Newborn kits, inexperienced mom and raw genitals

[MROlionheads]

My doe gave birth to 5 healthy kits, one I found on the ground outside the cage, still breathing but very cold, warmed it up and it is fine.. I think. Mom didn't get any milk in for three days, she is a first time mom and is young, she has no interest in the babies and I have been having to literally hold her down so the kits can nurse... I do this twice a day, and one kit at a time. I weigh before and after to make sure they all are getting at least some milk. My problem is where mom basically wont care for them and I have to, when I stimulate them to urinate and deficate with the cotton balls their little genitals are getting raw... I do it very gently and with water on the cotton ball so it mimicks the mom licking them. What can I safely use to help with the rawness of their genitals.. They are all still alive and warm, I have them in a towel in a box inside in front of a space heater. (its not directly blowing on them it is a few feet away). I tried to put them with her but she keeps literally flinging them out of the nest, so I have decided to keep them away from her except at feeding times. So far they are perfectly healthy, they are latching on and nursing, and I am making sure they have nice roundish bellies after feeding, but not so round that they will get splay leg. I just don't know what I can use for the rawness on their genitals... I am very new to raising rabbits and this is my first litter. I have goats milk, heavy whipping cream, keifer, eye droppers, and corn syrup on hand in case she dries up, from the stress of me holding her down to feed them...

 

[michaels4gardens]

in my experience.. "stimulating" them to eliminate, is optional [or maybe even unnecessary] .. many litters of rabbits are raised by moms who do nothing except jump in and feed them, and jump right back out again..

 

[Nymphadora]

I understand that you're doing everything you can to help the litter survive... but you might be doing a little too much.

For example, it's not necessarily the mama doe that stimulates the kits to pee and poop. They can be stimulated by as little as each other all squirming around in the nest to get comfy. (My sister's boyfriend learned this lesson when he picked up a kit very gently... first time holding baby rabbits... and the little bun promptly emptied its bladder in his hands). :lol:

Unless you notice a blockage or issues with their bowel functions, I'd recommend letting them be. They're probably peeing and pooping just fine, and being "stimulated" until they are forced to go at feeding time might be harming them more than helping. This is my personal opinion, of course, but I've never had an issue of an entire litter not being able to pee and poop properly from birth (one or two kits have gotten a stuck poop here or there, but that's easily managed).

Now, on to the feeding... you might be stressing the doe out, which could in turn lead to your troubles getting her to feed the kits. I get not wanting to leave them with her if she's pushing them out of the nest, but maybe try different methods of feeding that reduce your interaction over time? For example, spread a towel over your legs when you're sitting on the floor, and put the babies (all of them) in the depression between your legs (I keep my legs straight out ahead, so there's a bit of a trench). Then set mama doe over them, so the kits can nurse and mama stays upright. Once the doe gets used to this, put the babies down on a towel on the floor, and confine the doe to that area, so the kits can crawl to her and feed. Eventually you may be able to bring the nest box to her for 30 minutes and she'll feed the kits herself. This process may take a while (and the kits will hopefully be grown enough to chase their milk bar down on their own), but if you intend on breeding her again, it would be helpful for her to learn to feed them on her own. Again, these are just opinions and thoughts I've come up with on the matter, but hopefully you will find them helpful.

Best of luck, and keep us updated on this litter!

 

[MROlionheads]

Thank you for replying... I have been doing tons of research online, for what use it is... and many websites say you had to stimulate them to eliminate... The only reason I am having to hold the doe down to feed the kits is because no matter what time of day I place her on them, she immediately kicks them and tries to run off... I do realize that I am probably traumatizing the mom, but I don't see any other way to get her to stay still to feed them... This being my first litter, I am going to do everything in my power aside from nursing them myself....lol, to keep them alive... I do plan to re breed her if she cooperates, but if in a few more days time she still doesn't allow them to feed from her without me holding her and physically placing them on her, then no I don't plan to breed her again... I now know not to stimulate them, I will just keep looking at the genitals to make sure that there is no feces stuck... If anyone has any other advice or tips for raising rabbits please let me know I could use all the help I can get.... <br /><br /> -- Mon Jan 21, 2019 1:54 pm -- <br /><br /> Oh forgot to ask... how long do the kits need to nurse for, I know its only once or twice a day, but it seems like they are taking like 20mins at a time to fill their bellies, and should I let them feed on the doe until their bellies are roundish or is that over feeding?

 

[Nymphadora]

You're doing great, MROlionheads, you're working with the information you've been able to find and asking people with more experience to help! :goodjob:

The only reason I am having to hold the doe down to feed the kits is because no matter what time of day I place her on them, she immediately kicks them and tries to run off...

Hmm, that does present a problem... :hmm:

May I ask how she's been flinging them out of the nest, like you mentioned earlier? I wonder if you left them with her for a full 24 hours if she might go in to feed them when her milk feels heavy (maybe she's jumping out because she doesn't feel very "full" at the moment?). If she's kicking all of them out of the nest that probably wouldn't be very safe... but I can't imagine one of my does tossing kits out (because the nest boxes have fairly high walls, so it would be physically difficult). Maybe if you explained it we could come up with something?

If they've been well fed up until now, missing one day of feeding isn't going to harm them too much, I would imagine... when people have a runt in the litter they sometimes pull the bigger kits out for a day, after all.

Oh forgot to ask... how long do the kits need to nurse for, I know its only once or twice a day, but it seems like they are taking like 20mins at a time to fill their bellies, and should I let them feed on the doe until their bellies are roundish or is that over feeding?

Since I've only had 1 doe with trouble feeding... I'd say my personal experience is fairly limited here. But when I had a doe that needed to be held to feed, I let the babies nurse collectively for about 20 minutes. I don't think any one of them latched on for more than 10 minutes total, but I could've missed something (this was a while back). Especially if they're feeding twice a day though, I think 10-20 minutes is fine... and when they crawl away, they're full. I didn't try to force them to latch on, with the exception of 2 kits that ended up fading away anyway.

 

[michaels4gardens]

if everything else is OK, I would just put the nest box in with the doe, [look once in awhile to make sure all kits are still in the box] -then,... about 12 hours later check and see if the kits have a full stomach--[some does only nurse one time a day, so you might want to wait a entire day] ] if they are empty, then forcing her to let them nurse is OK.

 

[alforddm]

I'd leave them for 24 hrs and then check them as michaels suggested.

Another trick you can try, if they still haven't been fed, is holding her in the nextbox inside the cage. I've never had any luck with does letting down their milk when I try to hold them in my lap or outside the cage. However, I have had luck holding them in the nextbox inside the cage. I think the familiar environment helps. The few times I've had to do this for young does, they figured it out and started feeding on their own within a couple of days.

Good luck!