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

MaggieJ · Dec 17, 2014

Do keep an eye on the kit, but I very much doubt there is a problem. Red urine is quite common - and from the picture that's what it looks like to me.

Marinea · Dec 17, 2014

I have a litter of ten week old kits that are eating a mix of hay, pellets and oats. I have noticed that their urine is on the reddish side. The only difference between their diet and that of my other buns is the oats. Hmmm.....

ladysown · Dec 17, 2014

three week old kits don't need to have goat milk or any other supplemental milk. They do just fine with oats, hay and pellets.
they might look a bit scrawny, but they'll do just fine with less digestive upset then being given a milk supplement.

It's generally a good idea once kits are well furred to start tossing small amounts of feed in the nestbox. Gets them started on solids and then if a reason pops up that they need to be removed from momma (taking momma out of the cage) it is easier to just keep them going.

I've kept 17 day old kits doing well with the oats/hay/pellet trick and all survived but one who insisted that pine bedding was meant to be eaten.

WhWRabbitry · Dec 17, 2014

ladysown":1fgkrzzk said:
three week old kits don't need to have goat milk or any other supplemental milk. They do just fine with oats, hay and pellets.
they might look a bit scrawny, but they'll do just fine with less digestive upset then being given a milk supplement.

It's generally a good idea once kits are well furred to start tossing small amounts of feed in the nestbox. Gets them started on solids and then if a reason pops up that they need to be removed from momma (taking momma out of the cage) it is easier to just keep them going.

I've kept 17 day old kits doing well with the oats/hay/pellet trick and all survived but one who insisted that pine bedding was meant to be eaten.

Good to hear. They are eating the hay and oats well & drinking water. I do have pellet food in the bowl under the oats too, in case they get interested in that. One of them likes the goats milk and takes some of that each day but the other one doesn't seem interested in it. Today I didn't force it on that one - so this is good to hear! Thanks!

Comet007 · Dec 18, 2014

I think everyone has answered well enough about the red urine, but I thought I would add... For several weeks after we brought our first trio of rabbits home they all had red urine. Their previous owner was just putting a tiny handful of hay in each cage (regardless of how many buns were in each one) and we put them all on free fed hay, and they all went crazy with it at first. After a while their urine wasn't red anymore, so I think it was just them adjusting to the dietary change. I think they thought our hay was candy at first, they would each go through more hay than their body size every day at first!

WhWRabbitry · Dec 20, 2014

Comet007":21gena4m said:
I think everyone has answered well enough about the red urine, but I thought I would add... For several weeks after we brought our first trio of rabbits home they all had red urine. Their previous owner was just putting a tiny handful of hay in each cage (regardless of how many buns were in each one) and we put them all on free fed hay, and they all went crazy with it at first. After a while their urine wasn't red anymore, so I think it was just them adjusting to the dietary change. I think they thought our hay was candy at first, they would each go through more hay than their body size every day at first!

Just saw this. Thanks Comet007!
All does seem to be well for the little one!