Lactation

[JG3]

When does a does milk come in? I have some 2 day old kits and 1 day old and the 1 day old ones are plumper than the 2 day, it’s clear they’re being fed, but not stuffed (aside from one who looks like its missing out when competing to get mom). I’m just wondering if it’s okay the 2 day old ones arent clearly plump yet, and 3 specifically quite thin. Should we try holding mom in the nest? How long?

 

[ladysown]

milk can take up to three days to come in, if some have been fed and others not, then you have some decisions to make.

1. the doe might simply not have enough milk. The fact that some are being fed and some are not is rather indicative of this unless I am misunderstanding your post.
2. you can remove the kits that are being fed and leave the thin ones in for one day.
3. you can supplement the thin ones and if your second doe is feeding her kits well, you can either plop in the kits that are sorta getting fed, or after feeding up the thin ones, plop them in. It's usually best to give the stronger kits over to be fostered in my experience.
4. you can hold the doe over the kits, and do everything you can to increase her milk supply. I have never had success with this method, but loads of people have.
5. you can let nature take it's course, or choose to proactively euthanize the weak kits (to prevent suffering).

 

[JG3]

milk can take up to three days to come in, if some have been fed and others not, then you have some decisions to make.

1. the doe might simply not have enough milk. The fact that some are being fed and some are not is rather indicative of this unless I am misunderstanding your post.
2. you can remove the kits that are being fed and leave the thin ones in for one day.
3. you can supplement the thin ones and if your second doe is feeding her kits well, you can either plop in the kits that are sorta getting fed, or after feeding up the thin ones, plop them in. It's usually best to give the stronger kits over to be fostered in my experience.
4. you can hold the doe over the kits, and do everything you can to increase her milk supply. I have never had success with this method, but loads of people have.
5. you can let nature take it's course, or choose to proactively euthanize the weak kits (to prevent suffering).

Yes, it looks like some are fed and some aren’t. But I’m also new to this. Some look a bit rounder in the belly and some don’t. But being only day two, I didn’t know if the milk just wasn’t fully in yet, or as their competing for a nipple a few aren't finding one.
Okay, thank you. I’ll see how they are tomorrow and assess if they are being fed better/well. If not, I’ll try a few things like herbs to increase milk flow, etc.

 

[KelleyBee]

When does a does milk come in? I have some 2 day old kits and 1 day old and the 1 day old ones are plumper than the 2 day, it’s clear they’re being fed, but not stuffed (aside from one who looks like its missing out when competing to get mom). I’m just wondering if it’s okay the 2 day old ones arent clearly plump yet, and 3 specifically quite thin. Should we try holding mom in the nest? How long?

I’ve attached a photo of how I make sure the wee-est of my litters get fed. Your best chance to save wee ones is early intervention, as follows: because rabbits feed only once or twice a day, it is safe to keep nest out of mom’s cage and in a safe location within your home. At feeding time, but before mom feeds entire litter, identify which rabbit or rabbits from your litter that need this extra help (at this point I usually put them in a little straw lined box so I don’t confuse them with the rest of the litter), next, bring mom in and place her on her back (some people do this upon their lap, but I have found that method to be difficult and unsafe for the babies so I place mom in a baby blanket lined plastic dishpan, her feet towards me as shown in the photo I have include, this way she and I can see each other, I can sooth her, have free hand to pickup and place babies on her for feedin, keep them on her, etc). To avoid accidents, I recommend no more than 2 babies on mom at one time because they squirm and slip. The babies will root around from one nipple to another, sometimes quite frantically. I’ve come to realize this helps stimulate a milk letdown in mom (letdown is when the tiny milk sacs in her breasts contract to allow the milk to go to the nipple). in this regard, sometimes when I have only one struggling kit, I’ll add the second smallest kit from the litter just to have this stimulating activity. but not alway…you kind of learn the more you do this. After this feeding, place the fed kits back into the nest box with the litter, mom back in her cage, take nest box to cage and mom will happily feed the entire litter for the day. When she’s done, pull nest box again to keep inside until tomorrow’s feeding, repeat process. I’ve found a need to do this only about 3 days to get kits over the hump and strong enough to compete. They will always be smaller than the rest of the litter, as they are usually the runt, and should not be bred. I raise for meat, so to me the extra work is worth it to assure even the runt lives to fulfill its purpose as a meal for my family.

In the photo I’ve attached, there is only one kit and the situation was very different. They were born Monday and on the 6th day I found this kit out of the nest box crouching in the corner of the cage. I don‘t know how long it was there because I had neglected to check on this litter on the 5th day to be sure all were present, but it had obviously missed at least one feeding (perhaps that morning’s feeding), so I brought mom in for this feed to be sure.

