Help - I have a tiny runt that isn't getting any milk

[tierlakay]

Our doe had a litter of 10 5 days ago, and this poor little fella is the runt....
He is half the size of all the others and this morning I decided to bring it inside...
It was sooo cold and sooo skinny...
I have it on a wheat pack at the moment with a covered bottle of hot water, trying to warm him up..
It's not really doing to well so far...
I have just given it a supplement feed with some special milk that I got from our farmers barn...

what do I do?????????? Am I doing ok???, survival rate???, what else can i be doing?????......

There is another little tort that isn't doing as well as all the others, but it's a big bigger than this one, do I bring it inside and supplement feed as well???,

 

[tonyshuman]

Hi! you can give him some time alone on the mom--Hold her if you can, and let only this one (or the other one you're worried about too) have some time to nurse. You could try to foster them out to another doe if you have another one nursing now, with a smaller litter. You an also give formula but that is really easy to get down the wrong tube, so to say, and get liquid in the lungs. I'm not a breeder, just parroting back what I've read from others. I hope someone with experience can get on soon. I have also heard that you can keep them warm in your bra if there's a little room in there. Heat lamps are sometimes used, and some people will put a heating pad under half of the nest box--that way they can crawl away from the heat if they like. Make sure the little guy has the option to get away from the heat if he likes, and perhaps keep him with some other babies they will help to keep him warm.

 

[tierlakay]

Hi Thanks for the reply..

I have tried to hold mum down, and iv tried giving her some parsley but he wont drink and she was cranky lol...
I think it actually will have less chance if I put it back with the others, as it just doesn't have the energy to call for mum when it's feeding time... i think it will just die a lot quicker than i have here...

iv done some feeding, he is sucking ok sometimes, but i don't think he will last very long...He doesn't seem to be putting on any weight and he is now just so skinny...

I don't have any other mum's with a small litter so can't do any swapping around...

I have read the chances are very slim with me taking him in, but I think his chances are even more slim if I left him with his mum and brothers and sisters...
Hopefully it all works and I can get him stronger and than slip him back in with them..
But so far not so good...

 

[DeniseJP]

What breed is the little one? In Holland Lops, you can get "peanuts" that have two dwarf genes and they die after a few days... they look normal at birth but in a day or so their littermates have grown much larger than the peanuts... and it is a part of raising the breed.

My normal Holland litters were 3-4 kits but did have one doe who kindled 8...

Good luck -

Denise

 

[polly]

Sounds like a failure to thrive baby to be honest it was a big litter and unfortunately you do get them. You can try supplementing but it only has a slim chance of survival they tend to not suckle well.
Im sorry hand feeding or putting it with a foster mum if you have another doe who had a smaller litter is your best options

 

[tierlakay]

Thanks guy's for your replies...

Denise they are Dwarf lops, he didn't look any different in appearance but he was much smaller than the rest, and always was since he was born...

He was drinking well yesterday, he would suckle the teat and occasionally my finger as it was supporting his head lol..

But I got up to check on him around midnight last night and unfortunately he didn't survive...

I didn't think all 10 would make it, as that is really such a huge litter and I have no idea how she gets around to all the rest of them, they seem to be calling out to her all the time for a feed, but they do seem to be doing well...

 

[polly]

Im sorry you lost the baby

 

[BlueGiants]

I'm so sorry you lost the little one. Polly is right, in such a large litter, it's unusual for all of them to survive. If he was that much smaller, he may have had a congenital problem that wasn't apparent at birth.

Best of luck with the other 9... I hope they all make it.

:bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance:

That's gonna be a LOT of babies running around in a few weeks!

 

[wabbitmom12]

BlueGiants wrote:

I'm so sorry you lost the little one. Polly is right, in such a large litter, it's unusual for all of them to survive. If he was that much smaller, he may have had a congenital problem that wasn't apparent at birth.

Best of luck with the other 9... I hope they all make it.

:bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance:

That's gonna be a LOT of babies running around in a few weeks!

Ditto the above...and might I just add, could we have some pictures please? I'm having baby bunny withdrawal...

 

[DeniseJP]

Sorry about the little one - would love to see pics of the babies as they grow...

Denise

 

[tierlakay]

Thanks everyone for your replies...

We have lost both the tort babies unfortunately, but they were so far behind..
I tried to do the one on one feeding but the mother just didn't want a part of it..
the other 8 are doing so well...

here are a few pic's when they were 4 day's old

We have 5 white ones.. ( do you think they will be frosty point like their mum?)

we have x2 broken tort and 1 broken fawn

and these are the 2 torts that didn't make it

And here is the nest all warm and cozy...

 

[BlueGiants]

CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!! :inlove:

 

[polly]

nice nest keep us updated with pics as they grow its always nice to see how other breeds progress

 

[Fancy77]

BlueGiants wrote:

CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!! :inlove:

:yeahthat:

 

[wabbitmom12]

:thanks:for the pictures! They are so cute!