Frozen, not dead.

[DevonW]

I have a doe who is due tomorrow for her first litter, being so she decided to make a nest last night after the last check (10pm) and this morning she had a nest on the wire instead of in her nesting box (go figure) and there were 6 frozen kits in it. It went down to -15* here last night.

Anyhow I decided they weren't dead dead, and brought them in the house filled a ziplock bag with hot water and put all 6 kits on it, then brought out the hair dryer on low. Within 5 minutes one had started moving and 10 minutes later 3/6 were alive.

Unfortunately 2 died of shock but I still have one feisty one residing in my bra.

It feels good to not have given up on them right away.

 

[MaggieJ]

Good for you, Devon. That was a good save percentage.

 

[Shara]

Wow. I always wonder about a broken blue kit I thought was dea. From now on, I definatly try to save them!

Good going!

 

[MaggieJ]

The rule I read somewhere, Shara, is that "they're not dead until they are warm and dead." In other words, they can be chilled or even frozen but sometimes still revive. If, after thorough warming, they still show no signs of life, it is time to give up on them.

 

[Farm Girl]

I'm glad you were able to save some of them Devon.

 

[trinityoaks]

Good for you! Glad you didn't give up!

 

[HendricksHearth]

That's awesome, Devon- hope that little guy or gal does well for you. I have had the same experience- one of my does kindled on the wire, found them much later (one was on concrete about four feet from the cage even) and they felt freezing cold with no movement. Just for the heck of it I warmed them slowly and all revived- still lost one, but so much better than I had thought initially when I stepped out and saw them.

Lauren

 

[ladysown]

i too have learned teh importance of not giving up on kits.

 

[pfaubush]

That's awesome! I saved one out of a litter of eight. I had that stinker in my bra from morning feeding until my other doe kindled later that night. The good folks at AWANA looked at me funny when I would twitch, but eh. I saved a life!

 

[Pickles]

Wonderful that you were able to save some of the kits.

 

[Miss M]

Wow! I will definitely remember this... just in case!

 

[mommaebear]

just out of curiousity, how frozen were they. I just lost two litters after leaving for a day, and came back to them frozen solid one litter at 4 days, another at almost 2 weeks and I had to try. In the spring I had a duckling that fell in the freezing pond and I found frozen stiff in the morning who thawed and was alright. And then I had anothe kit born on the snow in minus 30, I scooped up quick(was only chilled still moving) and warmed and survived as well. I always try when they are that age, you never know with babies. I herad of a human baby who was dead 5 hours who the parents cuddled and held after death who came back and turned out normal. If you don't try you alway look back wondering.

 

[ottersatin]

Yes,
you did the right thing,
always try to save the kits!
Sometimes a first timer will just get confused and
her brain freezes. I have placed whole litters kindled o the wire
while the Dam had prepared a perfectly good nest.
i place the kits in a plastic butter tub under running
warm to hot water. When I see movement I take them out and dry them.
In a few minutes I can/have placed them into their nest.
I check on them often but in most cases the Dam has snapped out of it
and takes perfectly good care of them.
Hey, it happens to everyone, it's all part of raising Rabbits.
Good Job Devon.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[eco2pia]

i place the kits in a plastic butter tub under running
warm to hot water. When I see movement I take them out and dry them.
In a few minutes I can/have placed them into their nest.

Whoa. :shock:

You put them IN the water? They get WET? And that WORKS? Well, I'll be darned.

I'd have thought that it would warm them too unevenly, or cause edema, or drown them, or something. Amazing. Learning a lot today.

 

[ottersatin]

When I fist did it,
it was an act of immediacy. I suppose I could have placed them on a towel
on the woodstove, but I was desperate and the running water seemed faster.
when I saw the mouths moving, out they came.
I have saved most litters that way. Of course time is always of the essence.
You cannot hope to save them all, and usually the ones you save will be the ones with the flaws!
It's Murphy's LAW the ones that don't make are/were always the BEST ones!
But sometimes you WIN!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Jack]

wow, better luck than me, I have never gotten one back, even after being warmed.