Help!! rabbit kindling trouble :(

[iluvsedward]

Hooraay!!!! That is wonderful news. My girl Oreo tends to kindle during the day. Today was her 30 day due date & she had 5 healthy kits @ 3:20pm.

I would check on them in the AM to see if their belly's are nice and round. Can't wait to see them once your able to get some shots. Here are our new babies

The kits looked like that. The last living one is choco brown like Mama

 

[iluvsedward]

The last one died.

I should have followed my instincts and taken it inside and taken care of it. I'm not going to breed her again until spring

I'm so sad.

 

[RHRanch]

The last one died.

I should have followed my instincts and taken it inside and taken care of it. I'm not going to breed her again until spring

I'm so sad.

If you had tried to bottle feed it, it probably would not have survived anyways. To keep it warm, you could have brought the mom, baby inside, but considering how many problems your doe has had with this litter, I am not entirely surprised that she lost her living kits too. When she was with the buck for breeding, did you just bring the buck to her for breeding, or were they in a cage together for a while, like a period of days? I am wondering if she had been pregnant with 2 litters a few days apart, as can happen if a doe is re-bred while pregnant.

 

[iluvsedward]

If you had tried to bottle feed it, it probably would not have survived anyways. To keep it warm, you could have brought the mom, baby inside, but considering how many problems your doe has had with this litter, I am not entirely surprised that she lost her living kits too. When she was with the buck for breeding, did you just bring the buck to her for breeding, or were they in a cage together for a while, like a period of days? I am wondering if she had been pregnant with 2 litters a few days apart, as can happen if a doe is re-bred while pregnant.

They were caged together for a few days. I didn't know they could have separate pregnancies.

 

[iluvsedward]

UPDATE: After the hurricane blew through I went to check on her this morning and there was ANOTHER dead kit!!! I have a farming book that explains what to feed orphaned kits and IF she has another live one I'm just going to take it inside and care for it. Its too cold for a single newborn kit out there and I dont think my doe is would care for it. The other living baby that died (last posts) looked like she bit it on the mouth, so im not convinced she's the best mother. But its not just that, I think there is way too much stress for her right now.

 

[RHRanch]

UPDATE: After the hurricane blew through I went to check on her this morning and there was ANOTHER dead kit!!! I have a farming book that explains what to feed orphaned kits and IF she has another live one I'm just going to take it inside and care for it. Its too cold for a single newborn kit out there and I dont think my doe is would care for it. The other living baby that died (last posts) looked like she bit it on the mouth, so im not convinced she's the best mother. But its not just that, I think there is way too much stress for her right now.

Hummm... her kindling has gone on waayyyyy too long if you ask me. I might consider taking her to the vet if you can afford it. I think she may be having some serious issues which could be why she isn't taking care of the kits, either.

 

[iluvsedward]

Well she hasnt had anymore and shes acting normal and she doesnt look pregnant

 

[LissyB]

Hope your rabbit isn't having issues!

I've only had bucks, so I don't know about rabbit breeding that much. But hope the next litter in the spring is better! (if you breed her again!)

 

[4ChickFarm]

When I was young, my highly-inexperienced family had rabbits and kept them all together - males and females. Whenever the mom kindled, they'd eat the babies and you'd find little skulls the next morning in their cages. I have rabbits and I research obsessively to avoid this cruelty through ignorance.

 

[4ChickFarm]

Bucks can be fertile much younger - with my first litter (just this summer), I left them all in with the mom until they were about four months old, and one of the does and the dam were impregnated by a brother/son. Oops! I discovered the sister was pregnant when I was processing her for meat; the fetuses looked like little grapes. The dam has not yet kindled, so I don't know whet they'll be like - but apparently dam/buck matings are often good within a breed.