Story time, some background information:
You can skip this and go to the TL;DR (Too long;Didn't Read) portion below.
This information is a bit graphic, these rabbits were in very upsetting conditions and not for the faint of heart to read!
Hello there, my name is Hana and I work as a dog groomer in Israel at a local Pet Supplies and Pet Shop store. Throughout my years of working there, they got rabbits during my one off year when I went to volunteer for the government. When I returned I was shocked and appalled at the inhumane treatments these rabbits were getting!
The females were perpetually pregnant since they were housed with a buck, and their litters died overnight because it was so cold at the store along with the fact that the rabbits were kept outside in a larger enclosure during the day (through all seasons mind you; heat of summer or cold of winter) so any nesting attempts they made during that time were worthless. The kits would be born underfoot of about 4 rabbits in total, and trampled and scratched up and dead by the time anyone found them at 9 am when the store opened.
It was a horrible and sickening treatment.
Each rabbit was so frail and sickly, their fur was clumpy and thin, and they were so skittish and scared of humans.
There was no proper separation between bucks either, and if someone made the mistake of putting ALL the rabbits out at once, the bucks would be covered in painful scabs about the size of my thumb by the end of the day, leaving blood trails everywhere.
There are two distinctions I should make about the rabbits at work:
There is the 'Harem' which consists of all brown rabbits and made up of 1 buck, and 3 does. (I don't know what happened to the 4th. I came into work one day and she was gone. I feared the worst. And I never could find out what happened.) They are kept in an empty fish aquarium.
Then there are a series of 'Bachelors' that all exist in odd cages of whatever will work. (Right now there are 2 of Bachelors in cages that are much too small.) Sometimes these switch out with the other store that takes much better care of them, but can only house about 2 or 3 at a time.
I currently live at home while I study for SATs to enter college next year. So after speaking with my family about the situation, and going over everything I'd need to do and prepare (I've logged over 60 hours of Rabbit research, but this is the first time I'm going to the online forums personally for help.) so I could at least take home the Does:
My plan was to separate the 'Harem' and keep the Does with me so they could try and have a successful litter and keep the kits from dying. And hopefully, to sell them and get them adopted from my house rather than return them to the pet shop.
I took home 1 Doe (Her name is Mona) that I knew was giving birth sometime that week, but I missed her birthing by 1 day and found the dead and frozen litter in the outside enclosure. (She had given birth during the day?? I couldn't find much information about this online. . . .I have no clue why she did this. I assume she realized that after 6 litters from 3/4 does that all died, maybe she should try something different and adapted. Is this possible?)
She was left overnight with the buck and other does; no doubt impregnated again. So I took Mona home anyways to let her rest and relax a bit to try and get her strength up for the next litter.
Upon her arrival and her getting used to me, I made the shocking discovery of just HOW thin Mona was: I could feel every bone and count every rib. Her shoulder blades were getting to the point that they started to rub together and the spines on her back were actually protruding a bit when petted. I made plans to take home the other 2 Does as soon as possible. Lisa and Lola joined their sister Mona 2 days later.
TL;DR:
So now I have 3 Does living with me! And here's where I need some help. . . .
I knew juuuust about when another Doe was due (Lisa), and I marked my Calendar for Jan 31st/Feb 1st. But lo and behold, when I was cleaning out their pen today, there were kits in the nesting Box I had built and introduced to them!
I had already moved Mona and Lola elsewhere so I could clean easier, but I discovered the kits before I moved Momma Lisa.. Finished up cleaning and left her alone instead.
I believe they might have been born last night or the night before Momma was a bit alert and nervous so I have yet to check on the state of the kits. But I saw some pink legs and bodies squirming and moving from underneath the fur~! So there is life!!
I went to check on Mona and Lola and I saw something terrifying . . . .Lola was tearing at something and upon closer inspection it was a Kit!
I had moved her no more than 5-10 minutes ago MAX! I freaked out and got my Mother who had a Nursing degree once upon a time and wouldn't hyperventilate at the sight of blood like I would. She dealt with the dead kit while I made up a makeshift Nesting box to put in the room with Lola and Mona since I for SURE wasn't going to move them right after that! (The nesting box is a cardboard box with a shirt over it so that the neck hole makes an entrance. Filled with clothe, hay, and a bit of fluff and fur from the other nesting box.)
Mother asked me to look up newborn kits, "Like, really new. With the umbilical cord like this kit had." and she realized that this kit must have been born prematurely, judging by how unformed the eyes were and other features around the face and limbs. So now I have some questions:
-Did Lola give birth prematurely because I carried her? Or was I handling her incorrectly? Or because of stress from being moved? Some other reason?
-Will 2 Does share the same kit box? In case there were other premature kits born with the others?
-Can I keep 2 Does together in the same enclosure each with their own litter and own nesting boxes? (I could continue with the makeshift one, and change it every few days if it gets soiled) Will they try and harm the other litter?
-What about Mona? The 3rd Doe that gave birth during the day, will she harm or cause trouble for the babies?
-I had no clue what part of the cycle Lola was on, but because of this premature birth, how far along should I guess she is? (There aren't other obvious signs of Kindling?)
-What should I do about Lola now that she was moved to a different place and gave birth? (Only to 1 kit though) Should I leave her? Or move her back to her familiar cage?
-Any other advice you can give me?
*This happened about 2 hours ago, and since then I have moved all of the Does back together, and Lola did not give birth to any other premature kits after those 2 hours. I carried them using my hoodie to pick them up and then carried them in my arms, just in case so I wouldn't upset their bellies anymore. All went smoothly.*
I've spoken to the local vet. And as much as she disapproves of the inhumane treatment from the pet store, there's nothing she can do about it or at least nothing she hasn't already tried. I spoke with her on a few subjects, (Like how to treat wounds for the Bucks that were always fighting) but she isn't the most helpful, and actually doesn't know too much about rabbits, along with refusing to do a Spay or Neuter for a rabbit because "It's too small to do such a surgery."
She recommended I try to talk to vets in Tel Aviv (2 hours by car away) since she didn't know of anyone nearby that did much with Rabbits.
Everything I've done so far has been from online research and now I'm going to the forums. Please, I'm desperate here!
You can skip this and go to the TL;DR (Too long;Didn't Read) portion below.
This information is a bit graphic, these rabbits were in very upsetting conditions and not for the faint of heart to read!
Hello there, my name is Hana and I work as a dog groomer in Israel at a local Pet Supplies and Pet Shop store. Throughout my years of working there, they got rabbits during my one off year when I went to volunteer for the government. When I returned I was shocked and appalled at the inhumane treatments these rabbits were getting!
The females were perpetually pregnant since they were housed with a buck, and their litters died overnight because it was so cold at the store along with the fact that the rabbits were kept outside in a larger enclosure during the day (through all seasons mind you; heat of summer or cold of winter) so any nesting attempts they made during that time were worthless. The kits would be born underfoot of about 4 rabbits in total, and trampled and scratched up and dead by the time anyone found them at 9 am when the store opened.
It was a horrible and sickening treatment.
Each rabbit was so frail and sickly, their fur was clumpy and thin, and they were so skittish and scared of humans.
There was no proper separation between bucks either, and if someone made the mistake of putting ALL the rabbits out at once, the bucks would be covered in painful scabs about the size of my thumb by the end of the day, leaving blood trails everywhere.
There are two distinctions I should make about the rabbits at work:
There is the 'Harem' which consists of all brown rabbits and made up of 1 buck, and 3 does. (I don't know what happened to the 4th. I came into work one day and she was gone. I feared the worst. And I never could find out what happened.) They are kept in an empty fish aquarium.
Then there are a series of 'Bachelors' that all exist in odd cages of whatever will work. (Right now there are 2 of Bachelors in cages that are much too small.) Sometimes these switch out with the other store that takes much better care of them, but can only house about 2 or 3 at a time.
I currently live at home while I study for SATs to enter college next year. So after speaking with my family about the situation, and going over everything I'd need to do and prepare (I've logged over 60 hours of Rabbit research, but this is the first time I'm going to the online forums personally for help.) so I could at least take home the Does:
My plan was to separate the 'Harem' and keep the Does with me so they could try and have a successful litter and keep the kits from dying. And hopefully, to sell them and get them adopted from my house rather than return them to the pet shop.
