Kits dying... should they be removed from doe, 3 weeks

[WhWRabbitry]

Me too Miss M! I warmed it, I tried sprinkling a little brown sugar on top to entice them. It's like it doesn't register as food to them. I'm thrilled they love the oats though & are eating hay! So far so good.

Mine would never take goats milk from a dish.

You could try the formula or goats milk in a dropper, like this:

It's worked for me in the past.
Make sure it's warm. You might have to hold them firmly and force the first few drops to get them to realize it's food. It is natural and partially reflexive for them to jerk back at first. It takes some patience, but they do learn.

Thank you Zass! After reading this I tried again with a syringe style medicine dropper (I didn't have the type in your photo). I got both of them to drink a little this way. Yay!!
I will do this again in the morning! Thank you much! (Cute photos too, by the way!)

 

[Miss M]

We did this recipe about a week ago and it worked GREAT. 3 of our babies that were hours from death are doing great. We also gave the doe parsley for about 3 days in a row to make sure her milk hadn't dried up.

I'm so glad to hear that! It's been nutty, and, while I remember something about making sure the doe's milk hadn't dried up, I don't remember seeing about you trying the formula on the kits.

Me too Miss M! I warmed it, I tried sprinkling a little brown sugar on top to entice them. It's like it doesn't register as food to them.

Mine would never take goats milk from a dish.

You could try the formula or goats milk in a dropper, like this:

You know... now that you mention it, I never got any of mine to take it from a dish, either! :lol:

What were we talking about? I was distracted by dropper bunny.

I know... she's so cute, isn't she?

Thank you Zass! After reading this I tried again with a syringe style medicine dropper (I didn't have the type in your photo). I got both of them to drink a little this way. Yay!!

Awesome! :bouncy: The water, oats, and hay are good, but at their age it's good they're taking in some milk, too.

You may find that after a couple of days, they are quite the fans of it, and will empty a dropper in seconds, without you having to squeeze the bulb at all. :lol:

 

[Zass]

Sounds like they're wanting to be off milk.

3 weeks is earlier than babies would normally choose to wean, but they can survive weaning at that age.

There is quite a long transition period where they can nurse, drink water and eat solids. They generally start nibbling the hay (or oats) in their nestbox at 7-9 days old, before their eyes even open. They start drinking water as soon as they can get around well enough to reach the bottle or bowl. Yet many of my does are still producing milk at 9 or 10 weeks.

 

[WhWRabbitry]

Awesome! :bouncy: The water, oats, and hay are good, but at their age it's good they're taking in some milk, too.

You may find that after a couple of days, they are quite the fans of it, and will empty a dropper in seconds, without you having to squeeze the bulb at all. :lol:

Thanks for sharing in my excitement Miss M!
Question though for the Momma that's been removed from them. Is there anything I should be doing for her? I don't know how much she'd been nursing them, if there is anything to help her milk dry up (assuming it wasn't). This evening when I was petting her I thought she felt warmer to me than the other rabbits. It made me wonder if she had a fever and I didn't know if that is normal for a rabbit that has suddenly stopped nursing or not.

 

[Zass]

Question though for the Momma that's been removed from them. Is there anything I should be doing for her? I don't know how much she'd been nursing them, if there is anything to help her milk dry up (assuming it wasn't). This evening when I was petting her I thought she felt warmer to me than the other rabbits. It made me wonder if she had a fever and I didn't know if that is normal for a rabbit that has suddenly stopped nursing or not.

Did you check her teats?

 

[WhWRabbitry]

Yesterday when I removed the kits I tried to look at her teats but only got a very brief look at a couple. She was NOT pleased (she's not use to such a thing - I've never messed with her tummy) and was fighting me/stressed. What I saw looked fine (assuming not red or swollen looking means fine) then but I have not looked today.

What would be normal to see/what would be something to be concerned about?
I'm assuming they naturally would be swollen/sore at this point from now not nursing.

Thanks!

