Found dead kit 4 days early...more to come?

[Missy's Mom]

On Friday I carefully moved mamma (w/o picking her up by hand/ using cage to cage transfer) into maternity cage. (This was later than desired due to prior litter still hanging our in there post-weaning for way too long.) This maternity cage is in my fenced garden. On Sunday I went out in early am and heard thrashing coming from just beyond the fence... (my ground hog trap caught the critter who was eating all the greens I was growing for my buns.) Then I looked at Missy and saw a slightly smaller-than-usual, cold, dead kit on wire. Mamma had not made a nest or anything... did not expect to see that until today. Questions: could stress of move and thrashing critter nearby have caused premature abortion? I only found the one kit, might she still deliver more on Tues or Wed, when I expected them? It is supposed to get hot tomorrow (before cooling off ) and might consider re-breeding her today in case the heat causes my buck to lose his... vigor. Can a doe expel one dead kit early and deliver rest full term? Thanks for the advice in advance.

 

[ladysown]

yes, does can have a dead kit and then later kindle the rest of the litter just fine. Don't give up hope yet.

Can stress cause a doe to abort... for some yes, but not generally.

 

[Missy's Mom]

Missy has been standoffish and quiet and hadn't been eating her pellets for last couple of days, all normal for her pre-birthing, but today she was totally lethargic. Went out to feed and freshen all the waters and found her dead. As the sun was going down I thought I'd open her to to see if I could learn anything, but unfortunately, what I thought was sharp scissors were awful for the job. There was thus huge dark squishy mass that got nicked and leaked all this vile liquified poo, I would imagine it was.
Does anyone know of a good site with necropsy pictures that ID normal/problem?

 

[KelleyBee]

Missy has been standoffish and quiet and hadn't been eating her pellets for last couple of days, all normal for her pre-birthing, but today she was totally lethargic. Went out to feed and freshen all the waters and found her dead. As the sun was going down I thought I'd open her to to see if I could learn anything, but unfortunately, what I thought was sharp scissors were awful for the job. There was thus huge dark squishy mass that got nicked and leaked all this vile liquified poo, I would imagine it was.
Does anyone know of a good site with necropsy pictures that ID normal/problem?

Thinking about mama-to-be rabbits, moving to a new cage just before birth is not something I would advise. Instead, moving out the weaned kits from the home mom knows best and feels safest in is always best. Carrying a precious cargo of life into a strange cage, even if she had been in it before….their minds don’t process like a human mind…..can disturb an otherwise secure soon to be mama. In addition to her cage interior, she needs to be within that new environment long enough before giving birth (days and preferably weeks) to know that every little exterior sound, smell and movement will not endanger her or her kits. Rabbits will abort a litter if they do not feel secure enough to give birth and rear them.

So, in your second post, which I have just read after writing the above, is Missy the doe in question? I’m sorry to read she has passed.

 

[HTAcres]

I am so sorry. I wish I could help. I do second what KellyBee said about moving mommas. I just had to move one but thankfully it was just "two doors down" and hopefully identical enough to be okay. Maybe you have been doing this successfully and this was just an off time. I know a FB group for postmortems but haven't found a website.

 

[Missy's Mom]

I am not in the habit of moving mammas right before they deliver. When I wean kits, I DO believe it is best practice to leave the babies in the cage they had been in when they were with their momma to reduce THEIR stress. (I also don't usually re-breed until a few days before weaning, but wanted to beat the heat and pushed it by a week since Missy only had the one litter since I got her last summer). Due to a personal unavoidable situation, the babies transition to their new pen was delayed by a week, which in turn had the mamma out if the pen that best accommodates her nest box for a total of 2 weeks and she was back there 6 days before I expected to see kits. She was still carrying a litter of 5 kits when I attempted a necropsy.

Thanks for the support. She was the first bun I ever lost.

 

[ladysown]

Honestly, I move does all the time regardless of where they are in their gestational cycle. Never had a problem doing so. I've even moved does in PROCESS of delivering since they were in untenable situations.

the fact that she had been dead for a while makes it hard to determine what the mass/fluid was since in the heat... dead animals break down quickly. it could also have been a dead kit that started to decompose within her causing her death.

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[KelleyBee]

I am not in the habit of moving mammas right before they deliver. When I wean kits, I DO believe it is best practice to leave the babies in the cage they had been in when they were with their momma to reduce THEIR stress. (I also don't usually re-breed until a few days before weaning, but wanted to beat the heat and pushed it by a week since Missy only had the one litter since I got her last summer). Due to a personal unavoidable situation, the babies transition to their new pen was delayed by a week, which in turn had the mamma out if the pen that best accommodates her nest box for a total of 2 weeks and she was back there 6 days before I expected to see kits. She was still carrying a litter of 5 kits when I attempted a necropsy.

Thanks for the support. She was the first bun I ever lost.

I’m so sorry for the loss of Missy. Please don’t think I am judging you. I’ve made so many mistakes with my rabbits along the way and people have to figure out what works best for them. When I answer questions here, I like to just be sure to share what has turned out to be the best practices for my rabbitry and to hopefully help someone avoid the mistakes I have made.

Regarding moving kits, I too have read that moving mom is considered “best” for stress reduction on the kits, but my rabbitry is not set up to accommodate moving my breeder does, so here is my solution that has worked beautifully for every litter we’ve had:

Once weaning time arrives (mimicking rabbits in the wild, I wean them at 4-5 weeks) I move mom and all kits with her to the grow out cage. Mom stays with the kits for a few days (including overnight) in their new home and this aids in telling the kits their new home is safe and mom approved. During this time is a great opportunity to get mom’s cage cleaned up before bringing her back home. After about 2-3 days of mom spending time in the grow out cage with her litter, I remove her back to her cage. Now, all the little kits have to deal with is wondering if mom will come back and they are not at all dealing with the fear of a new cage and new surroundings, because this is where mom was with them last and her presence sanctioned the cage in their minds. I have found this method to be very effective and it keeps mom in the most consistent environment for the long term.