Has any one had problems with kits and shavings?

[SMR]

I had a gorgeous litter of 10 French Lop babies, just recently at the 2 week old mark they started dying off and I could not figure out why. The last one I thought to pry open and "check" the whole body out cause I just could not figure out how nice healthy kids I kept finding dead in the box. The mouth n throat was full of pieces of shavings although from just looking at it it was stuck tight shut with no out side signs it was stuffed full of any thing, so I'm guessing they started trying to eat them and ended up choking on them This is a new one for me, never had a problem for over 10 years. I've heard others post about trouble on fine shavings but the shavings I use are 1" to 2" long 1/2" to 1" wide shavings over all, very little of any thing smaller. Is there any choke proof bedding out there? Hay is just not enough material in the bottom of my boxes to keep kits in one place and dry I've found out the hard way even with early changing to clean material. I've had some Hollands kill themselves with just a hay box before (and I know it wasn't mom cause mom wasn't in with them).

 

[MamaSheepdog]

How terrible for you!

I have found that coarse straw works pretty well in nests- I put shavings in mine too, and sometimes shredded brown paper grocery bags, as well as grass hay. I have also started putting a handful of pine pellets (horse bedding) in the end the does usually kindle in. I may fore-go shavings in my next ones now!

Did the kits have anything edible in the box? Hay, grain, etc.? I could see them ingesting non-edible items simply because their instinct to start eating forage kicked in and that was the only thing available to them.

So sorry for your loss, and thank you for doing a necropsy and alerting us to this potential hazard.

 

[SMR]

Thanks...yeah I'm not really sure why this litter done that. I've never had one do it before so I was overly when I found it.

The box had some hay, fresh grass, and even a scoop full of grain in it. I wanted to be sure they had some thing in there as I saw a few scooting out to munch on mom's greens so figured the rest would be trying soon any way.

You might want to re-think the pin pellets as well, the ones I've used in trays in the past once wet or dampened broken up into sawdust like piles and since the little ones ended up with big shavings in their mouths I would think the finer pieces would be easier to choke on earlier. I could be wrong and worry to much as well. What do you think? Or do you use some that don't break apart easily?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Actually, I was thinking the same thing about the pellets- they do break up when damp. I would be more concerned with them swelling in the stomach and causing a possible impaction than choking since it would take a lot of saliva to start one swelling.

Were the shavings treated with anything to give them a pleasant scent? I've never seen anything like that, but that is the only reason I can see that they would eat them in such large amounts when food was available to them.

 

[SMR]

No smell to them, same ones I've been using for years. That's what I can't figure out. Maybe its just this breed's or this line's 'thing'. I have Netherlands and Mini Rex that are about the same age (few days apart) and I've not had any of them doing that. The next litter from them I'm going to try just giving hay cause I'm at a loss other wise, if it is a line/breed thing maybe it won't matter and they won't have wet issues.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Maybe because you putting grains ect in the boxes. That when they started to eat they try to eat the grains and eat some shaving along with it and didnt know the difference. Maybe at 2 weeks old that you tip the box with food on the side of it. And see how that goes. So there is no shaving. Use hay they lay in it and eat it . And you can see what is going on and put more as they need it.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Good thoughts, Mary Ann!

SMR, maybe you could use a fine wire mesh 1/8"- 1/4" and make a "sub-floor" over the shavings or other un-edible absorbent material?

 

[SMR]

Could be, but I've always done that with previous litters and like I said it was just this bunch.

Do the babies not get squished when you do that? Do you anchor them some how? The last time I tried (been years ago) when I noticed and didn't really want to keep putting babies back in the boxes when they first started to crawl out n couldn't get back in, I lost quite a few because they got squished from the box flipping on over when mom jumped up on the side(my boxes have half tops on them and are made out of plywood/boards). So I quit trying that.