Had a new NZ Black doe kindle yesterday afternoon. Got her in October - kept her quarantined for 30+ days - brought her in and bred her and put her in a pen. She's been eating well, looking good, and has been pretty friendly - even the past week.
As I said, she delivered yesterday. Built a fine nest in the nestbox, plenty of fur. Had 3 nice kits but then I found two dead kits - they looked either partially formed or partially eaten (not sure which as I've never seen anything like this before - I thought it was afterbirth until I got a better look). They looked smaller than the three that had been born.
Checked this morning to be sure the three survivers were being fed. They all had fat bellies and looked good so I left them alone. Gave her some feed and some hay. This afternoon walked by her pen and saw that the hay from this morning was bloody. Looked in the nestbox and found afterbirth and ANOTHER kit! This kit looked normal but was larger than the others. It was dead and I'm thinking it was born dead.
Only one other time have I had a doe deliver a kit larger than the others - it was stillborn, too. So I go online to see what I can see and run across a term "Split Litter".
When I breed, I take doe to buck in the morning - usually at dawn. Wait and watch - after 3 successful rounds, return the doe to her pen. I repeat the process that evening - usually 12 to 14 hours later. Sometimes does are receptive, sometimes not. If receptive, I let them at it a couple, three more times. If she's not, she goes back home. Been doing this for years and rarely have a mating "miss".
Have any of y'all heard of this Split Litter thing? Is my approach to breeding possibly causing problems? Two separate sets of eggs getting fertilized 12 hours apart...and then 30 days later being delivered 24 hours apart? What's the deal with one kit being bigger than the others?
Sorry for length of post - figured more info was better than too little. Thanks in advance for all your help!
As I said, she delivered yesterday. Built a fine nest in the nestbox, plenty of fur. Had 3 nice kits but then I found two dead kits - they looked either partially formed or partially eaten (not sure which as I've never seen anything like this before - I thought it was afterbirth until I got a better look). They looked smaller than the three that had been born.
Checked this morning to be sure the three survivers were being fed. They all had fat bellies and looked good so I left them alone. Gave her some feed and some hay. This afternoon walked by her pen and saw that the hay from this morning was bloody. Looked in the nestbox and found afterbirth and ANOTHER kit! This kit looked normal but was larger than the others. It was dead and I'm thinking it was born dead.
Only one other time have I had a doe deliver a kit larger than the others - it was stillborn, too. So I go online to see what I can see and run across a term "Split Litter".
When I breed, I take doe to buck in the morning - usually at dawn. Wait and watch - after 3 successful rounds, return the doe to her pen. I repeat the process that evening - usually 12 to 14 hours later. Sometimes does are receptive, sometimes not. If receptive, I let them at it a couple, three more times. If she's not, she goes back home. Been doing this for years and rarely have a mating "miss".
Have any of y'all heard of this Split Litter thing? Is my approach to breeding possibly causing problems? Two separate sets of eggs getting fertilized 12 hours apart...and then 30 days later being delivered 24 hours apart? What's the deal with one kit being bigger than the others?
Sorry for length of post - figured more info was better than too little. Thanks in advance for all your help!
