Need advice. Back to back litters:(

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rebeccad

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I'm embarrassed to say that my doe kindled 3 babies today. She has a litter that is not quite 5 weeks old. She began nesting yesterday and was grabbing tufts of fur to build her nest with from her babies! I separated her from them when I saw what was happening. Two of the babies have died or were stillborn.
Is this because they came so close to the last litter? Can the first litter be weened? Sigh, please advise. I want to keep the surviving baby alive and keep the current ones healthy.
 
It sounds like you are probably going to have to wean the 5 week old babies. It's not ideal as it's better for them to stay a little longer with mom, but unless you have another doe you can foster to, you'll need to wean them for this new litter to have a chance of surviving. It's hard to know what may have caused the other babies not to survive.
 
THanks to both of you. I separated the older ones from the doe yesterday. They are thriving and will hopefully stay that way. They eat constantly:) Keeping my fingers crossed that she attends her surviving baby.
She cleaned them all. I'm hoping that's a good sign that she will switch to this baby now.

As for how she got pregnant again. I do know how that happened. Kids. I was cleaning her litter box and she was roaming around. My son did not realize that they had to be separated ALWAYS until the buck is neutered. They had been together until I realized she was pregnant for the first time. He let Oliver out to 'play' with her. I came back, he was playing alright. I snatched him right off of her. I was not fast enough. Now the children are very clear that he can NOT be with her until he sees the vet. Poor Annabelle.
 
You did the right thing. :) Separate the babies, separate the dad, and let mom take care of the remaining baby.

It's hard to say what might have happened to the younger kits. Their passing is probably not related to the timing of the litter. She may have had a hard delivery, or maybe they were chilled after birth.
 
Whew. We made it over the major hurdle, as far as I was thinking. She definitely fed the surviving baby during the night. He's got a nice round belly:)
 
yay sounds like its going good so far. Make sure to provide the 5week olds with plenty of hay (timothy or horse quality coastal hay would be best)
 

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