Kiaya's litter

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bunnychild

bunnychild

Julia
Joined
Jun 20, 2011
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Arkansas City, Kansas, USA
Kiaya had her babies last night! There are two. They looked just like Shadow's when they were born just slightly lighter. I am thinking they are chestnut agouti but only time will tell. This is her first litter, she seems to be doing very well. She didn't pull fur until the last minute, but she pulled plenty and I had given her some nesting material.

Questions: When should I start handling the babies so that they are comfortable with people?
Should I keep fur from previous litters just incase a mother doesn't pull any?

Bonus: I wanted to name her litter after cereals (ex: Cheerio, Trix, Captain Crunch) but since there are only two I think I will save that for another. Have any good naming themes for two?
 
Famous duos! Sonny and Cher, Cagney and Lacey, Thelma and Louise, Donnie and Marie, Cheech and Chong, Tom and Jerry, Starsky and Hutch, Peanut butter and Jelly
 
LOL, those are cute name suggestions!

Start handling the babies now, but especially once their eyes are open and moving around. They will get skittish if you don't handle them regularly. Some of it's natural, but every day when you feed them pick each one up and hold it, pet it...let it get used to you.

We only keep fur from a Mom who pulled it but either didn't have a litter or pulled way too much and we took some out right after they were born. You should only keep unused/fresh hair for future use.
 
I was kind of thinking of Doctor Who and the Tardis. Also since Willow (the father) and Kiaya are named after the movie Willow I could name them after the two kids in the movie.
 
Oooooh, I love Dr Who! Also, like the names from the Willow movie for the babies! Either of those would be my choice. I'm sure you will find the perfect names!
 
I was told to start handling them soonest so they become socialized and used to human contact. Our dogs names were picked from Futurama--"Amy and Lela". If they were both males, maybe Romulus and Remus or Thor and Loki. Also like NCIS so that would be Ziva and Abby.
 
With my kits I handle them the day they are born. Make sure to pet the mother first and relax her before you go in and take her babies, if she is a first time mom and she isnt use to you then wait a day or two. If you had the mom for awhile and she is use to you I would say go ahead and handle them now. Just makes sure anyone who touches them has pet the mother first, if not she may get aggressive with the kit and killled (tip recommended from the breeders i first bought from) Congrats on the litter it always is a joy to watch the kits grow up and finally go into their new home!:happybunny:
 
RabbitGirl101 said:
With my kits I handle them the day they are born. Make sure to pet the mother first and relax her before you go in and take her babies, if she is a first time mom and she isnt use to you then wait a day or two. If you had the mom for awhile and she is use to you I would say go ahead and handle them now. Just makes sure anyone who touches them has pet the mother first, if not she may get aggressive with the kit and killled (tip recommended from the breeders i first bought from) Congrats on the litter it always is a joy to watch the kits grow up and finally go into their new home!:happybunny:
Click to expand...

Moms will not normally kill kits if you let other people handle them. Really protective and nervous mothers do need that extra time spent for petting just so they know everything is okay. Some moms are so protective I just go in to grab the nestbox quickly because mom will come at me. I have never had a mom kill her babies because I touched them but didnt touch her first. . .


Also for my answer: Handle babies daily! If you are able to. The more they go without handling the more skittish the babies will get. Make sure when they are little (abt 1-2wks old) you start picking them up petting them flipping them over and getting them used to that.

For my babies because I show I will try to "check for DQs" when they are a little more comfortable with being flipped so they get used to it. What that means is I grab them one by one. Hold them to pet and give rubs, flip them on their back (i hold them upside down until they stop struggling) once they stay still for a second or two I check teeth and nails (also a good time to sex them) then I put them right side up on my chest and rub and pet some more then they can go down. This really helps them get used to handling
 
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woahlookitsme said:
Moms will not normally kill kits if you let other people handle them. Really protective and nervous mothers do need that extra time spent for petting just so they know everything is okay. Some moms are so protective I just go in to grab the nestbox quickly because mom will come at me. I have never had a mom kill her babies because I touched them but didnt touch her first. . .


Also for my answer: Handle babies daily! If you are able to. The more they go without handling the more skittish the babies will get. Make sure when they are little (abt 1-2wks old) you start picking them up petting them flipping them over and getting them used to that.

For my babies because I show I will try to "check for DQs" when they are a little more comfortable with being flipped so they get used to it. What that means is I grab them one by one. Hold them to pet and give rubs, flip them on their back (i hold them upside down until they stop struggling) once they stay still for a second or two I check teeth and nails (also a good time to sex them) then I put them right side up on my chest and rub and pet some more then they can go down. This really helps them get used to handling
Click to expand...

I have never had a mom kill for this either, I was just spreading information given to me by more experienced breeders:)
 
RabbitGirl, I'm sure it can happen where the Mom might kill her kits in that situation...maybe its more of a possibility in certain breeds, but with the 5 breeds we've raised/shown over the years we've been doing this we've never had this happen. Do you know what breeds these more experienced breeders raised that told you this? I'm just curious.
 
majorv said:
RabbitGirl, I'm sure it can happen where the Mom might kill her kits in that situation...maybe its more of a possibility in certain breeds, but with the 5 breeds we've raised/shown over the years we've been doing this we've never had this happen. Do you know what breeds these more experienced breeders raised that told you this? I'm just curious.
Click to expand...

Yes they raised lionheads,Holland lops,netherland dwarfs, and mini rex. Seems to be the smaller breeds. I've never had it happen in the years i've bred either but I have had some more aggressive mothers you had to watch out for because they did not want you touching their kits(A lot of the first time mothers are more nervous) I've only had a few veteran mothers be more aggressive towards me though.
 
Well the babies are ten days old today and are growing very very fast. Both have their eyes open. I have decided to go with Ranon and Mims. The chestnut is named Ranon and the black otter is Mims.
 
I finally got pictures of Ranon and Mims. They are approaching 3 weeks of age. They have grown so fast I think Kiaya has magic milk :p. They are out of the nesting box and I will take it out tomorrow. Ranon loves to lick you and Mims lies to explore.

mvpvnm.jpg

Mims is another Black Otter. I am surprised how often that is showing up.

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Ranon is a lovely chestnut agouti.

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The adorable two. They are so sweet to each other.
 
Ranon and Mims are really starting to understand food and the water bottle. Kiaya is relieved, now she can have some peace.

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Ranon loved nibbling the hay I gave them.

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Mims drinking out of the water bottle. She is kind of short.
 
I am gonna try to see if they are boys or girls today. I put them on the grooming table for the first time yesterday, Mims loved it. I had groomed their mom right before them and they could smell her. Ranon was looking for her.

Mims2.jpg

Ranon2.jpg
 
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