Kit will not latch on the nipple

[AmberRae]

I have a 2 day old kit that is skinny. Her other 5 litter mates have super fat bellies. This morning I brought the skinny kit in and her mom to let the kit feed without competition from the rest of the litter. They kit would find a teet and try for a couple seconds and move on to another one like it was frustrated. This went one for about 15mins and the kits belly did not have any milk. I am certain it is not an issue with the mother. I also had a kit do this before in another litter with a different mom. Is this just something some kits have a problem with? My kit from the other litter did eventually learn to nurse after many, many times of me holding her over her mom. I will keep trying with this kit also. I have moved her to a different nest box with smaller kits and a mom that I know produces a lot of milk.

 

[SableSteel]

Rabbits don't stay on a nipple for very long. After a few seconds they let go and look for another one. That's just what they do. The older kits tend to stay longer than the younger ones, from my experience.

 

[AmberRae]

That makes sense. I guess I just assumed it was abnormal behavior, so its skinny for other reasons. I guess I will just keep an eye on it and make sure it gets plenty chance to eat. I tried syringe feeding it. I put a drop of milk at a time in its mouth and there was zero interest in it, just let it run out of its mouth. It is active though and shows no sign of dehydration, just a very skinny little thing.

 

[Easy Ears]

I agree with what SableSteel said...the younger kits tend to move around more from teat to teat. But I have found exceptions with a few litters. Because I have very few rabbits and therefore only a few litters a year I am very protective of each kit that comes along and I usually end up force nursing (flipping the doe over on her back and holding her down while the babies nurse) to ensure that every kit gets their fill. Last year I had a kit who became what people here call a "fader". She was doing well up until I think about somewhere in the 1-3 weeks range and then just stopped drinking. She became uninterested in sucking. I tried everything I could think of but nothing worked. I ended up just formula feeding her until she was about 8 or 9 weeks and then weaned. She did absolutely hate it at first, but after a few days they get used to it and by the end she was actually enjoying it!

On the other hand, one of the kits in a litter I have now stopped sucking/sucked on and off like yours for about a week...think it happened when they were at about 2 weeks old. He was hungry alright but was just too lazy to suck. I ended up feeding him formula to compensate for a day or two and continued to force nurse until he did finally start sucking again after a couple days.

If your kit is a fader (even if she isn't) I would recommend formula feeding out of precaution...maybe post some pics to let us see how skinny she really is? What milk were you giving her before? I recommend this recipe:
1/2 Cup canned evaporated goat's milk, undiluted
1/2 Tablespoon corn syrup
1 Egg yolk

^^I raised a kit on that recipe and she is now almost a year old and has had 2 successful litters for me.

If she is just turning out to be lazy then I would suggest getting a teat moist with just a drop or so of water to separate the fur better and it may get her more interested. It helped a little with my little lazy boy.

Hope this helps. Fingers crossed for your kit!

 

[AmberRae]

The picture on the wood is before I fed her this morning and on the blanket is after I fed her on 2 different moms and with a syringe. She took way better to the syringe this morning and I could feel some milk in her belly but nothing close to what her belly should look like. She was very eager to feed on her mom this morning but just isn't getting any milk. I have 30 other kits right now with 5 different moms and this is the only skinny one. She is not lazy. She tries very hard to nurse. I feel so bad for her. I am currently feeding her fresh Nigerian Goat's milk. If I can get her to take to it I will add some egg yolk too. For now I am just going to try and feed her every few hours since I am getting a little in her belly. What worries me is she was the same size as her siblings when born but in just 3 days they are twice her size. I will keep my fingers crossed for her. Thanks for all the advice

 

[a7736100]

I think some kits with problems just cannot take in anything no matter what you try. Even when you get food in their stomachs their system cannot use it.

 

[ladysown]

that kit doesn't look quite right.
What what I see in the picture the head looks bulbous and the back legs skinny.

Could it be a peanut?? Peanuts cannot latch on to nurse.

 

[Easy Ears]

Hmmm, the others may be right about the peanut....what breed is it and is it purebred? If you gave us a picture of this kit with its other littermates we may be able to know for sure. I've never had a peanut myself but others here may be able to tell better from a picture. I would say you are keeping this kit alive by what you are doing. By the looks of the kit in the first picture I would have said the kit could be dead in 24 hours if you didn't feed it. In the second picture it may not seem like much, but you are keeping it alive. I would just keep trying. Do as much as you can for it and in the end if it does pass you will not have anything to regret if you give it it's best chance. I'll say a prayer for it! Hope all goes well. Keep us updated!

 

[AmberRae]

Thank you so much Easy Ears. I am not sure if it could be a peanut because neither parent is a drawf. It is a pure breed velveteen lop. Her siblings are easily three times its size now at 4 days old. Something definitely isn't right with this kit. She is still alive and I have been feeding her ever few hours. She is very active and tries so hard to nurse still. She has had normal stool and urine. I will keep feeding her to give her ever chance possible but if I wasn't so emotional I know I should cull her, or have my husband do it. I am keeping her alive but she isn't growing at all. I have never had this before I guess it's just failure to thrive.

 

[ladysown]

velveteen lops coming out of holland lops or English lops? I've seen both.

If out of holland lops... peanuts are quite possible.

 

[AmberRae]

I have both parent's pedigree and it is all Velveteen lop. I am also pretty sure they are from English lop just from the look of them. This kit sure does act like a peanut though, from what I read about them. Does anyone know how long a peanut usually lives?

 

[macksmom98]

True peanuts not usually longer than 3 weeks......some will swear they have a peanut that has lived to adulthood, but from what I have read that is not possible when you truly have 2 dwarf genes.

 

[ladysown]

my experience.. four days tops.

I don't let them go that long... I have a snake that will eat them. It's a very quick death to kill them as they aren't strong.

 

[Easy Ears]

Did the kit end up making it?