Supporting Large Litters?

[ramblingrabbit]

Ostara had ten (10) kits the other day! We've never tried to let her nurse that many before (only eight), but these all looked lively and healthy so we thought we'd give it a go this time. She's an experienced mother by now, she has done well every time, so if any doe can manage it, she can. They look good so far.

We're giving her basically all the rolled oats, and alfalfa pellets she can eat--plus lots of fresh greens and miscellaneous energy foods like roots and sugarcane. I've also been giving her a bit of parsley daily because I heard that's a good lactation tonic. (I've also heard the same of comfrey, but she won't eat that.) I plan to wean the kits as early as possible too.

Any other groovy tips for helping does with large litters? :idea:

 

[Comet007]

I don't have any tips, but wanted to say congratulations! Ten is a big litter and I hope that they will all thrive! It sounds like you at least have the benefit of the doe being a good mother, which is great.

 

[ottersatin]

Often when I have a Dam with a larger than normal sized litter
I will give them some twice toasted whole grain bread soaked in
cows milk. I don't know if it's the best thing, but it has always worked for me.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[ramblingrabbit]

Thanks! You're talking about regular ole fresh cow's milk, right Satin? I recall reading something similar in an old book once, so there must be some legitimate folk wisdom behind it...

The kindling was on Thursday. I checked the nest once again a few hours ago. They all still look to be in great condition--even the runt. If they've made it this far, I'd say the outlook is good! :bunnyhop:

 

[Comet007]

She's probably rewarding you because she gets to live in Hawaii!! So glad they are all doing fine. Do you have pictures??

 

[skysthelimit]

Congrats to you.

I regularly have does that have 10-12 in litters, I don't do anything besides free feed them.

 

[akane]

Goat milk would be better than store bought cow milk. Raw cow milk would likely be fine though. The pastuerized stuff with all the enzymes killed is rather hard for herbivores to digest since most have simpler and less concentrated milk than cows. You can also use the dried milk formulas for animals (again I'd avoid calf formula) and just sprinkle it on the pellets or in to a dish for supplements. I use foal formula and mine always go crazy for it. Helps provide most of what's needed to make more milk.

I've had does who would regularly pop out around 14, occasionally up to 18, and we had one litter of 20 but they didn't survive. It was the doe's first litter and she built a crappy nest in the middle of winter right before a cold spell so they all froze. If we'd gotten to them a couple hours sooner we probably could have saved most because the ones in the center were not stiff yet. I've also had does who could not raise more than 5. No matter what I did any attempts to foster to them or let them raise a litter larger than 5-6 resulted in losing kits until they were down to that number. Just depends on the doe.

 

[KKRabbitry]

My Mini Lop does commonly have 8-12 babies in a litter, and usually raise almost all of them with no issues. We just free feed quality 16% pellets, and grass hay.
If you feel the need to bump-up her nutritional intake I would recommend adding black-oil sunflower seeds, which are really high in protein and fat.
We have also used Calf-manna in the past....that seems to work well and the bunnies love it!
Good luck with your larger litter!

 

[grumpy]

If she's a good doe, she'll handle raising a large litter. FREE FEED....always.
Expect a slower growth rate on the kits. That's only normal even with a good mama. Keep an eye on the weight-gain on the entire litter. The 21 day weight will give you a good handle on the Mother's milking abilities.

I'd watch the greens though, once those kits start eating, the greens may give them trouble.

I had a doe deliver 16 kits and kept them all alive for 48 hours. But, that was far too many for her to support and manage. I culled two very small ones and she lost one on the wire because of the cold. Another........just vanished. I don't know "where" the little bugger went.

The remaining 12 are nearly ready to go into the grow-out pens in a week or so. They had an excellent 21 day litter-weight.

grumpy.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I give a teaspoon of olive oil, or vegetable oil ,to does with huge litters, each day , [in a cat food can], -seems to help, -- anyone else tried that??
-- I have also tried giving a few pieces of dry catfood each day to heavy milking does-- it seemed to help also--

 

[TwoAcreDream]

Catfood sounds interesting. It would have some high protein levels.
I have not used it, for rabbits. I just might consider that. I bet they
would like the crunch factor. I know they enjoy dry oatmeal and
other plain cereal. Raisin bran is a big hit

I have used catfood for the chickens. I read quite a few labels to find
which one had the highest protein percentages. It turned out to be
the Aldi's store brand. It seemed to help with the chickens to get them
through a molt. I forgot to use it this last molt. I just kept lots of feed
in front of them. The purebreds always molt harder than the crosses.

 

[ramblingrabbit]

They'll be a week old tomorrow, most of them are notably fat and healthy. There is one tiny, scrawny runt, but it's still full of life, so we'll see. Been giving Ostara all the food she can eat: green forage, alfalfa pellets, oats and sunflower seeds, and roots, fruits, and cane. Anything leftover doesn't get wasted because the grow-outs are more than happy to finish off her leftovers at the next feeding (those little monsters can eat as much as we can throw at them). So far so good...

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Watching..
My nz/fg doe kindled 10 her first litter and lost one the second day. Her second litter is 13! And i had to foster an orphan from another doe to her. She is under condition but gettin em fed. I have em inside and bring her in to feed, so i try to make sure the smaller ones get in first and have a bit before the porkers wrestle in. They are 11 days now, i think 10 are doin good and 4 could be better, the smallest probably bein the fostered one.
I am free feedin her of course and givin her some calfmanna. Hopefully the NZW doe will go on her due date and i can pop a couple small ones to her. She had 6 last time (first litter) and lost em second night to cold. So fingers and toes crossed.

 

[ramblingrabbit]

What is calf manna made out of?

 

[Zass]

What is calf manna made out of?

There is an ingredient list here:

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_library_inf ... showText=1
I don't care for the stuff myself though. Tried it...didn't like the results.

I have a lot of large litters, often on not-too-large of does. (as small as 8 or 9 lbs)
Had better luck with boss, oats and fennel (for both digestion and lactation, same purpose as the anise in calf manna)

Try dried comfrey instead of fresh too. My buns prefer it that way, and seem to digest it better.

 

[ek.blair]

Zass, do you just feed Fennel seed, or the plant?

 

[Zass]

The leafy part of the plant if I can get it, I always try to have some growing here during summer, but if not my grocery stores always have some in stock.
I've never fed fennel seed, but I bet it works about the same, perhaps I should try a bit as an experiment?

 

[ramblingrabbit]

What is calf manna made out of?

There is an ingredient list here:

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_library_inf ... showText=1
I don't care for the stuff myself though. Tried it...didn't like the results.

I have a lot of large litters, often on not-too-large of does. (as small as 8 or 9 lbs)
Had better luck with boss, oats and fennel (for both digestion and lactation, same purpose as the anise in calf manna)

Try dried comfrey instead of fresh too. My buns prefer it that way, and seem to digest it better.

Thanks!

We grow fennel for the CSA, so I can definitely feed some of that. We feed it now and then along with other herbs and greens, but I wasn't aware of those special properties.

Are you talking about drying the comfrey completely, as hay, or just wilting it in the sun a bit until the hairs soften? While I'd love to make better use of comfrey, since I can grow tons of it easily, I'd like to steer away from preparations that involve a lot of labor or processing, and I also don't have a good place to store hay where it won't mold rapidly... Sometimes it rains daily here with little warning so sundrying hay over long periods is a problematic project...