 

[JG3]

I’ve attached a photo of how I make sure the wee-est of my litters get fed. Your best chance to save wee ones is early intervention, as follows: because rabbits feed only once or twice a day, it is safe to keep nest out of mom’s cage and in a safe location within your home. At feeding time, but before mom feeds entire litter, identify which rabbit or rabbits from your litter that need this extra help (at this point I usually put them in a little straw lined box so I don’t confuse them with the rest of the litter), next, bring mom in and place her on her back (some people do this upon their lap, but I have found that method to be difficult and unsafe for the babies so I place mom in a baby blanket lined plastic dishpan, her feet towards me as shown in the photo I have include, this way she and I can see each other, I can sooth her, have free hand to pickup and place babies on her for feedin, keep them on her, etc). To avoid accidents, I recommend no more than 2 babies on mom at one time because they squirm and slip. The babies will root around from one nipple to another, sometimes quite frantically. I’ve come to realize this helps stimulate a milk letdown in mom (letdown is when the tiny milk sacs in her breasts contract to allow the milk to go to the nipple). in this regard, sometimes when I have only one struggling kit, I’ll add the second smallest kit from the litter just to have this stimulating activity. but not alway…you kind of learn the more you do this. After this feeding, place the fed kits back into the nest box with the litter, mom back in her cage, take nest box to cage and mom will happily feed the entire litter for the day. When she’s done, pull nest box again to keep inside until tomorrow’s feeding, repeat process. I’ve found a need to do this only about 3 days to get kits over the hump and strong enough to compete. They will always be smaller than the rest of the litter, as they are usually the runt, and should not be bred. I raise for meat, so to me the extra work is worth it to assure even the runt lives to fulfill its purpose as a meal for my family.

In the photo I’ve attached, there is only one kit and the situation was very different. They were born Monday and on the 6th day I found this kit out of the nest box crouching in the corner of the cage. I don‘t know how long it was there because I had neglected to check on this litter on the 5th day to be sure all were present, but it had obviously missed at least one feeding (perhaps that morning’s feeding), so I brought mom in for this feed to be sure.

Thanks! I’ll keep this in mind!

Today the ones I was worried about all look a little more round and just wanted to cuddle and sleep instead of jumping around looking for mom as I touched them. Of course the runt is still the runt, but even it looked a bit rounder.
Now the others are jumping around hungry but they’re only day 2, so I won’t worry about it until tomorrow and check them again. They looked fed yesterday, maybe mom just hasnt fed yet or her milk is still coming.

 

[KelleyBee]

Thanks! I’ll keep this in mind!

Today the ones I was worried about all look a little more round and just wanted to cuddle and sleep instead of jumping around looking for mom as I touched them. Of course the runt is still the runt, but even it looked a bit rounder.
Now the others are jumping around hungry but they’re only day 2, so I won’t worry about it until tomorrow and check them again. They looked fed yesterday, maybe mom just hasnt fed yet or her milk is still coming.

I’ve read rabbits feed their young even as they are born. Just a side note. As a matter of course, I always put mom on her back and feed whomever the littlest is, as described, before the entire litter is fed. it’s easier to keep the little one healthy than it is to bring it back from a near starved state. This is my best advice and on this topic.

 

[Mannbuns]

Our first time mom has 9 babies and they are almost all looking pretty shrimpy. And some of them dried urine on their fur. I'm not sure if she doesn't have enough milk or isn't giving then enough time to nurse or what. We're new to this as well. I wanted to put a couple in with the other Mama who has kits doing great but we were hoping to take one from each litter to raise as breeders and I don't want to get them mixed up. Although it may be pretty obvious with the different sizes. Helping mom to feed the runt(s) may not go well as this rabbit has been super nervous with us. Could she be not taking care of them because we've been handling the babies? I heard some abandon their babies if humans touch them.

 

[Mannbuns]

Our first time mom has 9 babies and they are almost all looking pretty shrimpy. And some of them dried urine on their fur. I'm not sure if she doesn't have enough milk or isn't giving then enough time to nurse or what. We're new to this as well. I wanted to put a couple in with the other Mama who has kits doing great but we were hoping to take one from each litter to raise as breeders and I don't want to get them mixed up. Although it may be pretty obvious with the different sizes. Helping mom to feed the runt(s) may not go well as this rabbit has been super nervous with us. Could she be not taking care of them because we've been handling the babies? I heard some abandon their babies if humans touch them.

I should add that they are 7 days old now. Their fur has come in and they seem to be developing, but they are super skinny and kind of shaky when we pick them up.