*Urgent* Fostering Kits

[wamplercathy]

My chin/nzw doe had her kits yesterday afternoon. I have made sure to leave them alone over the past 24 hours. But I checked the kits, just a quick peak, to see how they are doing. And surprise surprise they look as if they are not being feed. I gave Rosa a 1/4c of BOSS with her dinner last night and filled her feeder full this morning.

I'm going to give her till the morning and see if she feeds them. BUT if she doesn't, can I foster her kits to the older doe. She gave birth to 6 but had 3 on the wire, and it being cold they didn't make it. She has successfully raised double digit kits in the past. Her litter is 15 days old today.

So, could a the new borns (7) make it in a nest of 3-15day olds?

OR

Hand raise till the 3rd doe kindles in 5 days and then slip them in with her? (Of course that will depend on how many she has.)

 

[ladysown]

kits can last about three days without food....this is helpful because sometimes mom's milk comes in a bit slow.

The facts:
You have a doe slow to care for her youngsters. have you determined why? Lack of milk? Newbie therefore frightened of the milk let down? Poor mothering skills?

15 day old kits are a fair bit larger and stronger than newborns so it can be risky to put the kits in with them. BUT if you are stuck you try what you can right?

What I would do is
1. See if I can determine why the lack of feeding. AND if it's due to poor mothering skills I would try encourage better mothering by holding her over the nestbox, feeding foods that encourage milk production etc.
2. I would remove half the kits and place them with the older litter just so that the kits smell the same. I would in face REMOVE the nestbox from the cage for a good hour so all the kits smell the same. then stand and watch what the doe does. Some does will take ANY kit, any age into their nest and be perfectly fine, but others will only take newborns, others will foster older kits easily. And some (the odd one in my herd) won't take any age kit EVER. Don't trust the doe for at least one hour after you put the nestbox in again.
3. If the half litter does well, I'd plunk in the rest of the kits, remove the bigger kits for a day (it won't hurt them), What you are aiming for is the kits to have a good feed at least once every other day. At least until your next doe kindles.

 

[alforddm]

ladysown, gave you some really wonderful advice. I just wanted to add that I've had really good luck holding does over the nestbox.

 

[wamplercathy]

At this very minute should I:
a) bring both boxes inside for to night
b) leave things till the morning
Or
c) hold mother down, in lap, so the kits can eat

The doe is the nervous type. And this is her first litter. So far she hasn't given me any trouble getting her breed ( lifted straight away for the buck), gave birth to all 7 with no mess and was very crafty about making her nest. I would have never known she had them if I hadn't put my hand in her nest last night. I think it's because she's new to all this. Did give her some Boss. Should I give her some more?

 

[alforddm]

I have had a doe not nurse for 48 hours and then start feeding the kits on her own. So, if it were me, I'd wait until around 7 or 8 in the morning. Then, if they are still not fed, I would hold the doe over the nestbox preferably without taking the box out of the cage if it can be managed. You want her to remain as calm as possible and being in her own space will help. Covering her eyes with your hand or a towel might help as well.

 

[wamplercathy]

Went out and held her over the box and got the stink eye.
Me: You have to feed your babies.
Her: I know there here I'll get to it. :roll:

I actually think I saw her roll her eyes. Checked her belly and the nipples aren't showing any sign of milk. Did give her another tuna can of boss. If by mid morning they still haven't been feed I'll flippy floppy nest boxes. And keep an eye on the situation.

Thank you.

 

[the reluctant farmer]

I do pull my nests in for the night. The plus side is the doe is really ready to nurse when I bring them out so may not be as picky about who/how many are sidling up to the milk bar.

Hope the birth mama is in milk & ready to nurse by the a.m.!

 

[wamplercathy]

Me too. <br /><br /> -- Tue Dec 29, 2015 10:59 am -- <br /><br /> So I went out this morning and the kits appear to have had a tiny amount of milk. Their not as skinny and are a lot more energetic. Brought in the box and will return tonight to their mother in hopes that she'll feed them in the evening. Thank you all so much.

 

[Homer]

 

[the reluctant farmer]

Oh good. I was wondering how they were doing! Hope they look like they swallowed marbles after tonight's feeding...

 

[wamplercathy]

Not swollen but not empty either planning to give more boss. It appears that she's trying so an "A" for effort. If they don't have brimming bellies by the 1 or 2 (that's when Tartar is due) I'll foster to Tartar and re-breed Rosa the same day.

:? Does that seem about right? :shock:

 

[Homer]

Not swollen but not empty either planning to give more boss. It appears that she's trying so an "A" for effort. If they don't have brimming bellies by the 1 or 2 (that's when Tartar is due) I'll foster to Tartar and re-breed Rosa the same day.

:? Does that seem about right? :shock:

It sounds reasonable to me. You could always supplement feed for a few days too.

 

[wamplercathy]

I would like to say thank you to everyone who replied. Rosa is now feeding her kits and they had full bellies this morning. Not brimming but full. Tartar had her litter this morning it appears to be around 6-7 kits. After having Rosa litter inside the other day I have to correct and say she had 6 not 7.

 

[Homer]

Always best if you can get Mom to do her job.

:congratulations: to Tarter on her litter too.

 

[wamplercathy]

Thank you. I defiantly prefer to let mom do her job. But I wanted to be prepared in the event of her not being capable. With the luck I've had so far, I choose to be safe than sorry. :x :lol: :lol: :lol: I'm not loosing any more kits because I'm not prepared.



:x :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: