second try--11 kits in the nest!

[Rainey]

Our doe Alna who kindled on the wire her first time around and then lost the kits after a few days, probably to the March cold was rebred 6 days after her first kindle. This morning she had 11 kits in the nest box, covered with fur, and one doa that was outside the box. (Does the doe remove a kit if it's dead?--this one was full size but the only one out of the nest and we found it very soon after birth)
Thanks to all the help from RT, we kept Berwick's kits inside for the first week or so. She only had 6 and lost 2 of them, one very small and one that just seemed pinched in the chest and didn't develop. They have just opened their eyes and are staying outside now.
I think we'll keep Alna's nestbox inside at least overnights for a bit. Hope she'll have enough milk.
Had wondered if Alna was actually bred--only one covering and not the dramatic fall off--but so far any time our buck has done anything that looked like a possible mating the doe has kindled. And with 12 kits from one covering I think I'll be less concerned about seeing 2 or 3.
Last year, when we were just starting, we bred our 2 does at the same time. Never had occasion to foster. This year we've just bred when they were ready and now we have Berwick with 4 10 day old kits and Alna with 11 newborns. Would others foster with such uneven litter size? How different can the ages be?
Sorry--too many different questions, not on topic

 

[Susie570]

There's no harm in bringing the kits in at night.

It's not impossible that she flung the doa kit from the nest.

You can split the large litter up and foster some to the other die, it should be fine.

Best of luck!

 

[Zass]

Doe's don't usually move kits for any reason....but they seem to know when they are giving birth to an nonviable kit sometimes and will have it out of the next. Maybe in the wild they try have them far enough away to prevent attracting predators?

The newborn would really struggle to compete with 10 day old kits. Hmm...I try not to foster if they are more than or 2-3 days apart. If she will nurse twice a day, you might try giving her some of the newborns in the morning and the 10 day old kits at night. Most of my does only nurse once a day if I pull their boxes...so...

 

[skysthelimit]

I bring all my nest in all the time.

I really haven't had an occasion to foster, my does raise 9-12 pretty much every litter. Even the JW raise 5-7. The two times I tried, the does killed the kits, and the other one already had 9 of her own, but she still raised three more. Give extra feed for now until you decide what to do.

 

[katiebear]

The new borns need the colostrum in mamas milk. I have had does raise 10 or 11 it can be done. You may loose a runt but in a litter that large I expect it.
Your doe should be free fed and she will produce enough milk. I never foster kits that are more than a day or two apart. Just my experience....

 

[Rainey]

Thanks to all who've shared their own experience. I wasn't really thinking of fostering them but just mulling over another thing I don't know yet about rabbits. The kits in this litter, as in her previous one, are fairly close in size. We'll keep an eye on them, see if everyone is getting fed. The other doe had kits of very different sizes and it often seems that the really small ones are doa or don't last long. I'm mostly just pleased to have live litters and have enjoyed watching the older litter develop over the first week or two. Last year we just checked once soon after they were born and then didn't really see the kits until they started coming out of the box. But with keeping the nest boxes inside this time, we've checked them more. So amazing how fast they change. And how clean they are very shortly after birth--more used to goats and they are quite a mess until cleaned up which takes some time. And then there is the afterbirth to clean up. But with the rabbits it seems so much quicker and cleaner.

 

[katiebear]

My favorite doe Ghost, let me watch the birth of a litter, there were 8. But one was doa. It's pretty amazing. But watching the clean up was uumm...interesting. :shock:

 

[Zass]

Mucky always lets me watch too. She waits until around 6 pm when everyone is home and downstairs around her pen. :roll: I think she likes the attention.

I foster kits quite frequently and have never ever had a doe attack or kill one. :shock:

This winter I was alternating nest boxes between two does, because one doe was a better nest builder than the other. I swapped boxes every couple of days to let the better nest builder "fix" her sister's box.

Actually, I did that twice this winter, because another doe gets her milk late (on day three) I swapped boxes every day for the first three days to give the late milker's kits a couple feedings from the other doe (otherwise we lose the smallest/weakest kits). When her milk comes in...it's beautiful. Her babies are always huge by day 10. She's my only doe who can get kits to 5 lbs at 8 weeks. So anyway, she ended up with the nest that had the most babies, because she has a great milk supply...when she finally gets it.

Playing nest swap makes the does grumpier with ME, but so far they have been great to the kits.

 

[skysthelimit]

I foster kits quite frequently and have never ever had a doe attack or kill one. :shock:

After all this time, as a testament to how temperament is hereditary, I still do not have the nicest group of does. The are very territorial. Most don't have any problem with me in the cage, or pulling nests, but they will never be communal buns. I have the feeling if it was a colony they would destroy each others nest. i just pray each one has milk, or I cull the litter.
I've also had two bucks get their ears nipped off right in front of me during breeding.

 

[Susie570]

Daaang!! :shock:

 

[Rainey]

All 11 had been fed when we checked them yesterday evening. And this morning Alna hopped right in when we took the nest box out. And she had pulled more fur and piled it in a corner even though there was already plenty in the nest. So I'm thinking this is a good doe in spite of losing her first litter.

 

[Susie570]

Excellent news!

 

[skysthelimit]

All 11 had been fed when we checked them yesterday evening. And this morning Alna hopped right in when we took the nest box out. And she had pulled more fur and piled it in a corner even though there was already plenty in the nest. So I'm thinking this is a good doe in spite of losing her first litter.

Congrats

I love when I bring the box back and they are waiting with a cage full of fur, giving me the eye.