Need help - Holland Lop just had 9 kits

[jimmywalt]

Good morning!!! This morning our Holland Lop (born 3/14/14) just had her second litter. She had 9 kits and today is day 30.

Her first litter was on 11/1/14 (day 30) and she had 6 healthy kits.

We are in Michigan (current outside temps in 20's), but our bunnies are kept in our attached 2 car garage. The average temps in the garage this winter have been between 45 and 50 degrees. She made a nice nest and has "ok" amount of fur in the nest.

I'm concerned if there is anything we should do? Can she nurse 9? How many teets do does have? Should we begin giving her parsley so that her milk comes in? How about oatmeal? Also, she just had these 9 in the past hour. I "think" she's done, but should I bring the nest box in the house and take it out a couple times per day, or just leave it in there and let nature take it's course? We always leave nest boxes with our does, but it's never been this cold (45 degrees) for the buns in the past.

This seems like a huge litter and we don't want to lose any of these precious little buns.

Suggestions/advice please. Thank you!

UPDATE - Added a picture at 1 day old..........

 

[PSFAngoras]

Does have 8 teats, so it would depend on the doe and if she stands long enough for them all to nurse. Some does raise 12 with no problem, some does barely stand long enough for a litter of four to nurse. So long as they all get full tummies, I'd give her a chance at caring for them all. If it's too many, you might have to divide the litter into two nests and take one to feed in the morning and the other at night, possibly supplementing the off half of the litter with the home made formula recipe on this site when it's not their turn to nurse. If you have another doe that has kindled recently or might in he next day or two you could also try fostering over a few.

As far as the fur, if you feel there's not enough, you could always fluff up some cotton balls and stick them in there too. I keep extra angora wool on hand for those instances, but I understand not everyone has angoras, so there are things like cotton balls you could sub. I don't think thaT 45 is very cold for a rabbit, but I supposed if they're not acclimated to it it could be troublesome. So long as they all stay together in the nest (and maybe adding cotton balls of you feel it necessary) I don't see why they would get verycold.

That's how I would handle the situation, anyway.

 

[Silver Cloud]

We always have these on hand just in case http://www.amazon.com/Heated-Resting-Sm ... heater+pad But you could always put a bulb under them, if they are hanging to gravity feed heat to them small watt bulb (just don't want to over heat them). If good mother and her milk comes in good they should be fine with 9. If you are using solid bottom or small holed bottom nest box you could use 1" layer of wood shavings to help retain the heat, with hay straw on top as the nest, the fur should make a very warm nest for them with 9 live bodies even in lower temps.

 

[jimmywalt]

Thanks for the comments so far. Please keep them coming!!!

We have 1/2"x1/2" hardware cloth on the bottom of the nest box. I read that another "power user" here at RT staples cardboard to the bottom of the nest boxes in the winter to retain the heat and keep the fur from being pushed out when the kits move. So we are doing that too with our nest boxes. In a couple weeks we will remove it since they will be bigger and should start having their own fur. Also will need to remove it because it will probably have their urine soaked in.

We also have been saving dryer lint for the past month in the event that we need to supplement the fur in the nest box. We read that here too.

Thanks again or the comments. Please keep them coming.

:bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop:
(9 hopping bunnies)

 

[Miss M]

I have used dryer lint in nest boxes before, with decent results. It can tend to disappear into hay after a bit, so it needs replenishing. Also, longer hair can wrap around little bunny legs, so you should try to remove it from the lint.

Congratulations on the big litter! :mbounce: That's quite a brood for a little Holland!

 

[Silver Cloud]

He is a pic of what we use as a nest box (it really depends on how clean your doe is though, ad we don't get water all over in the cage). Oh and we have never had any troubles with eyes - knock on wood. This box hasn't been cleaned in the 4 weeks the kits where in it. I just took it out and threw it away. Their has been a few we dumped after 2 and 1/2 weeks due to soiling.

 

[dangerbunny]

That is a big litter, guessing two false dwarfs?

A good momma can nurse them all, and more in the nest box will keep it warm, you'll just want to check they are all getting full bellies and none are getting knocked out of the nest.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

She had NINE?!?!

:congratulations:

I just had a first timer kindle this morning, and she didn't pull any fur at all. I pulled fur from her (after kindling it pulls out very easily) until I had a goodly amount to cover the little guys. I believe that pulling fur stimulates the doe to produce milk, and that their fur is the best insulator for the kits, so it is a win-win situation.

With a good covering of fur, your nine kits should not need any extra heat source.

I would give her a little parsley and also keep her supplemented with oatmeal and BOSS if you have it.

 

[Marinea]

Congratulations!

I would think the litter would be fine in the garage at those temps. I would check the little ones daily and give any that are struggling an extra feeding. I am a big believer in parsley, oats and BOSS for nursing does, especially with large litters to feed.

I am one who uses the cardboard on the bottom of the nest boxes- I would remove or change it, along with the other nestbox materials at day 11.

 

[WhWRabbitry]

Wow!! Congratulations!! :clap: Can't wait to see pictures!

We are in Northern Indiana - similar as you, ours are in a workshop that's connected to our garage. The temps in there were between 32-38 during the past weeks when we had a litter of Mini Lops born. They've done great. When we thought the temp in the night would dip down lower than 32 we just ran a heater in the area for a couple hours - I know it probably was not not necessary, just made me feel better.

 

[Zass]

The biggest concern for nestbox material is tangling. On another website someone posted images of a kit who had it's leg tangled in POLYFILL. The leg died and fell off, I guess the kit lived...

 

[jimmywalt]

I added a picture of them this morning. 1 day old.