Two New Litters Updates

[Beekeeper10]

I am not sure if this is in the right section. I might should have put it in Rabbit Care.
Both litters are now 6 days old. The Cali litter is doing great, all seven are growing fast and are all about the same size.
The Dutch X Cali litter is having some problems. I found one of the six dead under a lot of hay and fur this afternoon. Of the remaining five, two are half the size of the other three and the two small ones seem weak.
I think the problem is there is too much hay and fur in the nest box and the weaker ones can't crawl up and through all the hay and fur to nurse. I took about 1/3 of the bedding out and tried to mash and firm up the bedding so the weaker ones don't get bogged down underneath the bedding. The doe pushes so much hay and fur over them to cover them up that the weak ones are having trouble getting out to nurse. I think I am going go back out and check them and if she has covered them back up with a lot of hay, I am going to take some more hay out. If she was just covering them with fur they could get on top to nurse. She has been pushing about two to three inches of hay and fur on top of them. I am also wondering about taking out the three big ones and just leaving the two weak ones in tonight. It is only supposed to get down to about 55 degrees here tonight. I would appreciate any suggestions.
Here are some pics.

 

[MaggieJ]

Will the doe let you flip her to give the weaker kits a dedicated feeding? I don't know how well the two would do keeping warm if you remove the three overnight. There is seldom a clear-cut right answer... It's always a judgment call, so go with your gut.

 

[Beekeeper10]

I went back out before dark and the doe had just covered the kits with fur, there was not any hay on top so hopefully when she feeds them tonight the small ones will get fed better.
It had been about three days since I took the kits out of the nest to check them. Big mistake on my part. I didn't realize they were so deep in the hay. That is a first for having too much hay in the nest. My last litter had too little and the kits chilled on top of the hay.
I will check them in the morning and if they don't look like they have been fed I will try and flip the doe. She is a real sweet doe, I bet I can put her in the nest with just the two small ones and she will nurse them.

 

[fuzzy9]

Very nice litters of kits! The dutch are so adorable!

 

[Bad Habit]

Those babies are adorable, especially the dutch!!