Is it me or the doe that is the problem?

[6riversfarms]

The oldest NZ doe in my small herd, Big Mama, kindled early yesterday morning. She had 8 kits but only two were alive. All but one of the kits was born on the wire. A couple of the stillborn kits appeared to have died in the womb quite early in the pregnancy because they were very small and under developed. The 2 kits tht survived had full little bellies this morning so thats good.She hasnt been interested in her pellets the last two or three days but has been drinking plenty of water and munching hay and a few carrot tops and such.

This is the does 2nd litter here at my farm. She lost the entire first litter but i gave her a pass because she was bred when i bought her and i had no idea so i didnt do my part in providing the nest box. This time however i was prepared and think i did my part. I provided the nest box on day 28 and she is well taken care of in the food,water, and proper housing/ventilation departments.
It has been in the lower 90's temp wise here for a week or so, could this be a factor? Im going to try and breed her again in 4 or 5 weeks and ween the 2 survivors(hopeful) at 6 or 7 weeks. If there are problems with the next litter should i consider culling her?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Quite often, kits that appear dead (ice cold, not breathing) are not. If you have this problem again, immediately put them under your shirt against your skin, and take them to the house for further warming up. I have found the easiest way to warm them is to put a couple of towels in the clothes dryer, warm them up, then make a little hollow in them and place the kits in that. Close the dryer door to retain the heat. The saying here is "They're not dead until they are WARM and dead."

I would see how she does with these two kits- if they grow at a good rate, give her another chance. Most people give their does 2 or 3 tries to get it right. I wouldn't count try #1, since that wasn't her fault. I have enough does (and all of my home-bred does have had theirs in the nest the first time) that if she doesn't get it right next time that would be it for her. But if you don't have others, I would give her one more chance after that.

I have one doe that had her second litter on the wire by the door of the cage, and she only had 4. Two of them had their heads wedged in the side wire. Nonetheless, I tried to warm them all up, and I was able to save one of them by using the dryer method mentioned above. I fostered three others from another litter to her.

Welcome to the forum! You will learn a lot here, and meet many very nice and knowledgeable people.

 

[6riversfarms]

Thanks for the reply MamaSheepdog. I did warm two of the other kits in the dryer as per the instrucrions above tht you gave to another member. I was very hopeful tht i could save them. I am fairly sure that some of the lost kits were stillborn because 4 were a dull grayish color and very small compared to the live kits. Probably 1/4 of the size of the live ones. The other 2 were normal size and color but didnt recover when warmed. Also I was in the barn feeding at 4:30 A.M. that morning and the litter hadn't been born. When i came back at 5:45 or so they were there.

I havent posted much here but man alive have i spent some time devouring all the info here and from other sources. I am looking forward to being a part of this forum.

 

[SatinsRule]

6Rivers, take a look at the nest boxes you're using. If they have lids built on top of them, consider removing the lids. I've found that I tend to have better success with litters once I removed the top lid off my boxes. Removing them allowed the does to have more freedom of movement around the box while nursing, and it helped to prevent loss of babies which were getting stepped on.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I am fairly sure that some of the lost kits were stillborn because 4 were a dull grayish color and very small compared to the live kits.

Yes, sometimes they are clearly dead- they will be very floppy, as though they have been crushed. If there are very tiny kits as compared to the others in the litter, they probably aren't worth the effort to save anyway. Having such a hard start, and then having the competition of larger kits, it is doubtful that they would survive, let alone thrive.

I am glad to hear you have been doing your research! There is so much to learn! I was very pleased when I found this forum- I too had done massive amounts of research, reading books mostly, but the knowledge gained here has far outweighed what I read prior. There is nothing like personal experience, and being able to benefit from the knowledge of the more experienced people here is something I treasure.

I've found that I tend to have better success with litters once I removed the top lid off my boxes. Removing them allowed the does to have more freedom of movement around the box while nursing, and it helped to prevent loss of babies which were getting stepped on.

Most of my nests are open topped wire. I did buy some of the steel boxes with tops at a show- but the does do seem very cramped in them. I much prefer the wire boxes.

