Just kindled our 2nd litter, first for Benelli, our Silver Fox doe. 8 kits, (4 black, 4 lilac or brown) from a lilac Silver Fox father and black mother. We‘re celebrating a successful first time pregnancy and delivery for our super sweet mama.
Now the question…. We’ve had 2 litters from 2 first time does. Both had 8 kits and both had 1 kit that got shoved to the side while still in the placenta. In the first case, and with us being first time observers, we did not intervene (even though we saw the baby struggling for breath) thinking we might disrupt the mother’s plan for birthing her remaining kits. So that one ended up dying. With the second doe, the same thing happened, and by the time we found the separated kit and got the placenta off it, it had stopped breathing. I cleaned it up, gave it a couple of tiny rescue breaths and it gasped once, then the will to live took over and it struggled into a labored rthythm. Mama was still in labor so we stuck it right in front of her nose between her and her emerging kit, and she just worked it into her new baby routine. An hour and a half later, little Tater is still alive and kicking. So, the question - is it normal for mothers to lose track of cleaning up their kits occasionally during birth and do they tend to do this less as they kindle more litters.
Now the question…. We’ve had 2 litters from 2 first time does. Both had 8 kits and both had 1 kit that got shoved to the side while still in the placenta. In the first case, and with us being first time observers, we did not intervene (even though we saw the baby struggling for breath) thinking we might disrupt the mother’s plan for birthing her remaining kits. So that one ended up dying. With the second doe, the same thing happened, and by the time we found the separated kit and got the placenta off it, it had stopped breathing. I cleaned it up, gave it a couple of tiny rescue breaths and it gasped once, then the will to live took over and it struggled into a labored rthythm. Mama was still in labor so we stuck it right in front of her nose between her and her emerging kit, and she just worked it into her new baby routine. An hour and a half later, little Tater is still alive and kicking. So, the question - is it normal for mothers to lose track of cleaning up their kits occasionally during birth and do they tend to do this less as they kindle more litters.
