I have 4 does in a my colony. In the last breeding cycle two does shared a nest, with 18 kits total.
I debated splitting the nests, but didn't know if one doe would accept a new location or just go back to their original nest site. I decided not to separate and to watch and see what happened.
All but 8 kits died because the dominant doe wouldn't let the other doe into feed, so not all the kits were getting fed, and only the strongest kits who were able to get fed every time survived.
If this were to happen again, I would definitely separate the nests so that both does could feed. Has anyone done this? Did it work?
I debated splitting the nests, but didn't know if one doe would accept a new location or just go back to their original nest site. I decided not to separate and to watch and see what happened.
All but 8 kits died because the dominant doe wouldn't let the other doe into feed, so not all the kits were getting fed, and only the strongest kits who were able to get fed every time survived.
If this were to happen again, I would definitely separate the nests so that both does could feed. Has anyone done this? Did it work?