Kit help!

[LadyPuddingpuff]

Hi everyone,

My angora doe, Princess, kindled 7 live wigglies a few days ago, she was bred to an angora buck, Scamp. This is her second litter, the first was unsuccessful, she gave birth to 2 stillborn kits, and another stillborn two days later that was huge, furred and had no eyes.

I also rescue rabbis that have been dumped in the area (I moved to South Africa from the uk, and now live on a huge plot) one of these dumped rescues, Flash, had 2 live kits 3 weeks ago. She was already pregnant when I took her in, not an intentional breeding.

Princess seems completely overwhelmed with 7, and I don’t think her milk has come in properly yet. 3 of the kits look a little skinny, but are still warm, wiggly and skin not wrinkled. Would I be able to let the kits feed from flash for a few days till princess starts lactating? I’m not sure if a doe produces different milk for newborns as they do for older kits.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

 

[michaels4gardens]

you could try, .. the milk from a different mother, would not be an issue. You would have to remove all of the does 3 week old kits, rub the new kits with bedding material from the mother's nest, then keep a careful eye on the situation, to make sure she does not attack the "strangers" kits.
- You could also try [if she is not wild] setting her on on a towel, over the new kits, and hold her while the new kits nurse.

 

[Dood]

Their milk does change

Early in lactation it is much fattier and slowly waters down

Another option is to set up a second nest and pull out the 4 fattest/ biggest milk bellies each evening so the thinner kits have a chance to fill up.