. I'll try again in a few hours.

 

[currituckbun]

I had one that was a day apart from the foster mom's kindle date. I almost got the nursing kit out but she had hers in time. What I did meanwhile was use a heating pad ,a brick, and a few towels. I got the brick and towels really warm with the heating pad in an old kitty litter bucket the high sides kept the heat in. Then I took the heating pad out so I did not over heat. I put the kit on the towels lined with moms fur and then covered the whole thing with a woven mat. The kit survived about 36 hours like this until my other doe kindled. When she did I just mixed the other kit in with the others.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

This is going to sound like a heartless question, but how much do you value your doe and her litter? I would rather lose a single unknown kit than my entire litter, so I personally would not introduce an un-quarantined pet store rabbit into any of my nests.

I notice that the kit has some crust by its' nostrils, which could be milk, but it also has litter and feces stuck to it's foot and tail, which could be from any animal at the store. You have no way of knowing what they may be carrying and whether your animals are resistant to it.

I would try to get the doe to care for her own kit, and keep them away from your rabbits. Flipping the doe to nurse worked well for me, although out of 8 kits only 2 survived.

I hope you can save the little guy without risking your own rabbits. Good luck!

 

[MaggieJ]

I have to agree with MamaSheepdog on this. The kit could bring any number of health problems with it. I wouldn't chance exposing my rabbits to it.

 

[Peach]

hmm that's true :/ I guess I'm going to try and get this doe to try and give milk. Rough calls to make,but it's true. I can't risk getting my other doe or her kits sick. I'm going to do my best with the kit and it's mother. Let's hope this doe gets her stuff together and tries to be a better mother.

I have another question. I bred my doe the 31st of december. She's pretty large at this point. When do your does usually kindle? Morning? Night? She's been doing all her goofy motherly nest building things ( Gathering hay in her mouth) for a few days. She just flopped over on her side and I thought she kicked the bucket! lol She's fine though.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I have woken up to kits, had some born in the morning while feeding the farm, and had some in the evening. It doesn't seem to matter when they come, I always feel like I've waited long enough! :lol:

Good luck on your litter!

As for the pet store doe and kit, I'm glad you aren't going to risk them with your own animals. I know it is hard to make a clinical decision like that. I think this "Peach" has a lot of soft spots!

 

[skysthelimit]

hmm that's true :/ I guess I'm going to try and get this doe to try and give milk. Rough calls to make,but it's true. I can't risk getting my other doe or her kits sick. I'm going to do my best with the kit and it's mother. Let's hope this doe gets her stuff together and tries to be a better mother.

I have another question. I bred my doe the 31st of december. She's pretty large at this point. When do your does usually kindle? Morning? Night? She's been doing all her goofy motherly nest building things ( Gathering hay in her mouth) for a few days. She just flopped over on her side and I thought she kicked the bucket! lol She's fine though.

Both of mine kindled during the day, while I was out/or at work. I even took off the day she was due, and she kindled the next day!


You've got some sound advice here. I hope this works out. Sometimes the doe does not feed the first or even the second day after the kits are born.
My psycho doe tried to kill them the first night, emptied the nest box and stomped on two kits the second night, I gave them to a doe who already had 7 kits, and she nursed them, then I took the box inside. The third day I brought the doe in, and she was hiding from me so she jumped into the nest, and I held her there stroking her face. After that, she accepted the kits and willing nursed them.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

she jumped into the nest, and I held her there stroking her face. After that, she accepted the kits and willing nursed them.

I think many animals are reluctant to nurse their young because their breasts are engorged with milk and very sore at first. I know mine were for the first several days after the birth of each of my wonderful "pups", and if I lacked logic I wouldn't have let them nurse, either! At first it can be very painful until some of the pressure is relieved, and not only the first time or two of nursing your young. It might take several times nursing before they realize that once that initial painful abundance is relieved they will feel much more comfortable. It might be a benefit to try to get the doe to nurse 3 or 4 times a day so she doesn't suffer that painful engorgement.

 

[currituckbun]

Good point Mamasheepdog!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Tuck, I'm guessing you are a Mama too!

 

[currituckbun]

Tuck, I'm guessing you are a Mama too!

Oh yes I have two. One is on her last year in the nest. The other is going to high school next year. The empty nest is gaping at me and that is one of the reasons I started up with rabbits.
They need lots of attention and they don't talk back....as much.
Breasted both but the first was a snacker and caused me quite a bit of frustration. The second was nick named Hoover. Still likes his milk .wish we had a cow....oh not from me . ha ha

 

[akane]

If this kit showed no interest in nursing when you tried then it's either been fed or it's as good as dead. A hungry kit goes nuts when introduced to another rabbit and wriggles around all over in the fur. The only exceptions are kits too weak or cold to eat and they will die within the next 8-12hrs if something doesn't change.

 

[Peach]

Well we got wiggling and "talking". I put the kit on her mamma but not sure if it got much to eat. Eventually the little one stopped looking for a teat and I put her back. I checked this morning and the kit was nice and toasty in the nest I made. Doesn't look all too skinny,but I'll check again when I get back from school tonight. The lion head x doe grunts and makes noises and what not when I reach in to stroke her a bit. She hasn't attacked me but I've never had a rabbit so vocal. I saw her lick her kit yesterday some when it crawled over,but she otherwise ignored it and I put the kit away. If this kit survives I'm sending them back to the pet store just for the sake that I get too attached and I had a rabbit returned to me because they were allergic, another rescue I rehomed to a friend gave birth 2 kits ( 1 had to be snake food because of bad teeth) and aren't leaving until Feb.10th. I decided to sell my BEW because I don't want to pass on allergies to anything in my lines. Hopefully rehoming him soon to a friend that is interested...and trying to sell cages/hutches by february 18th so that I can bring in new show/brood stock. Work and School of course too. So busy!

 

[akane]

Rabbits don't take care of their kits like other animals. There is no point showing her the kit really or letting it crawl around her and it doesn't mean anything if she completely ignores it. They feed them for 5-10mins a day and otherwise ignore them. They don't wash them or lay with them. They are prey animals and to keep predators away they evolved to stay away from the nest. A normal nest would even have the entrance blocked and look like the surroundings so the kits and their scent are locked in until the doe open it for feeding once or twice a day and then leaves again. The only thing you need to watch for to know if she's caring for it is if it's getting wrinkly with it's ribs showing or staying filled out, preferably round but many don't get get the full ping pong ball shape that some see and they do just fine.