Lost 12 babies

[randtrabbitry]

Just need to vent alittle. :evil: . The doe was due to get a nestbox the 11 the evening of the 10 did my rounds and notice she was having babies on the wire so i threw together a nestbox put the 3 babies in there that were on the wire and left her be. Came out the next day found 7 dead and 7 chilled. So i brought them in and warmed them waited tell afternoon and took them to her. Checked them last night and all but 2 were gone she had peed all over them. So i dried up the 2 left the best i could then gave them to a different mama. I left her be today i will check tonight or tommorrow to see if those last two made it. What really gets me she is the first doe that did not like me stepping in to help. Guess what im really upset with is the fact that in the last month ive lost close to 30 babies due to mamas killing them or not caring for them. This litter was a bit of my fault i guess but still. I cant take this losses. Im just having lots of things going wrong i hope things will turn around soon.

 

[ottersatin]

Did you happen to place the nestbox
in the Does Potty corner?
Did she have a goodly supply of grass-hay/nesting material?
You may end up culling this Doe.
I hope you can get things worked out to your satisfaction.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[trinityoaks]

So sorry! Did she pull any fur at all? Is this her first litter? Is there a reason you didn't go back out to check again that evening instead of waiting until the next morning?

 

[randtrabbitry]

This is her 4th litter always had 7 to 8 babies on day 31 or 32. Always raised them and is a friendly doe and acts like she never had a problem with me handling her other babies. She does watch me closely to be sure what im doing but never acted mean. She is my best doe in the barn currently though i only have 7 working does. Out of the 4 sisters i liked her the best due to her personality and the fact that she raises what she delivers. Unfortunately due to her size i had planed on selling her she is only 7 pounds. And her 8 week old litter weights have averaged out to 2 pounds each which is a bit small.
I did stuff her nestbox with hay and made a little hole in the back lined it with fur i had saved from her sisters first litter. Since she was an experienced doe i did not see the need to do a check in on her. Maybe that hair smelled like the other rabbit. It had been in a feed bag for over a month thought it would be ok. She did pull hair but just barley.
On a positive note the other 2 does i bred at the same time both delivered today. 1 of them was a virgin doe and she did great made a good nest pulled fur and had them in the nestbox. It seams like ive hit so many bumps in the road this time around. And im getting so upset about it.

 

[Anntann]

I've not gone through a lot of litters with rabbits, but with any other animal, the scent of another female or male on the new babies will send the mother into a tizzy. She smells that another animal has been around, and then has to turn it BACK into her scent...hence the urinating. And of course, they then get cold. I suppose the doe could be rejecting them as "they smell like Bertha, so these are NOT my kits". I would think that instinct would be particularly strong with brand new kits.

So sorry you are having a bad year. Sometimes you just have to sit back, take a deep breath, and count your BLESSINGS instead of looking at the failures. Even if your only perceived blessing is "I'm not dead", it's often enough. Learn from the bad experiences, but then put them behind you. NO "What if?"s. NONE. NOT ONE!!

 

[VelveteenRabbitry]

I have similar tragedy D:...My heat lamps got accidentally unplugged from my dogs and I lost 15 kits.....I was extremely upset but I can't do anything about it -_- and it's bound to happen losing animals when your a rabbit breeder

 

[DevonW]

I've been raising rabbits for 9 years now and it's still depressing when you lose a litter

 

[ladysown]

the scent of another female or male on the new babies will send the mother into a tizzy.

I have NEVER had an issue with this.

Just recently had four litters. One doe didn't pull enough, another pulled enough to cover an army. So I took some from her and put it over the other litter. Momma didn't blink an eye. Kept taking care of her kits. This has ALWAYS been my experience.

As to what is going on with your does...I can't say, but it is always hard.

Query... could there be anything setting them off? predators? Change in routine?

This last doe could simply have said..you know what...I NOT DOING IT THIS TIME! It's cold, I'm miserable, 11 kits?!?!? are you nuts!?!?! (who knows what rabbits think sometimes). You also don't know if there was a reason for her to kindle early. Sometimes rabbits know if their litters aren't okay and just won't care for them.

It's still heart wrenching at times to lose them, and VERY discouraging.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

try losing 84 in one week--grrrrrrr nevershoulda taken that job.....