How do I keep kits warm

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Cassy315

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This is my 5th time with babies (not from same mom) and these babies just won't stay warm. Mom didn't pull any fur really and I don't feel comfortable ripping fur from her. She has rejected the babies completely and I'm at a loss at what to do with the babies. They are feeding fine (mom has pretty much zero milk) at the moment with KMR. Anyway, How do I make sure the babies don't die of hypothermia? They are so cold all the time. I've made a warm water bottle and stuck it with them but I can't do it every 10minutes. Help? Please
 
You need an electric heating pad and a microfiber blanket a warm towel and a hair dryer will work in a pinch but that is back again to pretty constant monitoring and attention...also the will keep warm based off of the warmth of the milk it's really difficult there with kmr as you dont want it to be above 118°F or you risk scalding their mouths and then they wont eat so...
If you have access to fennel fronds (the top wispy leaves and stalks of the fennel plant not the root bulb), raspberries and raspberry leaves from the plant, or plain rolled oats (oatmeal) you can try to feed Mama those to start her milk production. Some does take longer to start than others, and even the same doe having had multiple litters beforehand can have issues if shes stressed or underfed. She should be free fed high quality pellets and lots of hydrated veg right now along with her hay.
You can mix the oats in with her pellets. You can also feed her Black Oil Sunflower seeds to help with this they're high in fat and fiber and work well. Same deal as the oats.
If you have access to plaintain weed, there are 2 types and both will work, this will help as well as dandelion which is really best. I'm not sure what you've got based on your location but it would have to be chemical free to be safe to feed it to her and well washed, and you would need to gather quite a bit of it. Not too much though or so she'll have so much milk she cant get rid of those both work really well about half a cup and she'll have milk in a few hours once the enzymes in the plants are digested and in her system.
It looks like this...
https://goo.gl/images/3FP3zh
https://goo.gl/images/8MsRaD
You can also massage her belly rubbing and gently kneading across her nips to stimulate her milk to come in. If she just gave birth though this can be a bit tricky depending on how close you are with your Doe and how sensitive they are for her at the time you do this.
You have a very short period of time where you need to get them to nurse from Mama to get the colostrum which is only present for the first couple of days after birth.
You can purchase some freeze-dried colostrum online and add that to the kmr/half & half formula, but it's probably not going to get to you in time at this point. Really just work with Mama and do what you can to get her milk production going and try to get them to latch to her the suckling can stimulate her milk glands as well.
Make sure they're warm before you encourage her to feed them. They'll feed 2x a day off Mom more off replacement formula.
 
Oh I forgot to mention that you certainly can pull fur from the Mom, especially if you pull from her belly near clearing away close to her nips that will act as milk flow stimulant as well. Does produce chemicals naturally to loossen their fur prior to giving and shortly after having a litter that makes it easier for them to pull said fur and much less painful similar to if you were to brush your hair and have some come out on the brush (meh) vs. plucking a eyebrow hair (ouch).
 
I use a cheap $2.50 blanket from Walmart. This keeps them pretty warm. If mom has rejected them, then go ahead and bring them in if they are not already, put them in the warmest room in your house away from drafts and windows, there is no point in keeping them outside if mom is not taking care of them. And if possible if you know any other breeders that have a few litters ask if you can bring your babies to them for their does to raise.
 
Sorry for the late reply. They are sat infront of a heater all warm and toasty. They are growing and very lively now. The mother completely rejected them and was tossing them out. I place them on her 4 times a day but still nothing. They are nice and fat now though. I don't think she ever fed them to be honest as it was the 3rd day I removed them and they were so skinny, ice cold and looked dead. Only thing I'm struggling with now is getting them to pee and poop
 
Have you tried gently stimulating their lower belly/genitals using a moistened warm cotton ball or clean cotton cloth?
 
Sorry again for the late reply. I have been doing that but don't always get a reaction so wasn't too sure if I was doing it right. The buns are thriving . I fear I may have a peanut though. He has grown but not much. His body is smaller than his head, even when full. The one has a bit of what I'm guessing is a cleft palate and can't actually suck at all. But he is doing great, just takes extra long to feed. I have a non-nursing female bunny fostering them. She cleans them and loves on them. Doesn't leave them alone at all (like with her previous litters before she was fixed) so the stimulating part and keeping them warm is sorted
 
If it's an actual peanut, unfortunately they don't usually survive more than a week. Though the head significantly larger than the body isn't a typical characteristic. So maybe that's not what your dealing with. It could be something like hydrocephalus, but that's not a good prognosis either. But hopefully it's neither and he continues to do well.

It's pretty amazing that your doe is wanting to care for babies not her own when she wasn't even pregnant and nursing already. I'm glad you've got it all worked out. If you're able to, I would love to see photos of the babies and their adoptive mom. Usually there will be a resizing option for photos, so you can make them smaller.
 
It continuously says "The uploaded file is too large for the server to process". I am happy to email some?
 
Aaah gosh I really do wish I could upload pictures. She has them in a nest full of her fur. She is so good
 
You can always try to post them on imgur and then put the link up here, glad to know they're doing well, goodluck!
 

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