HELP!!! Abandoned kit

[ChopSuey]

Hey guys, so that doe that I was waiting on to kindle finally did. I went out to check and see if there were any kits about 15 mins ago. There was twice as much hair around and in the nest as there was last night, so I thought yay! Well there did not seem to be any movement below the hay & hair so I pulled the nestbox out to get a better look. No kits inside.....but there was one behind the nestbox wedged between it and the back of the hutch, cold and on the wire! :evil: I snatched it up and brought it inside. It is soooo cold but moving. No injuries that I can see. I have it stuck in my bra with an electric blanket around me. What do I do? Was going to keep it with me until it warms up and then bring it out to thE doe so it can nurse. The other doe that was bred at the same time did not take so a foster is out

Thanks!

Sue

 

[MaggieJ]

You will likely have to keep a single kit in the house and take it to the doe twice daily for nursing. It will not be able to keep warm on its own... It takes about four kits minumum to generate enough heat to keep a nest cozy for all. Other people have done it successfully, but it does require work.

That said, I'm not convinced the doe is finished. Leave the nest box in with her because she may kindle more kits in the next 24 hours or so. She may not... but if she does and they survive, you'll be able to pop your lonely only back in with them.

In the meantime, remember that kits cannot nurse and digest milk unless they are toasty warm, so make sure the kit is warm, pink and active before you take it out to the doe.

Good luck! Hope the little one makes it! :clover:

 

[Jack]

I have had 2 does with a really significant split, one was 4 days, she had the kit on the wire, I hadn't even put a box in yet, the other was a day, she had 2, then 3.

Keep it warm, the babies make a little huddle under the fur and heat each other, a singleton is likely to freeze to death. I you keep it by it's self, put it in a small box 3x5 size, and take the mother out and hold her flipped in your lap to put the baby on. Some rabbits do fine with a singleton, others, not so. give the bunny a few days, if you have a spare box, put the baby in one, and leave the other one in the nest, then put the baby in twice a day. If she won't feed, then do it manually flipped.

 

[ChopSuey]

Sadly the little one just died a few minutes ago. He warmed up and was pink and squirmy, I even brought mom in and held her so he could nurse (no luck) he was sleeping inside my shirt when he gave a couple of gasps then just died. I am not sure I even want to give mom another chance. So far the best producer and mother in my herd is my smallest a six pound dutch. The Californians that I got have yet to produced a litter that lives. My buck is a Californian and he is a total sweetheart who licks like a dog, so he has a place for life. I know it is not him b/c he fathered a lovely litter of 7 seven last time with my dutch doe. Just feeling down, and all this rain and thunder is not helping my mood.

 

[Jack]

breed the doe today
one of two thing happen,
you will 'stimulate' labor if she has more babies in her
or today is one of the most fertile days in a rabbits cycle and she should take well
I had a doe that was producing giants (sadly a common occurrence in a singleton pregnancy) who didn't live due to birth trauma, she was a rescue from a '4H' project, and about 2, so a little late to start production

I had to breed her back to back twice to get a viable litter out of her, I was kinda split, whether to short cycle her, or let her rest, but I figured 3 pregs in a row she deserved some time off. Realize that in the wild the rabbit is a bunny making machine and often go into the food chain by the third winter.