 

[SatinsRule]

MSD, that design sounds very similar to the Sani-Nests which are marketed and sold by Bass Equipment. I'll consider buying some of them the next time I buy boxes unless I run across another equipment dealer who sells wood boxes.

 

[6riversfarms]

I just came from the barn and Big Mama ate about half the pellets in her feeder and worked the hay in the rack over pretty good too. The two little ones seem ok as well. I feel a little better.

Satinsrule, I use open top wire nest boxes. Figure they would work better in this Louisiana heat and humidity.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

MSD, that design sounds very similar to the Sani-Nests which are marketed and sold by Bass Equipment.

That is who I bought them from! I also like the fact that the front has a spring closure, so when it is time for the kits to start coming out of the nest, I just open them up.

 

[SatinsRule]

Satinsrule, I use open top wire nest boxes. Figure they would work better in this Louisiana heat and humidity.

I know what you mean. I live about 200 miles north of Tallulah in soybean and rice country, and sandwiched in between two large rivers and a whole bunch of tributaries and swamps. The heat and humidity here is very much similar to what you go thru there.

The heat and skeeters are about to carry us off right about now, too. :evil:

 

[toastedoat37]

I just finished building a hutch, i built a nest box onto the end of the hutch, with a door from the hutch into the box that i can open up when its time. The top of the nest box has a hinged lid that i can access from outside the hutch. The inside of the box is ten inches wide by 18inches long 12 inches tall. the door for the rabbit to go in is 6.5 inchess wide ,7inches tall, a few inches lip at the bottom so the baby cant get out on the wire.,,,,Does the size sound ok for like a californian size rabbit?

 

[skysthelimit]

The heat and skeeters are about to carry us off right about now, too. :evil:

'em skeeters! my nemesis!

 

[SatinsRule]

The heat and skeeters are about to carry us off right about now, too. :evil:

'em skeeters! my nemesis!

Tell me 'bout it.

We got an early start on summer this year. We were in the high 80's and had a few days of low 90's in March, and that's unusual for here. Never really had any weather which even vaguely resembled winter, but got enough moisture to where the mosquitos came out early are now becoming a real problem with most of the fields being irrigated. Last night, I was covered in skeeters when I was outside watering and feeding the herd.

We nearly cracked 100 yesterday. We routinely get hot and humid weather here, but it started much sooner this year than it ever does, and have I mentioned that I hate the heat of the summers around here?

 

[6riversfarms]

Definatly shaping up to be another rough summer here. Last summer was one of the hottest and driest on record down here. And the mosquitos....

 

[Miss M]

I just finished building a hutch, i built a nest box onto the end of the hutch, with a door from the hutch into the box that i can open up when its time. The top of the nest box has a hinged lid that i can access from outside the hutch. The inside of the box is ten inches wide by 18inches long 12 inches tall. the door for the rabbit to go in is 6.5 inchess wide ,7inches tall, a few inches lip at the bottom so the baby cant get out on the wire.,,,,Does the size sound ok for like a californian size rabbit?

That sounds like a good size. The only dimension that concerns me is the "few inches lip". Babies are very good at getting out of the box. Hopefully, since you have an actual door, the babies will get scraped off of their mom before she leaves the box. A definite advantage to having an enclosed nestbox with a door! If she could jump out, you'd really want the lowest side to be no less than five inches, preferably higher.

 

[SatinsRule]

Definatly shaping up to be another rough summer here. Last summer was one of the hottest and driest on record down here. And the mosquitos....

And all that AFTER the flooding in late April and into May. Less than a month after the flooding receded, the farm land was dry as a bone around here. Craziest thing I'd ever seen.

 

[grumpy]

Six,

You may well have purchased someone else's problem. You might want to consider that as an option.

Grumpy.

 

[6riversfarms]

Six,

You may well have purchased someone else's problem. You might want to consider that as an option.

Grumpy.

I was kinda thinking the same thing. I am going to give her one more shot at it. If there are problems next time then it's gonna be three strikes and you're out.