MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
I had three does kindle yesterday, two in the morning and one in the late afternoon.
First out of the gate was Schannon, my lilac Rex. She did a beautiful job as usual, and gave birth to four lilacs and three REW. I had to remove just a bit of damp bedding from the birth, and then put a handful of pine pellets on the floor of the nest below their hollow.
Next up was DE422. Her nest was also in good shape. She delivered eight kits, but one was a horribly deformed kit that had to be culled.
deformed-kit-graphic-t16807.html
Nigella was the last to kindle. Her kits are very large compared to the other doe's, which may have contributed to her long labor.
As was the case with the other does, I witnessed the last part of the birth. She seemed rather concerned to be "caught in the act" and jumped out of the nest. Her hindquarters were very bloody.
Since she seemed nervous, I didn't remove the nest as I customarily do. I did reach into the cage with my camera and snapped a picture of the kits. As you can see below, they were still covered in blood. Not wanting to upset her further, I left the BunnyBarn in the hopes that she would hop back in and finish the job.
When I returned a little later, the kits were dry, but had not been cleaned. They were covered in fur that adhered to them with dried blood. Obviously, Plan A did not work, so it was time to intervene... past time, as I found out to my dismay.
I removed the nest and quickly checked the kits. I found one large opal kit that had smothered because the amniotic sac had not been removed from its head. Perhaps it was the first born and had delayed her labor.
The remaining kits were cool to the touch, although not cold. The reason for this was abundantly clear- the nesting hollow was absolutely saturated with blood and amniotic fluid. I have never seen a nest in such poor condition.
I brought the nest into the house, started preheating some towels in the dryer, and filled a bowl with warm water. One by one I took the kits and carefully washed the blood and fur from their little bodies, patted them almost dry, and placed them in the dryer. By the time each successive kit was bathed, the prior kit had already dried completely in the warm "nest" in the dryer.
Once everybunny was clean, it was time to tackle the nest. I removed all of the saturated bedding and wet bloody fur, an uneaten placenta, and wiped the blood from the bottom of the box. I placed a couple of handfuls of pine pellets in the bottom of the box, then a layer of Bermuda grass, with a final layer of clean fur.
Nigella's now clean kits were all toasty warm and fast asleep in their little towel nestled in the dryer. I was a little worried, in fact, about putting them back in the nest which was clean but not exactly warm to the touch. However, the insulating properties of rabbit fur is an amazing thing. The kits barely stirred from their slumber when I placed them gently in their fresh bed. :zzz: I covered them up with the remaining fur, and brought them back out to their mother.
I am happy to say that the twenty-one new additions are doing well this morning, all nests are clean and dry, and Nigella has cleaned herself up and is her usual pristine white self.
First out of the gate was Schannon, my lilac Rex. She did a beautiful job as usual, and gave birth to four lilacs and three REW. I had to remove just a bit of damp bedding from the birth, and then put a handful of pine pellets on the floor of the nest below their hollow.
Next up was DE422. Her nest was also in good shape. She delivered eight kits, but one was a horribly deformed kit that had to be culled.
deformed-kit-graphic-t16807.html
Nigella was the last to kindle. Her kits are very large compared to the other doe's, which may have contributed to her long labor.
As was the case with the other does, I witnessed the last part of the birth. She seemed rather concerned to be "caught in the act" and jumped out of the nest. Her hindquarters were very bloody.
Since she seemed nervous, I didn't remove the nest as I customarily do. I did reach into the cage with my camera and snapped a picture of the kits. As you can see below, they were still covered in blood. Not wanting to upset her further, I left the BunnyBarn in the hopes that she would hop back in and finish the job.
When I returned a little later, the kits were dry, but had not been cleaned. They were covered in fur that adhered to them with dried blood. Obviously, Plan A did not work, so it was time to intervene... past time, as I found out to my dismay.
I removed the nest and quickly checked the kits. I found one large opal kit that had smothered because the amniotic sac had not been removed from its head.
Perhaps it was the first born and had delayed her labor. The remaining kits were cool to the touch, although not cold. The reason for this was abundantly clear- the nesting hollow was absolutely saturated with blood and amniotic fluid. I have never seen a nest in such poor condition.
I brought the nest into the house, started preheating some towels in the dryer, and filled a bowl with warm water. One by one I took the kits and carefully washed the blood and fur from their little bodies, patted them almost dry, and placed them in the dryer. By the time each successive kit was bathed, the prior kit had already dried completely in the warm "nest" in the dryer.
Once everybunny was clean, it was time to tackle the nest. I removed all of the saturated bedding and wet bloody fur, an uneaten placenta, and wiped the blood from the bottom of the box. I placed a couple of handfuls of pine pellets in the bottom of the box, then a layer of Bermuda grass, with a final layer of clean fur.
Nigella's now clean kits were all toasty warm and fast asleep in their little towel nestled in the dryer. I was a little worried, in fact, about putting them back in the nest which was clean but not exactly warm to the touch. However, the insulating properties of rabbit fur is an amazing thing.
The kits barely stirred from their slumber when I placed them gently in their fresh bed. :zzz: I covered them up with the remaining fur, and brought them back out to their mother. I am happy to say that the twenty-one new additions are doing well this morning, all nests are clean and dry, and Nigella has cleaned herself up and is her usual pristine white self.
