Twelve babies!

[PatS]

Our doe gave birth last night to twelve babies. This is her first litter. I'm a little worried that this is a big litter for a first-time mother. She ran around the house (we've been having blasting hot temps and I brought her inside a week and a half ago) while I peeked in the nestbox. I had to remove about five placentas from the box and the nest is sticky. I will do a more thorough inspection later and will check to see how well-fed they are -- what else should I look for? On my rushed initial inspection the babies looked fine. Mother was 10.5 pounds when we bred her, so she's not a tiny thing, but I didn't expect this many kits.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Congrats!!! Super litter. I'd just watch to make sure none are lagging behind, growth-wise.

 

[skysthelimit]

Great litter. First time doe had 10, next time 11. Kits did fine without help. The first two days I split the litter, but that got old after day three, and when I went to check, they were all fed. Didn't lose a single kit.

 

[ZRabbits]

Wow, way to go for a first time Mom. Hoping all twelve are doing well, and Mom is handling them all fine.

Karen

 

[faiththequeen]

WOW! Hooray for a dozen

 

[PatS]

Well tonight it will be a week since she's kindled. All twelve are still alive, but two are now tiny compared to their littermates. (Remember the Charles Atlas ad in comic books where the bully on the beach kicks sand on the 98 pound weakling? The babies look like the weakling.) I tried flipping the mother and it was very stressful for us both, and the babies kept losing their grips and falling off. I don't think the extra meal helped much. There are another couple who are a bit smaller than the rest but they aren't scrawny, and they are very active when I reach into the nest.

So I think 10 will make it.

 

[AnnClaire]

Pat,

If flipping is too stressful, try seperating the smallest kits from the larger ones and letting them get a head start on feeding, then adding the rest of the litter. You could also try offering the smaller kits only to the doe in the morning and the whole litter in the evening.