Not nursing

[ollitos]

How do you get a doe to nurse her kits without having to flip her? We just lost another litter to a doe who wouldn't feed her kits. I fear that we're about to lose another litter.

Other than flipping her, which I can't do because of my back and we don't have the time for it, what can we do?

 

[Marinea]

Oh no Sharon!

I have no idea what to do but *fingers crossed* for saving the litter!

 

[Dood]

I put the kits on a towel and place the doe over top. It can be a two man job as you must hold her hind legs to prevent her from kicking out, and keep the kits from getting loose.

 

[Miss M]

I know a couple of members have mentioned holding the doe in the box, not allowing her to leave until the kits have fed. :shrug:

 

[AnnClaire]

Yeah, flipping is generally only for supplementing one or two that need a couple of extra feedings.

For a whole litter, if you can lay the doe on her side and hold her back feet, then put the litter close, they will find the teat and latch on. Whether she lets her milk down or not can be another issue. If her mammaries have milk in them, then she is too afraid for some reason to nurse the kits. You could also try putting some cardboard sides, or a blanket over the cage to make it dark which should make her feel more secure.

When you build more nest boxes, you might make one with a 90* opening where the doe goes in and turns to get to the back of the nest box. It will be a little more difficult to clean, but you could always hinge the top for ease of checking kits and cleaning.

 

[ollitos]

I held the does in the nesting boxes. I only had to do it once. They're all feeding their babies now. Yay!

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

Thanks for asking this. Good info.

 

[Miss M]

Wonderful!

 

[skysthelimit]

Yeah!!!!!!

 

[SterlingSatin]

i've always held the doe over the nest box for 10 minutes or so until she figures out what she's doing. if there are runts, i'll flip her to let the runt nurse. i've had SO many rabbits that won't nurse...
if her milk isn't coming in that's slightly different, but it sounds like that wasn't an issue...
for future reference, if you have a doe who isn't producing milk, pull more fur for her, then giver her a few chest massages. her milk should come in a few hours after that, unless there's another issue causing the lack of production.

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

SterlingSatin, do you mean pull the fur on her belly, or does it matter? I have a doe that hasn't fed yet, so I am giving her until this evening to give them all full bellies.

 

[SterlingSatin]

SterlingSatin, do you mean pull the fur on her belly, or does it matter? I have a doe that hasn't fed yet, so I am giving her until this evening to give them all full bellies.

yes, pull the fur around her teats. it stimulates the milk production.