 

[Zass]

I'd be feeling for signs of mastitis(breast infection). Swollen, hard, hot feeling teats. A purplish color. If there isn't any sign of that, you don't have to worry about her, and can actually hold her on your lap for the kits to nurse from.
(If the kits will cooperate at that age, they might not.)
Nothing is quite as good for kits as their Momma's milk.


I've seen mint mentioned as a good herb to help dry up a lactating doe. I've yet to try it myself though, so hopefully someone else will weigh in on that...

 

[Marinea]

Yep, I have used mint before to dry up a doe. Fresh mint, if you can find it this time of year. There are a variety of species, but we grow spearmint. You can probably find fresh at the grocery store.

And YAY for the kits doing well!

 

[Miss M]

Awesome! :bouncy: The water, oats, and hay are good, but at their age it's good they're taking in some milk, too.

You may find that after a couple of days, they are quite the fans of it, and will empty a dropper in seconds, without you having to squeeze the bulb at all. :lol:

Thanks for sharing in my excitement Miss M!

You're welcome! There are so many sad times, when bunnies don't make it in spite of all we do and all the help we get from other members on RT. It's just wonderful to have the turnarounds, improvement, healing, thriving... it's cause for celebration!
:fireworks1:

I know your little kits aren't out of the woods yet, but it sure looks like they might make it through!

 

[WhWRabbitry]

You all have been great!
I thought you'd appreciate an update via photo on the 2 remaining.
They continue to eat hay, drink water, LOVE the oats, and I got them to drink more goats milk!
So thankful.

 

[Miss M]

GAH! You should warn people before posting that level of cuteness! I could have seriously hurt myself!

They are so adorable, and I'm so happy they seem to be doing well, and they're taking to goat's milk and all.

 

[Homer]

:clap2: :clap: :bouncy: :thewave:
Glad things are working out better for you and the little ones!

 

[MaggieJ]

Oh my goodness! They are just adorable. Love the colours.

So glad to hear they are doing well now.

 

[JenerationX]

YAY!!!!! Glad they're doing well. They're very pretty colors too!

 

[WhWRabbitry]

Thanks all!! So glad things have settled down around here and all continues to be well with them!

You made me laugh Miss M! They are indeed ever so cute.

 

[Miss M]

So glad to hear that, and that I made you laugh. :lol:

 

[WhWRabbitry]

Another concern/question:

Yesterday we noticed one of the two remaining kits (the Tri Color one) had orange-ish color on the fur of its stomach. We wondered if maybe it was blood in the urine or diarrhea or something of that nature. We wiped it clean. A few moments ago my daughter called me out to them as she noticed a decent sized red wet spot on the newspaper. I don't see how it can be anything but urine and from the color it would seem to me it has a lot of blood in it. Is there any other explanation for this? I know rabbits urine color can vary and is affected by what they eat. However, I wouldn't think a young kit with a diet of hay, oats, & water this would be showing up. I will try to attach a picture. It is eating and seems to behave normally at this time.
I looked at its bottom just now and saw nothing unusual. It looked clean. I also checked both kits over for any wounds and saw nothing.

 

[Miss M]

I don't know what combination of foods it takes to make red urine, orange urine, and the like... but it is normal. It's unlikely that there is actually blood in the urine, though I'm not sure how you would tell, except to observe the rabbits and see if they exhibit any signs of injury or illness. If they're acting normally, then I'd guess everything's good. :shrug: <br /><br /> -- Wed Dec 17, 2014 11:41 am -- <br /><br /> Mine get normal pellets and hay, yet we came home one day to what looked like a chainsaw murder scene in the rabbitry. Nope... just a buck that decided to spray. :shock:

 

[WhWRabbitry]

Thanks so much for the quick reply Miss M! That's encouraging. I will keep an eye on it!

 

[jeannie]

Veggies high in beta-carotene will cause red urine - carrots and kale. I stopped feeding kale for awhile and all went back to normal urine. It didn't look like blood to me, but ???