Orphaned kit :( UPDATED

[Jessykah]

Last night I went out to check if Black Satin had her kits yet. She was dead stretched out in the nestbox. Snuggled up next to her was one fed kit. I took the kit and made it a new nest in a basket with shredded paper and dryer lint (she didn't pull enough fur). We don't drink milk here, so I am going to go to the neighbour (which is a dairy farm) and ask if I can have a cup of milk, then add some corn syrup and egg yolk to it. I hope this will work and not cause diarrhea. I will get some goats milk from my friend as soon as I can, but until then it will have to be cows milk...
I know I have to rub the genitals to make it pee, and to not over-feed it, but is there any more advice anyone can give me? Thanks.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

you don't have another doe to adopt it to.?.. if there is a big age difference.. maybe you can get it to suck on that mom with milk.... If not.,,,, I have a doe here that can help it.. I don't think feeding it your way is going to live....

 

[Marinea]

So sorry you lost Black Satin.

*fingers crossed for the kit*

 

[Jessykah]

No, I have no nursing does. Thanks for the offer. It is a long way for me to drive for just one kit, but I will think about it.
The dryer lint sucks. I know a lot of people use it as a substitute, and it IS keeping the kit warm but it's nostrils and mouth get full of lint, so it can't breathe as well. I have to clean it off. And when it poops, the lint gets stuck to its butt and makes a bigger mess. Oh well, it's all I have to use. I know I should just cull it, but I am a soft one.<br /><br />__________ Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:21 am __________<br /><br />Thanks Marinea.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

You can try to use cotton balls instead of lint....or go around a pluck fur off of your other rabbits

 

[Jessykah]

I have no cotton balls, so I may try to pluck some fur. Thanks.

 

[caroline]

I had a doe that died and I have been feeding 8 kits for the last 2 weeks by syringe. I bought the puppy milk substitute from the feed store, Esibilac. They are doing great. I fed them 2x/day and am now cutting back to 1x since they are eating pellets, rolled barley and hay now. They sure are fun and have become very tame. I enjoy my feeding time with them/ Never done this before.

 

[Jessykah]

Good work Caroline! Thanks for sharing. I hope I am that successful. I will check for some formula if I can't get goat milk from my friend.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your doe, Jessykah.

I have never heard of anyone successfully raising an orphaned rabbit kit from day one, but I sure hope you will be the first. :clover:

Caroline- how old were your kits when you started? If they were newborns, or close to it, I think you will be everyone's hero for finding the "magic elixir" in Esbilac that makes it possible!

Do you stimulate them to relieve themselves? Our hypothesis here is that the does do not stimulate them, the movement of the other kits is what causes them to potty. :? With a singleton, it would still be necessary, of course.

 

[TMTex]

I had a litter of 7 who's doe died about a week after kindling. They only got a few feedings from her because she didn't feed them at first. We hand fed them a mixture of Goat's Milk Formula and Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR). We also mixed in some goat probiotics. They're 11 weeks old now.

Some folks here also said to get some rabbit poop and mix it into the formula to help the gut flora. We did this on another litter that a first time mom didn't feed at first. We crushed 2 pellets from an adult rabbit and mixed it with goat probiotics and a small amount of warm water. We then strained the mix through a paper towel and added 1 part Goat's Milk formula to 2 parts KMR. We fed them twice a day. It kept them alive until their mom started feeding them.

From a litter of 4 initial survivors, 2 are alive and will be 3 weeks old tomorrow.

 

[Jessykah]

Do you stimulate them to relieve themselves? Our hypothesis here is that the does do not stimulate them, the movement of the other kits is what causes them to potty. :? With a singleton, it would still be necessary, of course.

I stimulated her this morning, and she did urinate a drop.

 

[skysthelimit]

I really need to bookmark this topic to see how it turns out. I have not yet been able to save a litter when the doe did not have milk. The last time, the ones I fed died and the ones that went unfed lasted three days until she started milking and I have 4 of the original 12.

 

[Jessykah]

Well I will keep you updated. Though I am not expecting much.

 

[ladysown]

where are you jessykah? anywhere near London? I have two nursing does right now.

 

[Jessykah]

Not close to London. I am in Pembroke. But thanks for the offer though.

 

[caroline]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your doe, Jessykah.


Caroline- how old were your kits when you started? If they were newborns, or close to it, I think you will be everyone's hero for finding the "magic elixir" in Esbilac that makes it possible!

Do you stimulate them to relieve themselves? Our hypothesis here is that the does do not stimulate them, the movement of the other kits is what causes them to potty. :? With a singleton, it would still be necessary, of course.

They were 3 days old and are now 4 weeks. One is a MOOSE, 2x as big as the rest. I started by giving them a few cc. in a 3cc syringe 2x/day. I worked up to as much as 12 cc 2x/day. They have been eating pellets rolled barley and grass hay for about a week. I have a crock and a couple of hanging water bottles in there. They use the crock. So far it doesn't seem like they have the hang of the hanging bottles. I think that mom's use must be a good way for the kids to learn and they don't have that. They are old enough now that they could be weaned from the formula so I have cut back to only evening feeding and some don't take a full syringe at that.

These will make great pets if I have any call for that any time soon. We'll see...

I did not stimulate the genitals except to check for stuck feces and cleaned that the couple of times it was there. These kits have been cleaning each other for weeks. It is sure fun to watch. First rabbits I've brought into the house.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Well, that will give everyone hope, I'm sure!

Way to go, Caroline!

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

where are you jessykah? anywhere near London? I have two nursing does right now.

I have one too.. I offered it to her..I am less than an hour away.<br /><br />__________ Fri Aug 23, 2013 2:51 pm __________<br /><br />just curious to know how the little one is doing??

 

[Jessykah]

Baby died today It just wouldn't get onto the bottle. Every tiniest drop of milk was hard to get into it. Even if I just put a small drop on its lips, it didn't work. I think it was having trouble pooping too. It would open its mouth and scream a lot at me. It was hungry and cold; the dryer lint didn't keep it warm enough, even in my warm house. I milked a goat and used the formula in the thread about bottle feeding kits. I have been disappointed and heartbroken before when bottle feeding kits. I get so attached. Then they die. At least I didn't name THIS one....
I would have brought it to you to foster, Mary Ann, but for just 1 mixed kit, who wasn't going to get big anyway, it wasn't worth the drive. It wouldn't have paid for itself. So I planned to use the free goat milk from a friend. Plus, the kit's mother had snuffles (a friend gave her to me to dispatch, then she kindled). I didn't want to spread it to your doe
So lesson learned. No more hand raising for me. Not saying it will NEVER work for me, but it's not worth my time and heartache, and it's too hard on the kit.
I LOVE fostering though when possible.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

ya,, that is to bad.. I was trying to help you . If they don't have a full belly,they cant stay warm. It was lesson learned for sure. But you tried ..