I am afraid my rabbit will have her kits on the wire. She has lost two litters from that and I don't want it to happen again. I don't want to fall to sleep and find them cold and on the wire. Please help me. 
I'm afraid my rabbits kits will die
- Thread starter peep peep peep
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- #2
She was pulling fur so she should have them tonight. I just don't want her to go through the same thing again....
I'm sorry, I just now saw this; since it's more than 6 hours after your first post, it's probably too late to matter. . . . but here goes.
Most does don't pull fur until right before kindling; if this doe has had two previous litters, you should have a good idea what she does and when she does it. If this doe has ignored the nest box twice before, she stands a good chance of doing it again.
If I have a doe that looks likely to do that, I will line her whole cage with hay, about 6 inches deep. She will move a lot of it around and lose a lot through the wire, but she usually picks one corner and tries to put all of the hay there. If she builds a nest in a corner, at least there will be plenty of hay for insulation.
Another trick I have used is to put the doe and her nest box into a carrier or other small cage, put lots of hay in there, too, and put the carrier in my hall closet. Yes, she gets disturbed, but the closet is quiet and dark. Most of my does have kindled without problems in there, sometimes in the nest box. If the babies are outside of the box, at least it's warm enough that they might survive. Once again, there is a greater risk of the babies getting trampled if they are on the wire, but if it seems likely that they will die anyway, their odds of survival may be greater with the disturbance.
Good luck!
Most does don't pull fur until right before kindling; if this doe has had two previous litters, you should have a good idea what she does and when she does it. If this doe has ignored the nest box twice before, she stands a good chance of doing it again.
If I have a doe that looks likely to do that, I will line her whole cage with hay, about 6 inches deep. She will move a lot of it around and lose a lot through the wire, but she usually picks one corner and tries to put all of the hay there. If she builds a nest in a corner, at least there will be plenty of hay for insulation.
Another trick I have used is to put the doe and her nest box into a carrier or other small cage, put lots of hay in there, too, and put the carrier in my hall closet. Yes, she gets disturbed, but the closet is quiet and dark. Most of my does have kindled without problems in there, sometimes in the nest box. If the babies are outside of the box, at least it's warm enough that they might survive. Once again, there is a greater risk of the babies getting trampled if they are on the wire, but if it seems likely that they will die anyway, their odds of survival may be greater with the disturbance.
Good luck!
- Thread starter
- #4
Thanks. She hasn't used a nest box before, because we didn't have one at the moment. We didn't really know she was going to have kits, the next day. That's why she had them on the wire. I wasn't sure if she would use the nest box, when I put it in yesterday. After she lost her kits the other day, I put a bunch of straw in there for her to play with, but she made a nest out of it. so when I put the nest box in, I moved her fur and the top of the nest into it. She was pretty curious, but I just picked her up and set her in it. She started to nudge the hay and dig around in it, I knew she was continuing to make her nest but this time in the box. I woke up this morning to find a nice nest in the back corner of the box, and was glad to see she had accepted it. There wasn't any kits though. I think it was just a reaction to build a nest now that she had one, even though it was too late. I will be breeding her again soon. I feel a ton better, now that she is more likely to use the box then not. Who knows, I might get some Christmas bunnies!I'm sorry, I just now saw this; since it's more than 6 hours after your first post, it's probably too late to matter. . . . but here goes.
Most does don't pull fur until right before kindling; if this doe has had two previous litters, you should have a good idea what she does and when she does it. If this doe has ignored the nest box twice before, she stands a good chance of doing it again.
If I have a doe that looks likely to do that, I will line her whole cage with hay, about 6 inches deep. She will move a lot of it around and lose a lot through the wire, but she usually picks one corner and tries to put all of the hay there. If she builds a nest in a corner, at least there will be plenty of hay for insulation.
Another trick I have used is to put the doe and her nest box into a carrier or other small cage, put lots of hay in there, too, and put the carrier in my hall closet. Yes, she gets disturbed, but the closet is quiet and dark. Most of my does have kindled without problems in there, sometimes in the nest box. If the babies are outside of the box, at least it's warm enough that they might survive. Once again, there is a greater risk of the babies getting trampled if they are on the wire, but if it seems likely that they will die anyway, their odds of survival may be greater with the disturbance.
Good luck!
You're a bit late for Christmas. If the doe bred today, her babies would be due around New Years'.
- Thread starter
- #6
Well, close enough. :3
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