Handling the kits

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amdfarm

amdfarm

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Howdy!

As you may have seen, I have my first litter of kits out of a young doe I've had and bonded w/ in the last few months.

I want to start handling them as soon as possible to get them used to it and make them good bunny citizens. But when should that be? I don't want to make her mad, but at the same time I want to be able to give them a quick once over to make sure they're eating well and healthy. I don't want to lose anymore if I can help it, even tho I know it happens.

This is a huge learning experience for me and I'm loving it so far!!

Also, I was thinking of adding some calf manna to her pelleted feed to help w/ lactacting and growth since she's still a growing young bun, 9 months. Would that be okay? She's a great eater, but I would like her to be a little heavier.

Thanks!
 
Thanks, Peg! So tranferring scent isn't a big deal then? She's been real good w/ me messing w/ them so far.
 
Thanks, Larry! I wasn't sure about scent w/ them and if it made the doe mad if you put your scent all of her babies. I've been using a latex glove when inspecting them. She's right there when I'm doing it usually and so far she's not gotten upset or tried to bite me. She's being a really good new momma. I'm so proud of her and I tell her that. I even get my bunny kisses when I ask for them.

PS... I did notice a little runt at the bottom of the pile and moved it towards the top. Will be keeping a closer eye on that little one. Still had a nice fat belly tho.
 
Please handle the babies daily! Check for belly size and any signs of malnutrition!! We learned this the hard way. Had a litter of four with my first brittannia petite litter, lost hours of sleep trying to hand feed a baby who would eventually perish along with the other three in the box. Very sad experience and almost made me want to give up on petites. The mother was very cage aggressive and we could have probably fostered off the babies if we found out how skinny they were earlier but my mom could only get in there long enough to check if they were all moving.
If your doe is nice take advantage of it and check each baby. I havent experienced mothers abandoning litters because we were touching them daily. That doe was just a first time mom and very mean
 
Thanks, Tobi and Sarah!!

How heartbreaking Sarah. Sorry to hear that, but glad you didn't give up. I also raise horses and have almost given up more times than I can count due to losses. But over the years, the good times tend to override the bad ones so I keep at it. :)

My doe was a first time mom, too, and that's why I worried about handling the kits. That said, I was pretty surprised how calm she was while I was looking everyone over, as she tried to bite my BF when he checked on them. She loves me more I guess. :) I do think she trusts me more and she is quite a mama's girl. So until they get older, I'll probably be the only one handling them.

I did pick up some calf manna yesterday so she'll be started on that. I checked her belly and such yesterday also and all seems well. She's a very clean bun and looks great for a nursing mom.
 
I have always handled my babies from day one, with the exception of cold days if the babies don't have alot of fur yet. I had used the calf manna last year with the mommas in my barn and found it didn't do as well as expected. It was great for a rabbit that I was working with as a project rehome that wouldn't touch his pellets but for my lactating does, I had a hard time weaning them off of it. if mommy's looking good and the babies are fine, I wouldn't change a thing.

This year with my mommy and babies, they've been getting the alfalfa cubes, it does give my does a little extra boost while nursing and even my crappy mommy is happy and she's almost 5 yrs old with a litter of 3.
While the calf manna isn't bad, by no means, if she's doing good I wouldn't give it to her. Try alfalfa cubes first, easier to wean them off of and the other buns love 'em as treats too.
 
Thanks, Heather! They're in my house, so cold isn't an issue, thankfully.

I did try alfalfa cubes and she turned her nose up at them. I gave them to the horses. I was going to see if she liked the alfalfa pellets better and incorperate those into her diet. They are really awesome quality pellets, too.

She's doing great I think. She's seems very happy and content w/ motherhood. :)
 
I've always handled them from day 1 too. You have to pick them all up really, to check for any dead kits underneath them, sad but true. And to check their belly size and all. I check them twice a day.

My doe never minded, but if the doe does mind, then maybe distract her with food or move her for a minute while you handle them.
 
Thanks, Ciara! Yes, I know about having to check for ones that have passed. So far so good, thankfully, but I wished I could stop worrying about them so much. She seems to doing a great job taking care of them.

She doesn't seem to mind me handling them, unless they squeek, then she comes and practically dives on top of them, but that's understandable when they feel threatended. She hasn't tried to bite me yet and she lets me pets her to calm her while she's on top of them. If I tell her, "it's okay, get out" she usually goes. She's a very good bun.
 
I was so worried with my first litter too, but you do get more relaxed and realise the mom bunnies are usually great mothers :)
 
i like to pet momma first for a minute that way her scent is all over me. And then handle the babies. I like to spoil momma with treats as well that way when i go to mess with babies she knows its a good thing and gets treats.
 
I've started giving her treats and loving on her before I check babies. I also let her out for free time so she's not even paying attention to what I'm doing. Then she gets more treats when she goes back in her cage for being such a good bun bun. :)
 
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