How best to manage this litter of kits.

[fuzzy9]

Had a doe kindle our first litter from our new NZB buck yesterday....yay inkbunny: ........but this doe typically, always, has 2 or 3 small runts that don't do very well. Last litter she started with 8, and all 3 kits did not make it.

I want to try to manage this litter differently to see if I can save those small ones this time around. She had 7 live, and there's 2 small ones this litter. We only have 2 bred does this time around, and the other doe isn't due to kindle until Sunday, so I can't foster.

I wanted to maybe split this litter, put the 2 smaller ones in with one other sibling, and swap nestboxes out during the day. But what would be the best way to do it if the doe is only nursing a couple times a day?

 

[ladysown]

i would not split the litter. if a new zealand doe can't raise 7 kits... including the two small ones, then she's a doe not worth keeping. IF a holland lop at five pounds can successfully raise out a litter of eight kits, then a NZ should be able to raise the same easily.

you also need to ask yourself...why do you want to save the runty kits? You shouldn't keep them for breeding if they survive, and they will take (generally speaking) longer to grow out -- particularly if they need additional care beyond their will to live.

I have a doe who regularly has 13 kits, she's an 11 lb doe. She can raise out 11 of those 13. She always has two-five runts. I foster out the smallest of the runts (if I have a doe available to do so) and the rest have to make do. Any runts I leave with her make it just fine. They are smaller until they hit 6 weeks and then boom... they catch up just fine. It's actually quite interesting to watch.

I have two harlequin does 7-8 lbs, generally having 8 kits, that often will have a smaller one in the litter and it's interesting that often times those smaller ones will live whereas I'll lose a bigger one. if they make it, they will often catch up to their siblings starting at six weeks. BUT those kits that need help, most of the time, simply don't catch up. The will to live and fight through speaks a WHOLE lot to the ability of a kit to thrive, and a thriving kit catches up.

 

[fuzzy9]

Thanks ladysown.

She can raise a litter of 7, but the bigger kits take over, and the smaller ones get pushed back. There is a significant difference in size. Also, I don't intend to keep the runts for breeding, I use them for meat. I had cut our herd way down to an easier to manage amount, and then lost 2 does last month, so I have limited kits. I need to keep everything I can.

Since this is our first litter from our black buck, and the doe is a NZB, I want to be able to keep back a replacement for her, as I do realize she is not producing to her potential, but I need her right now. It's impossible to find quality replacement does around here, I gave up trying, and I'm tired of driving hours, only to be disappointed. People tell you what you want to hear, and then you get there, only to find something completely different, or sickly rabbits. :angry:

So if I'm going to keep a replacement from this litter, I need to try to manage this litter to try to save those runts. I just have to get them through the first couple weeks, because once they get past that stage, they take off, and they all even out in size.

If I can't save them, then I can't save them, but at least I tried.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:22 am __________<br /><br />Well, I guess I don't have to worry about anything yet, both little runts have just as big of a belly as the hippo kits do! :lol:

 

[tnelsonfla]

I would check the kits after she is feeds them and make sure their belly is full. Also you could try bottle feeding the smaller ones. If you are dependent on larger litters then you may have to add another doe or save a doe from another doe as a replacement. Saving a doe from this mother may have similar issues with her litters. Good luck, lets us know.

 

[fuzzy9]

Thank you. Yes, their bellies were full this morning, all 7, including the wee ones. :lol: So I'm just going to let it be for now.

I do have several other junior does of various ages that I am raising up for breeding, but she has such an amazing personality, and passes that on to her kits, I want to keep one from this litter, and take a chance on it. Can't hurt.

 

[Secuono]

I really don't believe the whole, can't raise them all, cull, thing. My does had some small ones, which are runts, they are not meant to survive. The larger ones will beat away the smaller kits and after 2 days, they will be far stronger. This makes it not the doe's fault at all.

You can try feeding them mid day, bring the runts out and mom. Flip mom and let the runts suckle.

I'm also starting to think that, at least domesticated rabbits, feed more than twice a day. I've had to keep a nest in the house for one of my does, cus she was peeing/sitting in there. I brought them out to eat in the am and then in the pm. Doe fed them nice and long, but they really weren't growing that fast. I put them back in with the doe full time the other day and they are always full of milk now. The other does had the same amount of kits or one extra, those were growing faster, same breed for one and same buck for both. Those kits also are full more often than not.

 

[SatinsRule]

Fuzzy, it's often not the fault of the doe when 1-2 smaller buns die. Sometimes it's just that the babies never fully developed in some way, or got stepped on inadvertantly as the doe was nursing the litter, or any of a number of other things. No real need to start thinking in terms of eliminating the doe over the ordeal IMHO, especially if she's bringing babies to weaning age. She's doing her job, and you'll appreciate that more fully when (not if) you encounter a doe which simply won't care for a litter.

Losing babies in litters happens, and that right often. It's only when a doe simply won't care for babies after she's littered when there needs to be reason for concern.

 

[fuzzy9]

Fuzzy, it's often not the fault of the doe when 1-2 smaller buns die. Sometimes it's just that the babies never fully developed in some way, or got stepped on inadvertantly as the doe was nursing the litter, or any of a number of other things. No real need to start thinking in terms of eliminating the doe over the ordeal IMHO, especially if she's bringing babies to weaning age. She's doing her job, and you'll appreciate that more fully when (not if) you encounter a doe which simply won't care for a litter.

Losing babies in litters happens, and that right often. It's only when a doe simply won't care for babies after she's littered when there needs to be reason for concern.

Thank you for putting this out there, Satin. She's a wonderful doe in many ways, and you are right. She's an easy breeder, great personality, and a great mom to her kits. They grow very quickly too, so she's doing her job well. The difference in her last two litters, compared to this litter, the runts from this litter are actually eating, and have full bellies. The other runts never really ate well at all, and were scrawny. I'm hopeful this time around, and really, losing kits has never been an issue, it's just that we were unexpectedly down a couple good breeding does, and now I'm short on kits for meat. I'm gonna just have to give in, and buy some friers I guess.