Rabbit in labor for over 5 hours

[siddsaysgimmie]

So, my doe has been in labor for 5 hours now. Around the beginning she had a stuck kit, I helped pull it out. Right after she popped out a peanut. She still had 1-2 in there and has been pushing, but nothing has come out for me to help her pull out. I have no idea what to do... any ideas at all? Normally my does are perfect, this is only the second doe I have had with a stuck baby... and I have Hollands. This one is a ND though.

 

[MaggieJ]

A calcium boost may help. Offer her a fruity TUMS antacid tablet... They are an easy way to administer calcium. If using any other brand, please check and make sure they are calcium based. Not all antacids are.

If you have fresh or dried lavender buds, they will help expel whatever is left in the uterus... But I realize not many people have these unless they grow their own lavender.

Five hours in labour is not outrageously long. Sometimes it will take over 24 hours for a doe to deliver all her kits. If she is not in distress, just monitor her and help if you can. :clover: :clover: :clover:

 

[siddsaysgimmie]

I crushed a Tums and put it in her water this morning, and she has been drinking that. She doesn't have an appetite. You're right, I don't have lavender and know I can't get it anywhere near here. I'll have to see if I can plant some this year.. or find somewhere to get it.

Okay, I thought that 5 hours was insane. Whoops. My does are always popping them out like it's nothing. I'm not sure if she is in distress but she has been making pained noises when she pushes and it worries me that she has been pushing for so long. But she is moving around and is grooming herself right now so hopefully that's a good sign. She is such a sweet doe, I would be heartbroken if I lost her.

Thank you so much!

 

[MaggieJ]

I do hope she is okay! I'm no expert on rabbit delivery problems, but I have read plenty of posts where labour was protracted and they mostly turn out okay. Some loss of kits sometimes, but I know the doe is your first concern.

In early May, most garden centres have reasonable selections of herbs. I suggest a couple of lavender plants, some mint and sage. For the lavender, harvest the flower stalks just before the buds open and dry them. You may never need them, but good to have them on hand. Mint and sage are useful for drying up a doe (upon weaning the kits if she gets engorged with milk) but should not be given to pregnant or nursing does. All these herbs are hardy perennials, so you should have them for years once they get established. If your winters are very severe, you may want to mulch them in late fall just to be safe.

 

[cathyd]

We have ND's. Sometimes after a stuck kit the others kits have died in utero. Most does eventually pass the dead kits after 24 to 36 hours. Kits start decomposing and come out easier. Sad and hard to watch them labor. I have let them out to run around in a stall before or exercise pen.

We breed/show dogs and always have oxytocin (hormone which causes uterus to contract) on hand to help with whelping pups. I have used a bit now and again with dead kits or does not pushing hard enough. Calcium works in conjunction with the hormone oxytocin. This is why the crushed tums helps.

Hope all the kits get passed soon and yur doe is okay.

 

[Miss M]

:clover: Good luck with the doe! Hope she makes it through okay!

 

[siddsaysgimmie]

Thank you, everyone. She is still struggling this morning and no visible kit. I feel so terrible for her. I don't really care about the kits at this point, other than she's able to get them out. The first 2 were DOA as well. I wish I had some oxytocin for her but I'm not sure what good it would do for her since she seems pretty worn out. I'll let her out for a run and see if that does anything for her.

 

[Heritage Homestead]

I hope she makes it okay.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Best of luck, i'll keep my fingers crossed for her!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The link on this page is very informative:

helpful-link-for-dealing-with-retained-kits-t13779.html

I hope your doe pulls through. :clover:

 

[siddsaysgimmie]

I'm so happy! Yesterday I put her back in the basement, since it was upsetting me to watch her like that. I was just going to let her do her thing until around 9, if she didn't have any luck by then I was going to be looking up humane culling vids. Well, I went down to check on her at 7 to see she had the baby! Surprisingly, there was less blood than with a normal birth. :/ She barely bled at all, even with the stuck one. Pretty weird. She was her normal self, so I gave her some cuddles and yummy treats. She seems happy. I am so incredibly relieved. I couldn't believe the size of the baby though.. wow! Here's a picture of it because I really don't think I have seen a baby this large.. poor Lizzy, she's only 2.5 pounds (and most of that is chunk.. heh).

Baby.. pretty much as long as my hand and quite round. Not sure if you can tell how big it is from the pic though.. I used my ipod which I'm not skilled with at all.

Liz asking for another Cheerio.

 

[MaggieJ]

So glad she managed to pass the kit. She's looking perky and happy now.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Yay for happy endings! :bouncy:

The kit is elongated due to the doe's contractions forcing it through a small space.

 

[Heritage Homestead]

So glad she is okay!

 

[cathyd]

Yeah, glad she is okay! The baby is really stretched and elongated, mushy too. Nature has a way of working things out. Bet she is worn out.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

WOW, that is a pretty darn huge thing to come out of such a wee doe. I'm so glad she managed to pass it and is okay!!!!

 

[siddsaysgimmie]

Yeah, I knew that it was elongated but it had to be huge before that.. thought she had 2 more babies to pass but there was only this big one (big for an ND, I mean). Poor gal. She's happy as a clam now, eating lots and back to her normal self thankfully!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm so glad she is feeling better.

If her girly parts look okay, it might be a good idea to breed her now if you haven't already.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that does often have larger litters when bred soon after kindling. If true, she should have smaller birth weight kits and should have an easier labor.

 

[skysthelimit]

YEAH... so glad this ended well. I rebred the Wooly right after I found the dead kits, and she had a litter of 6, which is pretty good for a JW.

 

[siddsaysgimmie]

I was thinking of petting her out, just because of the large delay between the first 2 and the last. Do you think it would be okay to rebreed her, even after that happened? Or would it be better for her to just play it safe and let her go to a good pet home?