no milk

[akane]

Someone ( I think Aoki) raised a litter to 10 days before they left the nest box immediately, started to look really scrawny, and then bulked back up. At which point Amako had a litter but she never fed them. When the litter was born I checked everyone and they all had flat bellies with no milk lumps but I hoped milk would come in. Several days later we flipped over every adult doe in the colony including the one that I don't think got bred when Akemi escaped and not a single one had milk. I put kits on all of them but they got nothing out of them. I decided not to handfeed and with many dead and the rest dying I put the litter down. I'm pretty sure the younger batch is surviving on all adult food. Do you think it is the heat? Everyone is in good flesh and coat except a couple bucks who are molting and their diet while not standard has not changed in over 6months now. We raised many litters including 8 and 10 at a time on their current diet. I was thinking of going ahead and trying to breed a few does in the next week but if the heat has kept them from producing milk I think I will wait a couple more weeks when we are supposed to go down in to the 80s. Hopefully for the rest of the year.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Why not try one or twodoes-- just before the due date, about 24 days, perhaps, supplement the does with some Happy Jack Milk Ade and see if that helps with the milk production. And yes, speaking from the point of having experiencde lactating myself, heat stress will limit milk production.

 

[akane]

Well the champagne doe popped out just 1 lone kit but it has a ping pong ball for a belly and since not a single one of the other litter got fed I'm certain it's not just litter size and they are all eating the same diet. Our heat broke last week though so that seems the likely cause. After I butcher all the young bucks on friday I'm planning to condense the remaining does I don't want bred to one colony and release Arinsu with the rest to start up full meat bunny production again.