Handling kits and other questions

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BoxerMom

BoxerMom

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I come to this wonderful list yet again for tips and advice! Rio and Hollis are 8-9 days away from kindling :p and as my excitement grows, so do my questions. I promise I will do my best to keep this short and to the point. So...

Does anyone handle kits after birth? I want to get weights on them but I also don't want to disturb mom. If it's not a good thing to do please tell me.

For the past several days the does have been fulling fur, especially since we separate them. I know its early but they were digging and trying to nest for the last 3 or 4 days, sso I put their nest boxes in and immediatelly they were in there. I took some of the fur they already pulled in thenestbox and since they pulled so much fur I was wondering if I could save somef of the extra fur and save it in case in the future I have a doe who doesn't like to pull fur.or would the fur being from another doe be an issue?
 
I think handling kits son after their born is a matter of opinion. I know some breeders are dead against it, while others have no issue handling the babies. I think it also depends on the moms. I handled my babies since day 1 (for a very short amount of time, only to check on them, in the morning and before bed, and I had no problems. One of the mom's was pretty bold and didn't seem to care. Our other doe is a shy dainty little princess but after giving her a handful of grass she was totally oblivious.
There are other precautions to take such as rubbing your hands on the doe and inside the nesting material before handling kits so you don't have your scent on them. And food is a great way to divert your doe's attention while you're checking on the babies.
I know you can save extra fur, and I've heard from a few long time reputable breeds that you can use fur from another doe, or even different breeds. I didn't have to do that personally since my girls nearly denuded themselves, so I don't have any first hand experience in that :)
 
Good for you saving that extra fur. It's definitely good to have some on hand for times when does don't pull enough or when the nest gets soiled for some reason.

You can handle the kits at any point but don't keep them out for longer than needed. I usually like to give the mom a few hours to relax after kindling, but it will do no harm to check the kits the first day. Give momma a treat to distract her - a piece of apple or air-dried bread are popular choices - and remove the box from the cage. This is usually less upsetting to the doe than having your try to handle the kits inside the cage. Do your check, count and weighing and then cover the kits again and put the box back. Momma will hop in and do her own kit check, most likely. They like to assure themselves that all is well.

Occasionally you will get a doe that is jumpy and even aggressive when her kits are young. Just be a little vigilant in case this happens. It's not that common, but better to be aware of the possibility in advance.
 
If I had a nervous, especially first time, mom I might not check them for a few days. Otherwise I go over the nest for stillborns and uncleaned placentas as soon as I find them provided the doe looks done. After that I just pull out one kit a day to see if it's fed and every few days check them again but most of my does wouldn't care if I pulled all the kits out every day to check them. We just found a very smelly dead kit in a nest that I'm glad I didn't leave. :sick: I don't thoroughly check that doe's nests as often because she's very protective and charges us if she hears the kits start squeaking. I have to block her with the feed scoop or something occasionally. In winter we didn't check nests as much. In fact one doe we didn't check hardly at all. We took her box in the house twice. Once to count them after they were a couple days old and then 8 days later when we noticed there didn't seem to be as many which turned out to be the fault of rats. Otherwise we didn't see them until they started coming out of the nest. Dead kits don't rot in winter though. They just get smooshed down to the bottom or sides and freeze.
 
Hot weather....an immediate check is a must... and I"ll take the nest box out of the cage to do so. That way temperamental does don't freak out, and you can do what you need to do... check for anything dead or potentially stinky.

I handle them every day, twice a day, with a particular focus starting at 2 weeks. I find that handling at 2-3 weeks vital to making nice pets for people. (and for myself handling them).
 
Thanks everyone for your input! I'm very excited for these kits to be born. Both does are first time moms, and they will be my first litters so I want to make sure I have everything covered.
 
I talk to my does whenever I approach the cages. Just a few words so they know who's coming and don't startle.

I check the nest boxes daily starting well before they actually kindle, so they are used to me getting into things before they have any kits to worry about. I always say the same thing when I check, "Can I see the babies?" I think it works like a training command, so they know exactly what to expect.

I've never had trouble checking kits, but I don't have any overly skittish or protective does, either.

-- Jue
 
I always check the kits as soon as I know they're there. My does could care less as long as they get some lovin' too.

Most days whether I have kits or not I try to do something unexpected around the rabbits so they get use to all sorts of weird things and don't react badly to new strange sounds (resulting in squished kits). Today I was singing 99 Bottles of Beer, as obnoxiously as possible and blowing in glass bottles to make a sound they haven't heard before. I only got the "Oh it's you again" look.
 
I think I will start doing something similar. I always make sure to touch them all over and they are getting good about that, but never considered making different sounds and movements. Thanks for sharing!
 
That is a really neat tip, Devon! :D

I pull the nestbox the day the kits are born to check for dead kits and wet or sticky stuff. After that, I will at least count them once a day for the first week to make sure nobunny has fallen out of the nest and out of the cage. By that age, they're usually too big to get out of the cage. But we do pull them out regularly.
 

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