Twinkletoes
Well-known member
I have 2 does that both gave birth yesterday. Reflections has had 2 stillborn litters of 5 each. Then yesterday at 6am I went out to 9 wiggly kits! She had made a nest but didn't add much fur. So I added more fur. I left them be. Around 5pm my other doe, Amy, had 6 wiggly kits. Amy has had 3 other litters(9 in the first, 9 in the second and 8 in the third). She has never lost a kit so I know she is an excellent mom and produces lots of milk.
I brought all the kits in last night because it was supposed to get really cold. Took them all out this morning to nurse. Amy hopped right in to nurse her kits. Reflections didn't even act interested. I brought Amy's kits back in but left reflection's kits out for a couple hours in hopes she would nurse. I just went out to check them and they still appear to have not been fed. There are a couple runts that are really tiny and starting to grow weak.
I'm wondering if I should foster some of reflection's kits over to Amy. But I'm not sure which ones. Should I attempt to foster the runts to Amy and hope Reflection's will start nursing the other kits? Or should I foster over a couple of the bigger kits and not worry too much about the runts? I'm just worried that no matter who I foster over, the kits staying with reflection's won't make it. I can't expect or ask Amy to nurse 15 kits! For an angora, 8-9 kits is already a big litter.
I wish I had the time to hand raise but I just don't. I am a stay at home momma to 3 boys under the age of 6. We homeschool and have other animals to tend to. But I don't want to sit and watch as the kits slowly die from starvation
<br /><br />__________ Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:23 am __________<br /><br />Oh and I've tried holding her over the kits but she flips out. She isn't one to easily flip either. She almost seems really stressed out about the whole having babies thing. I've added parsley and red raspberry leaf to her feed. I've also coated oats in blackstrap molasses.
I brought all the kits in last night because it was supposed to get really cold. Took them all out this morning to nurse. Amy hopped right in to nurse her kits. Reflections didn't even act interested. I brought Amy's kits back in but left reflection's kits out for a couple hours in hopes she would nurse. I just went out to check them and they still appear to have not been fed. There are a couple runts that are really tiny and starting to grow weak.
I'm wondering if I should foster some of reflection's kits over to Amy. But I'm not sure which ones. Should I attempt to foster the runts to Amy and hope Reflection's will start nursing the other kits? Or should I foster over a couple of the bigger kits and not worry too much about the runts? I'm just worried that no matter who I foster over, the kits staying with reflection's won't make it. I can't expect or ask Amy to nurse 15 kits! For an angora, 8-9 kits is already a big litter.
I wish I had the time to hand raise but I just don't. I am a stay at home momma to 3 boys under the age of 6. We homeschool and have other animals to tend to. But I don't want to sit and watch as the kits slowly die from starvation
<br /><br />__________ Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:23 am __________<br /><br />Oh and I've tried holding her over the kits but she flips out. She isn't one to easily flip either. She almost seems really stressed out about the whole having babies thing. I've added parsley and red raspberry leaf to her feed. I've also coated oats in blackstrap molasses.
