Kits born but mother has no interest

[Lopsofloverabbitry]

Today while I was at school one of my does has a litter of kits. She is a year old holland lop. She has a litter of 5 but on 2 survived. She only pull very little fur, not even close to enough for the kits. The doe is very small, the babies are about half the size a regular kit should be. They are pink and are moving around lots. I havent seen the doe go inside the box yet so I'm not sure she is feeding them.
Here are a few questions I have
I have some fur left over from a doe that kits died from birth and I was wondering could I give the fur to the kits?
Why is she rejecting them?
How do I get her interested in her kits?
Any other advice would be great!

 

[Zass]

Yes, you can use another doe's fur. I save extra fur just for that purpose.

Rabbits only nurse once or twice a day, preferably when she's sure your not looking, so you may never see her in the box with the kits. That's a good thing.

You will know if she's feeding them or not by their stomachs: fed-vs-unfed-kit-pictures-t3052.html

If the father is also dwarf rabbit, it's possible that they could be peanuts. Peanuts are kits that inherited two copies of the dwarfing gene. They are said to look different than normal kits, and have zero chance of survival.

 

[Ole Mule]

I don't ever see my does feed either they just set around looking uninterested but I check once a day to see if there tummies are full and they always seem to be. And yes you can add fur from another rabbit. I usually let nature take its course. My doe had 8 and ate two of them but the 6 that are left are doing OK.

 

[Becky]

Sorry if I'm going a tiny bit off topic, but my first time doe (who is a Satin, so no dwarf genes there) also had a litter of very small kits. Is this just a thing that happens, with doe's first litters?

 

[Zass]

Sometimes, the kits will be smaller in very large litters, maybe just because they have less room to grow?
I recently had one in a litter of 10 born perfectly formed but only about 1/3 the size of the others. It's not possibly a peanut, as there were no dwarf breeds whatsoever in it's background. (It didn't make it, because it was too small to compete.)

Peanuts are said to look different then normal runty kits, with tiny ears set far back on the skull, bulging eyes, and under developed hips. http://www.raising-rabbits.com/dwarf-rabbits.html

 

[Estherbunny]

If you know for sure that the mother rejected them then you could go to the store and buy some kitten milk to feed to them or you could try flipping the doe over and lay a kit down on her nipple to get some milk for a few minutes.

 

[Zass]

If you know for sure that the mother rejected them then you could go to the store and buy some kitten milk to feed to them or you could try flipping the doe over and lay a kit down on her nipple to get some milk for a few minutes.

If you do decide to hand feed, I strongly recommend a goats milk based formula, as it's easier for rabbits to digest than cows milk.

Here are some excellent threads to read if you are considering that route.
formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html

tips-for-handraising-kits-t2486.html

As for "flipping the doe", I find it easier to hold her upright on my lap with the kits positioned underneath her.

Since rabbits nurse from a standing position, it just seems more natural.

Hand fed newborns have much lower chances for survival no matter what formula you use, consequently, it's best to get as much help and milk from a doe as you can.

 

[Susie570]

Kitten milk is actually a no-No. There is a recipe in the forum to make formula for kits from goats milk, an egg (yolk i think) and ... something else. Has to be thick. Use only as a last resort as formula fed kits rarely survive. It's much better to give supplemental feedings from t he doe if the kits don't seem to be getting enough milk.

I made a dumb illustration of how to do it. I'll post the link.
http://rabbittalk.com/post263744.html#p263744

I believe the goat milk formula recipe might be in that thread also.

 

[Zass]

I had kits under Mucky so many times now...She knows the routine. :lol:
I wish I could get a picture. With her upright on my lap I don't have to even have my hands on the babies, so I can stroke her ears to relax her while it's going on, which I'm sure helps with let down.

I think she's finally dried up now. It's too bad, as she was awfully handy to have in milk.

 

[Susie570]

What a sweet girl...