My 7 day old litter suffered a TPK (Total Party Kill)
It's pretty solidly my fault, I was out there last night and noticed the kits were in the front of the box, and more exposed than I would have expected. I had considered throwing a blanket of recently shed angora over them, but discarded the idea as A) The rabbit it came from is still in quarantine, and that group isn't completely asymptomatic, I AM treating a running nose in that cohort. and B) The fluff would be from a completely foreign buck, and I wasn't sure how my doe would react to that. So I let them be. ARGH! Should've brought them indoors! :wall:
I came out this morning to find them scattered in the box and frozen solid. There was a new depression at the back, lined with new fur, but no kits got in it - they were around the edges. It LOOKS like my doe was pulling new fur and perhaps trying to insulate her kits, but it didn't work.
This is the first time I've lost a whole litter, and at day 7, my doe is firmly in milk. My main concern is trying to head off any issues with mastitis; Jet is a very nice rabbit, and I'd like to keep her safe, even if we lost her litter. For those of you with more experience, what is your usual plan here? Do you re-breed immediately or try to dry up the doe?
EDIT: I suppose I should note - there's no contraindication to re-breeding, she's in good condition, and kindling last week didn't seem to be traumatic. But I'm not completely sure if it would confer any protection against mastitis? Kinda looking for ideas, cause I'm still a little scatter-brained about everything going on. It's been a bad week for rabbits and I, I've been fighting hairball/GI issues and an early snuffles case in my quarantined angoras, and while I think I'm turning a corner for the better with them as of this morning, it's still been one heck of an emotional roller-coaster.
It's pretty solidly my fault, I was out there last night and noticed the kits were in the front of the box, and more exposed than I would have expected. I had considered throwing a blanket of recently shed angora over them, but discarded the idea as A) The rabbit it came from is still in quarantine, and that group isn't completely asymptomatic, I AM treating a running nose in that cohort. and B) The fluff would be from a completely foreign buck, and I wasn't sure how my doe would react to that. So I let them be. ARGH! Should've brought them indoors! :wall:
I came out this morning to find them scattered in the box and frozen solid. There was a new depression at the back, lined with new fur, but no kits got in it - they were around the edges. It LOOKS like my doe was pulling new fur and perhaps trying to insulate her kits, but it didn't work.
This is the first time I've lost a whole litter, and at day 7, my doe is firmly in milk. My main concern is trying to head off any issues with mastitis; Jet is a very nice rabbit, and I'd like to keep her safe, even if we lost her litter. For those of you with more experience, what is your usual plan here? Do you re-breed immediately or try to dry up the doe?
EDIT: I suppose I should note - there's no contraindication to re-breeding, she's in good condition, and kindling last week didn't seem to be traumatic. But I'm not completely sure if it would confer any protection against mastitis? Kinda looking for ideas, cause I'm still a little scatter-brained about everything going on. It's been a bad week for rabbits and I, I've been fighting hairball/GI issues and an early snuffles case in my quarantined angoras, and while I think I'm turning a corner for the better with them as of this morning, it's still been one heck of an emotional roller-coaster.
i had an opposite problem in that a singleton of mine got stuck between the side of the box and the hot water bottle i gave him and overheated 
