My dw and I have been forcing Eenie, my "evil doe", to feed her kits every evening. It takes up to an hour to do this and is very inefficient. The kits also haven't been getting as much milk as my other doe's kits. That, and having to wrestle her several times per feeding session was getting old. She's a bundle of muscle.
Yesterday evening, I started the ritual by putting a the towel down in her hutch. I've been wrapping her in the towel to lift her out of the hutch and keep her feet and head secure during the feedings.
She went right to the towel instead of running and while I was filling the feeders for the other rabbits, she went inside her nesting room. I peeked through the door and saw that she was standing over her kits and licking them! I backed out of the rabbit run and gave her some privacy, but kept peeking through the fence. She spent all of 5 minutes in there and I checked on the kits.
They had the fattest, roundest bellies they ever had! I'm so relived that she's feeding them now for several reasons. First, the kits are finally getting proper nutrition. Secondly, I won't have to count this litter as a strike against her and turn her into stew. Third, this frees up a lot of time in the evenings for me.
If I were the type, I'd be doing the happy dance.
:bananadance:
Yesterday evening, I started the ritual by putting a the towel down in her hutch. I've been wrapping her in the towel to lift her out of the hutch and keep her feet and head secure during the feedings.
She went right to the towel instead of running and while I was filling the feeders for the other rabbits, she went inside her nesting room. I peeked through the door and saw that she was standing over her kits and licking them! I backed out of the rabbit run and gave her some privacy, but kept peeking through the fence. She spent all of 5 minutes in there and I checked on the kits.
They had the fattest, roundest bellies they ever had! I'm so relived that she's feeding them now for several reasons. First, the kits are finally getting proper nutrition. Secondly, I won't have to count this litter as a strike against her and turn her into stew. Third, this frees up a lot of time in the evenings for me.
If I were the type, I'd be doing the happy dance.
:bananadance:
