gahh bad mother? new litter

[irishmick]

I posted yesterday nest-box-location-t11702.html about the mother using the nest box for her bathroom, well I convinced her it was a nest by cleaning it again and again and shading that portion of the cage so its dark. She started mustaching and putting hay in the nest, within 2 hours she had the bunnies (9) but she hadn't pulled any fur so I helped her out with dryer lint and pulled quite a bit of her hair also.

I flipped her and tried to get the bunnies to milk off her and her bottom hair is so thick they seem to be having problems finding the nipple. Does a doe pull that hair also or just the dewlap?

I pulled my other doe out of her cage, flipped and they started milking on her immediately.

I tried expressing milk from the mother, didn't get any but that may be because i'm inexperienced. I have not tried expressing milk yet from the other litter doe.
Any advice and if I do need to foster how many could I foster considering the other mother has 7?

__________ Fri Dec 21, 2012 10:25 pm __________

Spitting bunny hair out of my mouth continuously (me) lol it's like a magnetic attraction<br /><br />__________ Fri Dec 21, 2012 10:43 pm __________<br /><br />My first rabbit litter the doe is awesome. The weird thing is I really thought the good mom would be bad and vice versa considering their attitudes before birth. The standoffish, shy doe is awesome, I didn't have to do a thing. The affectionate me, me, doe is idk yet, but I had to clean her nest box like 6 times, use dryer lint, pull her fur... I know what line my next doe is coming from

 

[3mina]

Is this her first litter? Give her a shot or two before giving up on her, sometimes it takes a time or two for them to get it right. The new mom's milk might not have come in yet so give her some time
There's a couple of threads about treats that will help bring on milk.
Yes, you can pluck her underside to expose the nipples some

 

[irishmick]

Thanks 3mina. Yes it is her first. I really don't want to give up on her. More just a case of the new rabbit litter owner freaking out and inexperienced. I don't want to lose/kill the bunnies because I didn't do the right thing or worse did the wrong.

 

[Miss M]

Yep, 3mina's right. This is why most will give a doe three chances. Many does are clueless the first time around (and quite a few will lose their first litters), but many go on to be excellent mothers with lots of milk! So her not getting it right the first time shouldn't knock her babies out of consideration for breeding stock. Most does will have it right by the second litter, but a few will take three litters to get everything done correctly and in the correct order.

Hopefully, now that she has her nest built and her babies, she'll realize that the box wasn't a litter box after all (and maybe she'll remember that next time).

I seem to recall parsley is one of the things that helps stimulate milk production, but other things have been mentioned, too. It can actually take a couple of days for milk to come in, but they will usually have their first meal sometime in the first 24 hours.