Large Litters

[AShelBunny]

I have a litter of nine and some are not growing like the others.

How do I shelve to help them?
How do I help out?

 

[Alaska Satin]

I have a litter of nine and some are not growing like the others.

How do I shelve to help them?
How do I help out?

A litter of nine isn't really that big, but there are some does that aren't up to it. To give the smaller ones a helping hand, you might pull out the biggest ones for a day, to let the smaller ones nurse without competition. Skipping one meal shouldn't be a big issue for a well-fed bunny.

To do this, I line a second box with fresh shavings, and collect some of the nest material from the doe's box to cover the bunnies. I keep shelved bunnies in the house where I can keep an eye on them, since hungry bunnies sometimes hop out looking for the doe, and I don't like to risk that in the barn. (Putting a towel over the entrance isn't enough to keep some bunnies from popping out.) The change in temperature between house and barn doesn't seem to affect them at all - the doe's fur is an excellent insulator.

I generally pull them out at night, and check on the next afternoon to see if the remaining bunnies have been fed. Once I see that they have been, I return the pulled bunnies. After returning them to the box, I do check on them occasionally for several hours, since sometimes when they're returned to the nest, they'll smell the doe and pop out looking for her (they're hungry, of course). If they're 2 weeks or more, and can get back into the box themselves, this is less of a concern.

If the doe is struggling to feed nine kits, you might consider giving her some BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) by themselves or mixed with oats (uncooked oatmeal), or supplement her with Calf Manna, to provide more fat for her body to make more and richer milk.

 

[AShelBunny]

A litter of nine isn't really that big, but there are some does that aren't up to it. To give the smaller ones a helping hand, you might pull out the biggest ones for a day, to let the smaller ones nurse without competition. Skipping one meal shouldn't be a big issue for a well-fed bunny.

To do this, I line a second box with fresh shavings, and collect some of the nest material from the doe's box to cover the bunnies. I keep shelved bunnies in the house where I can keep an eye on them, since hungry bunnies sometimes hop out looking for the doe, and I don't like to risk that in the barn. (Putting a towel over the entrance isn't enough to keep some bunnies from popping out.) The change in temperature between house and barn doesn't seem to affect them at all - the doe's fur is an excellent insulator.

I generally pull them out at night, and check on the next afternoon to see if the remaining bunnies have been fed. Once I see that they have been, I return the pulled bunnies. After returning them to the box, I do check on them occasionally for several hours, since sometimes when they're returned to the nest, they'll smell the doe and pop out looking for her (they're hungry, of course). If they're 2 weeks or more, and can get back into the box themselves, this is less of a concern.

If the doe is struggling to feed nine kits, you might consider giving her some BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) by themselves or mixed with oats (uncooked oatmeal), or supplement her with Calf Manna, to provide more fat for her body to make more and richer milk.

I wonder why she’s struggling.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I wonder why she’s struggling.

Could be genetic (not all rabbit lines produce does are that good at raising bunnies), or an individual difference of some sort. If it's her first litter, her body might not be up-to-speed on the job yet. Or, it may be a deficiency in the feed. Even commercial pellets can vary in their constitution from bag to bag; that's why I'd try supplementing with extra fats right away.

I'd check to make sure she doesn't have the beginnings of mastitis, or an injury to her teats and/or belly, that could make her want to leave the nest a bit early instead of completely feeding the bunnies. For mastitis, you want to make sure she doesn't have unusual swelling, especially a hard swelling or lump associated with one or more teats, and isn't hotter on one or more teats compared to the others.

Have you weighed her? I like to weigh does at breeding, during gestation, then again a few times during lactation. An abrupt change, or a steady downward trend, in her weight can give you an early heads-up about a problem the doe might be having.

You could check the bunnies for distended bellies, messy vents or eye crust. I also weigh bunnies, roughly weekly, to keep track of growth rates and to be alerted if one is having problems. Not every bunny born is vigorous, and some just fail to thrive. I've found it's unusual to have several bunnies in a litter like that, though - usually there's something else going on if more than one bunny is failing, either a health issue with the bunnies or the doe.

 

[AShelBunny]

Could be genetic (not all rabbit lines produce does are that good at raising bunnies), or an individual difference of some sort. If it's her first litter, her body might not be up-to-speed on the job yet. Or, it may be a deficiency in the feed. Even commercial pellets can vary in their constitution from bag to bag; that's why I'd try supplementing with extra fats right away.

I'd check to make sure she doesn't have the beginnings of mastitis, or an injury to her teats and/or belly, that could make her want to leave the nest a bit early instead of completely feeding the bunnies. For mastitis, you want to make sure she doesn't have unusual swelling, especially a hard swelling or lump associated with one or more teats, and isn't hotter on one or more teats compared to the others.

Have you weighed her? I like to weigh does at breeding, during gestation, then again a few times during lactation. An abrupt change, or a steady downward trend, in her weight can give you an early heads-up about a problem the doe might be having.

You could check the bunnies for distended bellies, messy vents or eye crust. I also weigh bunnies, roughly weekly, to keep track of growth rates and to be alerted if one is having problems. Not every bunny born is vigorous, and some just fail to thrive. I've found it's unusual to have several bunnies in a litter like that, though - usually there's something else going on if more than one bunny is failing, either a health issue with the bunnies or the doe.

This is her second litter. She did better last time.

There were two. One was significantly less and one was slightly less in size.

I don’t usually start weighing yet, I start at 6 weeks.


I forget to weigh does. I should probably do that more often. Or really even any of my breeders. I should stop being so lazy lol