Saving fur for the nest box?

[Pink]

Does anyone save their doe's fur for a future litter - let's say if she pulled for a false pregnancy?

When asking the breeder (which I am hoping to purchase my herd from) regarding whether or not the does lost any litters... I was told the red doe lost a litter of 14 due to saved fur from the white doe which unknowingly had mated. Thus, the kits were chilled, and essentially died.

I would imagine pelts would be an excellent source for warmth, why aren't they used?

Are corn husks toxic for rabbits? Kinkajou breeders often put layers of corn husks in the next box to provide the perfect amount of humidity. Perhaps that only works for kinkajous, huh?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I was told the red doe lost a litter of 14 due to saved fur from the white doe which unknowingly had mated. Thus, the kits were chilled, and essentially died.

I am completely confused... :?

I have started saving fur in snack-sized ziplocs when I groom my rabbits. The baggies are marked with the doe's names. I haven't really had any issues with does not pulling fur, but you never know- sometimes they do things differently.

There is a mold that can grow on corn (the kernels and the plant itself) that is toxic to rabbits, so I would stay away from the husks. I bet they would eat them anyway! :lol: As for pelts, that is an interesting idea- but they will get peed on.

I put wood shavings and shredded brown paper in my nests, and give the does plenty of hay and straw to add to it. Some make better nests than others and pull more fur, but so far they have all done well.

 

[Pink]

I was told the red doe lost a litter of 14 due to saved fur from the white doe which unknowingly had mated. Thus, the kits were chilled, and essentially died.

I am completely confused... :?

Sorry! My brain has become mush; still recovering from the 6 hour class of Calculus.

Let me clarify: the breeder decided to use fur left over from Ophira's previous litter. Unfortunately, it matted with the hay and uncovered the newborn kits. As a result, they chilled and eventually died.

I like the idea of saving the fur from grooming.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Oh, matted, not mated! It still would have been confusing if you hadn't clarified further, though! :lol: After 6 hours of calculus I would be unable to function at all. :x You have my sympathy!

I don't see why clean fur would mat any more than freshly pulled fur- that is rather odd. Maybe the doe peed in the nest. I haven't had a doe pee in the nest, but I know others have, I wonder if they have noticed the fur matting up... anyone?

 

[MaggieJ]

Certainly you can save clean fur. Some does get carried away and pull far too much. Pelts I don't think would work well... they would be impossible to clean and the moisture might be trapped in with the kits. But you could shave fur from a rabbit that you have butchered perhaps. I made a half-hearted try at that last time I butchered some rabbits but found it was more difficult than I expected. I think a straight-razor would be the weapon of choice.

 

[siddsaysgimmie]

I have always saved fur. Most of my does pull a lot of fur, so I take about half of it out and bag it. I clean the nest box when babies are about a week old and replace most of the old fur with the stuff I saved. If the doe pulled a ton of fur, I'll save it for another doe.

 

[trinityoaks]

The matting of the fur had NOTHING to do with the fact that it was saved fur, nor that it came from another doe. I suspect the previous breeder simply didn't check the kits as often as she should have (maybe she also believes the old wives' tale that you mustn't touch the kits or their mother will reject them), and thus didn't notice that the fur had become matted.

 

[AnnClaire]

Actually, the loss of the previous litter makes me think the doe does not have good mothering skills ... whether the fur matted with the hay or not, a good mother will fluff the fur/hay mixture and the kits will regulate their own warmth by rising or sinking into the fluffed matter.

I have a doe that will actually pull fur from the Angora buck next door, and massive amounts of her own fur and then she will snip the hay into 1-2" pieces and by the time the kits are born, it is all mixed up from her fussing with her nest before they are born. This second litter, when I pulled the nestbox the morning after birth to count and clean the dead/afterbirth, I came back later in the day to feed and she had pulled even more fur, chopped more hay and had "plugged" the whole opening of the nestbox to keep me out :lol: The EA doe, however sort of makes a depression in the back of the hay and it looks like she just throws the fun all over ... very sloppy looking nest compared to the other doe ... and the kits are basically "on their own" as far as staying warm or cooling off as needed.

 

[Jessykah]

i have had does that have matted fur in the box, and it was a result of the doe urinating on them. the urine on the kits also chilled them.