I lost my first WHOLE litter

[caroline]

[of 8 kits] this morning due to ignorance on my part and inexperience on the first time doe’s.

I have always watched my does to see when they begin carrying straw and given them a nest box as soon as I see that happening. Some does start more than a week before. If they haven’t started by day 28, I give them a nest box and put hay/straw in the cage. I have always thought it better to let them build their own nest.

I used to put wood shavings in the box and the hay/straw in the cage but in the last few months I haven’t had any shavings and so just let the does do their thing with straw only. I have had a few does who wanted to build their nests outside of the nest box and I have usually left it until the due date and then moved it into the box if they didn’t have anything in there.

A few months ago one of my first time mommies still had her kits outside of the nest box even though I had moved her beautiful nest into the box. I found the kits when 1 was still alive. I decided to foster it to another doe who was already feeding 8. And all those kits did fine. The first time mom got re-bred right away and had her second litter in the nest box and raised a 9 of them.

So over the past few days I have kept an eye on the 4 does that were all bred to kindle the 17th -18th. Two mutips began carrying straw a week early and built great nests. 2 first timers didn’t seem interested in doing anything but eating the hay I gave them. I was a little puzzled because I had been weighing them and they seemed to have gained an appropriate amount of weight to confirm pregnancy but the 18th came and went, the experience moms each had 9 kits in their respective nest boxes and I concluded that I must just have 2 fat does on my hands.

This morning I took a quick peek in both 1st timers nest boxes and just saw the bare floor. As I was feeding I noticed that there was fur [black] under Bijou’s cage, so I took a closer look. Well I was really chagrined when I put my hand into the nest box and felt not only fur, but a total of 8 cold still kits! Boy did I feel badly! I kicked myself for not putting straw into the boxes myself. I sure have learned a lesson. It seems likely that if the box had shavings &/or straw in it. The amount of fur that Bijou had pulled would have been enough to save those kits.

I did grab them and try my hot water bath and wrap them in a towel and carried them in my shirt for several hours to no avail.

I was smart enough to keep my eye on her sister Twinkle, who finally, in the 11th hour DID start carrying straw and filled up her nest box with it. Later this afternoon when I checked on her again there were 5 wiggly kits in there covered with a little fur. I transferred the fur I had salvaged from Bijou’s nest box and now Twinkle’s kits seem toasty.

Of course the kits that Bijou had were the colors that I have been waiting for and Twinkle’s kits are just MORE BLACK, not what I’m wanting more of. At least most of them were broken

Boy, from now on I will not be so casual about making sure that there’s something in the nest box by the 31st day.

 

[skysthelimit]

Sorry to hear about this. If it hadn't have been for RT and other rabbit websites, I might have lost my litter as well. Thanks for posting, wo we can all learn from this experience. My doe never built a nest of hay, I did wind up putting it in the box, though she pulled fur right after they were born. My last litter the doe gave no indication that she was interested in building a nest. She gave birth to 7 dead kits, no nest, no pulled fur. Now I am watching the nest like a hawk, as two more first timers have a go at it.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sorry to hear of your loss, Caroline. It is really hard to bear when you know there is something that you might have done that could have changed the outcome.

I always put a lot of bedding in the nests, but also give the does a ton of hay so they can add to it, because I think it is important for them to build their nests as well. Even with my "help", they always dig at the bedding in the box to make a depression for the kits, and gather hay and arrange it to their satisfaction.

I probably came really close to losing a litter recently myself, because I too have come to depend on hay gathering behavior as well, at least with my two original does... I had put nests in on the 28th day for my maiden does, but Feather had had kits before, and I hadn't seen any hay gathering with her. She is one of those does that will absolutely shred the cardboard in her nest, and I suspect that she does so because the nest is introduced too early. It was the evening of her 30th day, and I gave her a nest "just in case", and as soon as the nest hit the floor, she started nesting furiously and had the kits within two hours. Oops.

I think the old adage of "better safe than sorry" applies, and to heck with the shredded cardboard. I am considering different options for the bottoms of the nests so no matter how much they scratch and dig there is an insulated base for the nest so the kits will stay warm.

When our animals behave in a predictable manner, I think we can get a little too complacent, and assume all will be well- but then one comes along to remind us of the variables in behavior and gives us a nasty slap in the face to keep us on our toes. I'm sure all of us that have been involved with animals for any appreciable amount of time have run into these unexpected tragedies and have our share of regrets, and the running dialogue of "what ifs" that seem to be on a repeating loop in our minds when these things happen. I know I have.

Again, I am very sorry to hear of your loss, but I thank you for sharing the story so we can all learn from it.

Congratulations on your successful litter, even if they weren't the sought after colors... but at least they are brokens, my favorite!

 

[currituckbun]

I think Mamasheepdog said it all. I am sorry for your loss too. I lost two kits to getting peed on in their nest from an above cage at an angle I thought impossible. They were the two that stayed in the nest, the rest escaped ,piled up ,and managed to stay warm enough to live through the night. I kicked myself because I knew that the rabbit above had been spraying, but I had not gotten around to putting in the guards.