Do all does lose a lot of weight after kindling?

[madforbuns]

My doe kindled around 3am on the 5th. She seemed quite weak yesterday so have put some vitamin drops in her water and she has perked up now. She was quite chubby before the pregnancy but now I can feel her ribs when I pet her. I realise milk production takes a lot but I am keeping her bowl topped up and she is eating well as always she is also drinking plenty is this normal? X

 

[sourland]

This is normal. Her food and water intake will increase radically as the kits grow. Good luck with them.

 

[Bunnylady]

As Sour said, the doe's feed and water consumption increase dramatically with milk production. Does usually lose some condition when having kits; most of the time, she never quite gets back to her former shape. Heading into the breeding barn is usually the end of a doe's show career, if she ever had one.

A first-time mother typically doesn't have as much milk as one that has had litters before. Also, the milk doesn't really "come in" until about day 3, so it may be just a little hard to tell if the kits are feeding. As long as their bellies don't look slack and hollow, they got fed. Within the next couple of days, you should see the kits' bellies start looking like little balloons after the doe feeds them.

It's really not good for a doe to be allowed to get too fat, if she is being used for breeding. There is a condition, called "Fatty Liver Disease" or "Young Doe Syndrome" that has killed many a nursing doe. A liver has a lot more work to do with pregnancy and lactation, and a liver with a lot of fat in it just isn't up to the job. While she's nursing, free feeding is important, but she should go back to limited amounts of food (pellets, anyway) when the kits are weaned.