One Premature Kit Discovered in Nestbox

[bigbrologan]

Here's the story: bred my Dutch doe on the evening of the 23rd. Today is the 27th day, so I went to put the nest box in this morning. However, we were out of hay. I had to go to school so my mom went and picked some up this morning. When she got home, she was debating on whether or not to wait until tomorrow to put it in or put it in right away. She decided to go and check on Gemma, and found quite a bit of fur on the floor beneath her cage, she decided to put the nest box in. A couple hours later, my mom "saw fur everywhere" and saw the placenta sack (I'm assuming that's what it is, a little gop of bloodlike substance.) She picked me up at school at 2:00 and told me that she thought Gemma was in labor. So, we raced home and at 2:20, I went in and checked on her. I coaxed her out of the nest box and found a premature kit. That is what is in the pictures. It seemed very small, even if it is a few days early. I was thinking that perhaps she aborted early on and this is the result? Could she have more? I'm freaking out xD

Thank you so much,
Logan

 

[Secuono]

Wait, what? 23rd was bred and 27th had the kit? Are you sure she wasn't bred before then?
A million things could of gone wrong, from stress, temp changes, diet changes, etc. Wait and see if anymore show or if she has the rest on schedule.

 

[bigbrologan]

No, the kit was born today. She was bred on April 23rd, and her 27th day of *gestation* is today.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Wow, that is a tiny baby! Is there something wrong with its front legs? They look odd in the pics. It also looks like its ears are chewed off.

Hopefully she still has healthy kits to come. Good luck!

 

[bigbrologan]

The legs are fully formed it looks like. I did notice the ears. I wonder if that was the mother getting ready to it?

My mom mentioned that Gemma had her face in the back of nest box bent down, perhaps she could have been eating all of the kits?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

She may have been, if they were all born dead. She also could have been eating some of the afterbirth.

I would keep an eye on her overall condition over the next few days. I find it odd that she would abort a (dead) litter so late in the gestation period. She may just be birthing early, in which case they are probably well developed enough that most of them should make it.

 

[bigbrologan]

Thank you, Mama.<br /><br />__________ Mon May 21, 2012 3:46 pm __________<br /><br />When I first checked and got the kit out, I ruffled around in the nest box to see if there were any others, and so naturally, her nest was slightly ruined. I just went and checked on her, she redid her nest. Is this is a sign that she still could have some babies?

 

[MaggieJ]

She may have more on the way. It's just about impossible to say for sure. I'm no expert on rabbit fetuses, but it seems to me that the one you took pictures of may have died in the uterus some days ago. It doesn't look as mature as I would expect a Day 27 kit to look. I could be wrong, though, so take my observations with a grain of salt.

About all you can do is leave the nestbox in, keep an eye on her and hope for the best. If she has living kits that are premature, they may be more vulnerable to chilling than full term ones. What is your weather like right now?

 

[bigbrologan]

Mon
60°48°

Tue
54°50°

Wed
52°45°

Thu
57°43°

Highs and lows for the next few days.

 

[MaggieJ]

Okay, I'd round up some extra nesting material in case she has more preemies and does not pull enough fur. Cotton batting or cotton balls, dryer lint, even feathers from a pillow will all work. You may not need them... but it's always better to be prepared.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm no expert on rabbit fetuses, but it seems to me that the one you took pictures of may have died in the uterus some days ago. It doesn't look as mature as I would expect a Day 27 kit to look.

Logan,

I think Maggie is right. Notice how sunken the eye orbits are? It looks as though the kit has been dead for a while, and it doesn't look quite "right" to me- I think it is a pretty young fetus. The limbs look shortened and "clubbed" to me.

You still have a ten day window where she could deliver more kits, so I would just wait and watch. Hopefully you will have a nest of wiggly popples in the next couple of days!

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

First of all. When a rabbit is in labour or still in the nesting box. You leave her alone. It sounds to me that she just started having her babies. Leave nature takes it course. When she is out of the box . Then explore to see how many she had and any mishaps like this one. I have seen peanut babies as this is what i think it is and the mother cleaned it to well and chewed off it ears. She might not have all of them today. She could still have some tomorrow as well so dont remove box.

 

[The Thicket]

Awww poor thing. It didn't form right and like has been said it has probably been dead for some time. Things like that are going to happen.

 

[bigbrologan]

Well, it's been 35 days now. This is now the fourth, out of four, unsuccessful litter since I've moved to my mom's. It's extremely disappointing and disheartening. Thank you all for your help.

 

[MaggieJ]

Don't give up, Logan! We all go through unproductive times with our rabbits. If this started when you moved to your mom's place, think about what may be different there. Are you using the same feed?