Lost our kindle--what do we do now?

[marie]

Help please! We found the kindle lost today were about 6 days old--not sure why. Momma was kind of tired looking the last few days. Thought maybe she needed calcium. Added some calcium and apple cider vinegar to their water. She seemed better more perky. Don't want to lose momma to milk plugging. What do we do now? When should we try again?

 

[Susie570]

I'm sure others will chime in soon, but feed mint to help dry her up and, I believe, you can bred her again as soon as you want to. Might want to make sure she isn't sick first though, not sure.

 

[katiebear]

Did the kits look fed? If not mom may have mastitis...check her teats if they feel hot or hard that could be it..warm compresses may help..you may need an antibiotic.
Your profile says you are Michigan, did you have a cold night? Is it possible that they chilled?
If mom is healthy..give her a few sprigs of mint daily for about four days or so, you should be able to see that she is drying up..re breeding her will also help. The hormones will dry her first then start lactation when she kindles again..
Always give apple cider vinegar at 2 tablespoons per gallon..I give it year round. A good quality feed is also a good idea.

 

[marie]

We did have a late season snow last night, but they have a little space heater--so they shouldn't be cold. What do you think of adding lemon juice for vitamin C?
My husband is taking it really hard because it's his first try at this and he feels horrible. He was checking the kindle 2 days ago, he wore gloves--he's afraid he scared momma into maybe protecting them too aggressively?? Our, maybe it was BECAUSE he wore gloves & he didn't smell like himself and it freaked her out??
I won't be able to get some mint until tomorrow--will she be ok?

 

[Susie570]

I'm not sure about the lemon juice, rabbits are one of the critters that make their own vitamin C. It might be too acidic for her.

As for handling the kits, from what I've read, as long as she's used to being handled, handling the kits won't cause her to harm or reject them, so girl him not to feel guilty. No need to wear gloves when handling kits in the future though.

Katiebear gave excellent advice.

 

[ChaoSS]

Did they seem fed? Rabbits don't really protect their young. Wearing gloves is unnecessary but won't hurt anything unless he had something toxic on them.

Check her for mastitis and re breed her. <br /><br /> -- Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:42 pm -- <br /><br /> You said they have a space heater, is that all the time or just for the bad weather? I'm assuming they are indoors, how big of a space? Could it be they were too hot for what they were accustomed to?

 

[katiebear]

Marie's husband,You did nothing wrong...We loose litters, it happens to us all... We drive ourselves crazy trying to figure it out, then when we can't we blame ourselves.
But now is the time to really educate yourselves. This forum is a wealth of information. Read everything you can here and any books on raising rabbits. There is a lot of information so if something is confusing or if you just don't agree please ask the people here are wonderful and very knowledgeable. Pictures are also helpful you know what they say...a thousand words...
I and others here, handle the babies pretty much everyday from birth on..so don't worry about handling them. Give mom a treat to distract her,like parsley, and pull out the nest box..get a head count and remove any thing that needs to go...then put it back. The doe will be receptive to you at this time too, that feel good bonding hormone is coursing through her so she will love to be petted and scratched..
Do a search for mastitis in kindling and care of does section there is a lot of info there and I believe some pictures. If she is free of that then go ahead and breed her.

 

[marie]

Did they seem fed? Rabbits don't really protect their young. Wearing gloves is unnecessary but won't hurt anything unless he had something toxic on them.

Check her for mastitis and re breed her.

-- Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:42 pm --

You said they have a space heater, is that all the time or just for the bad weather? I'm assuming they are indoors, how big of a spaace? Could it be they were too hot for what they were accustomed to?

It's just a tiny heater about 8 inches high that we had out in the entry way of our house where the rabbits are. Just when it was really cold. <br /><br /> -- Wed Apr 01, 2015 8:29 am -- <br /><br /> He also said that one looked like it had claw marks like she was stepping on it. The other ones he said were starting to get fur.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Susie570]

If you knew how to examine the kits to see if they looked fed or not, that might give you a clue as to what happened. It wouldn't be uncommon for a doe to scratch, step on or even chew a dead kit... but that wouldn't mean it was the cause of death. Those things usually happen after the kit has died and she's trying to clean her nest out.

Have you checked her teats? That's probably the most important thing right now. Since all of the kits died, it was likely something environmental (either they got too chilled or too warm). These things just happen and folks usually don't know the 'why', particularly with a first litter. It's very common for does to lose the first litter, they're still learning what to do to be good mommas.

Has the doe seemed in better spirits since you said she seemed 'tired' before she lost the kits?

 

[ilovehome]

I have had a doe or two who would continue to build the next after they were born. She would hop in there and scratch, pull all the fur off of them and keep building with them in it. I have found that removing the nest, and returning it for a short while in the morning and evening the first 72 hours gives them time to settle down. If it was her first litter, she will probably do better the second time. You should be able to handle the kits often with most does.

 

[Silver Cloud]

Keeping Baby Rabbits Warm

Adult rabbits can tolerate cold temps remarkably well. However, baby rabbits are born furless and must stay nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the first ten days of their lives. If the surrounding air temperature is above 50 degrees, babies can usually stay warm enough if they stay in a fur-lined nest and have a littermate to snuggle with. Check babies often, because any one that strays from the nest will quickly die of exposure. It is best to take the doe and the babies in the house if you breed rabbits in cold weather.

Taken from here.

http://rabbitbreeders.us/keeping-rabbits-warm

 

[Susie570]

I'm guessing that the small space heater just wasn't enough to keep the kits warm

 

[akane]

If it's the first litter for the doe then it's quite common to lose the litter. Many litters can be lost during your time breeding. Most don't count on the litter from a first time doe. If you breed her again it should help her milk dry up. Make sure there isn't already a problem first.

She may have scratched them getting spooked while in the nest box or jumping out wrong. Again first time does are more likely to make mistakes like that. I had one get scared and try to cram in to the back of the nest box and she slit a kit's throat.

Check kits daily and there is no need to wear gloves. In fact I would think leather gloves would give a more annoying smell than your hands. Check they are clean, dry, and fed. If one dies you need to get it out right away. They may just look evenly straight if you check them shortly before a feeding and that's ok too. If their ribs are very obvious and their belly is starting to sink in then they have not been fed enough. You can pull the nestbox out to check kits if the doe is being protective but most don't care. You can even pull a nest box out and take it inside without the doe and just return it once or twice a day when the weather is cold. No need to take the doe inside too. The change might just stress her out more and then you'll have to wait until temps are close to your house interior before putting them back out again or the temp swing might stress them.

 

[Miss M]

If they died of cold, there had to be some reason besides the cold. Breeders in Canada have newborn litters in -20*, and they're fine as long as there are enough of them, they get fed regularly, and they have plenty of fur in the nest. Losing 6-day-olds makes me think that perhaps she didn't get enough milk in to sustain them.

Still, I'd check her belly for mastitis, and give her mint to make sure she doesn't get it. You can go ahead and rebreed her. Watch her babies for round tummies, to make sure she is producing milk. You can give parsley to help with milk production after kindling.