This month's kindles

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TerriG

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Location
Payson, Utah
We had 3 does kindle this last week. I'm thinking the 4th one missed. Only rabbit people will understand all this lol

Anyway, one was a first timer (Mopsy) and got everything right! 6 live kits in the nest with fur. She is skittish, but lets us pet her and mess with her nest. She stomps, but no charging. WIN!

One was a second timer (Garnet), 6 live, 3 doa, no fur. The kits were cold and lethargic this morning. We are fostering them to another doe. This doe that almost stripped herself naked last time and then had 9 doa. She is continuing to charge and bite (whether she has kits or not). Her personality is horrible, and the first timer has the same markings are her. We are fostering her kits to another doe (Fern) and retiring her.

The third is one of our proven does (Fern) who is an old faithful. She is some of our original stock and is coming up on 3 years old. She had a difficult labor/delivery. She made a nest and pulled tons of fur, but her labor kept stalling, so she would undo her nest. We were just hoping at this point to not lose her. She finally kindled last night, on the wire (she never does this). It was very obvious that she had to pull kits. They were all alive (4) but injured and chilled. By morning, 3 were dead. We saved the one and fostered it over to the first timer (Mopsy) with the great nest. We warmed the mean does kits and are fostering them to this doe. She is a great mother and and awesome milker (huge fat kits!).

Now to get the other does bred. Trying to get a bunch of litters before the buck go heat sterile. I live in Utah, but the heat is still an issue in the summer.
 
sounds like you have all the kits in order and being well cared for.

Culling that mean doe... good idea.
if you cull via selling warn them she is NOT to be bred due to temperament issues when raising kits.
 
ladysown":5l52emc9 said:
sounds like you have all the kits in order and being well cared for.

Culling that mean doe... good idea.
if you cull via selling warn them she is NOT to be bred due to temperament issues when raising kits.

We don't cull by selling unless they are pet quality. We retire via lead poisoning (pellet gun).

Just checked on everyone and we lost 3 more kits total and have another one that is chilled but alive. We suspected that we may lose more due to chilling. You know how those chilled kits can be.

We lost the last one from Fern's litter (that we had fostered to another doe). Two of the ones that were fostered to Fern were dragged out during feeding (they were dead with full tummies). We found one behind the nest box that was still alive, so we are warming it. Fern is sitting on the rest of them like a mother hen.

Looks like it is just one of those kindlings. You know how sometimes everything goes right ... and other times ... ? Well, I think it's one of those other times. Such is life with rabbits.
 
is she seriously sitting on them? Don't let her do that. it's a good way to get dead kits. Nestbox sitters are deadly to babies unless you have a huge nestbox.
 
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