I took home 1 Doe (Her name is Mona) that I knew was giving birth sometime that week, but I missed her birthing by 1 day and found the dead and frozen litter in the outside enclosure. (She had given birth during the day?? I couldn't find much information about this online. . . .I have no clue why she did this. I assume she realized that after 6 litters from 3/4 does that all died, maybe she should try something different and adapted. Is this possible?)
She was left overnight with the buck and other does; no doubt impregnated again. So I took Mona home anyways to let her rest and relax a bit to try and get her strength up for the next litter.
Upon her arrival and her getting used to me, I made the shocking discovery of just HOW thin Mona was: I could feel every bone and count every rib. Her shoulder blades were getting to the point that they started to rub together and the spines on her back were actually protruding a bit when petted. I made plans to take home the other 2 Does as soon as possible. Lisa and Lola joined their sister Mona 2 days later.
TL;DR:
So now I have 3 Does living with me! And here's where I need some help. . . .
I knew juuuust about when another Doe was due (Lisa), and I marked my Calendar for Jan 31st/Feb 1st. But lo and behold, when I was cleaning out their pen today, there were kits in the nesting Box I had built and introduced to them!
I had already moved Mona and Lola elsewhere so I could clean easier, but I discovered the kits before I moved Momma Lisa.. Finished up cleaning and left her alone instead.
I believe they might have been born last night or the night before Momma was a bit alert and nervous so I have yet to check on the state of the kits. But I saw some pink legs and bodies squirming and moving from underneath the fur~! So there is life!!
I went to check on Mona and Lola and I saw something terrifying . . . .Lola was tearing at something and upon closer inspection it was a Kit!
I had moved her no more than 5-10 minutes ago MAX! I freaked out and got my Mother who had a Nursing degree once upon a time and wouldn't hyperventilate at the sight of blood like I would. She dealt with the dead kit while I made up a makeshift Nesting box to put in the room with Lola and Mona since I for SURE wasn't going to move them right after that! (The nesting box is a cardboard box with a shirt over it so that the neck hole makes an entrance. Filled with clothe, hay, and a bit of fluff and fur from the other nesting box.)
Mother asked me to look up newborn kits, "Like, really new. With the umbilical cord like this kit had." and she realized that this kit must have been born prematurely, judging by how unformed the eyes were and other features around the face and limbs. So now I have some questions:
-Did Lola give birth prematurely because I carried her? Or was I handling her incorrectly? Or because of stress from being moved? Some other reason?
-Will 2 Does share the same kit box? In case there were other premature kits born with the others?
-Can I keep 2 Does together in the same enclosure each with their own litter and own nesting boxes? (I could continue with the makeshift one, and change it every few days if it gets soiled) Will they try and harm the other litter?
-What about Mona? The 3rd Doe that gave birth during the day, will she harm or cause trouble for the babies?
-I had no clue what part of the cycle Lola was on, but because of this premature birth, how far along should I guess she is? (There aren't other obvious signs of Kindling?)
-What should I do about Lola now that she was moved to a different place and gave birth? (Only to 1 kit though) Should I leave her? Or move her back to her familiar cage?
-Any other advice you can give me?
*This happened about 2 hours ago, and since then I have moved all of the Does back together, and Lola did not give birth to any other premature kits after those 2 hours. I carried them using my hoodie to pick them up and then carried them in my arms, just in case so I wouldn't upset their bellies anymore. All went smoothly.*
I've spoken to the local vet. And as much as she disapproves of the inhumane treatment from the pet store, there's nothing she can do about it or at least nothing she hasn't already tried. I spoke with her on a few subjects, (Like how to treat wounds for the Bucks that were always fighting) but she isn't the most helpful, and actually doesn't know too much about rabbits, along with refusing to do a Spay or Neuter for a rabbit because "It's too small to do such a surgery."
She recommended I try to talk to vets in Tel Aviv (2 hours by car away) since she didn't know of anyone nearby that did much with Rabbits.
Everything I've done so far has been from online research and now I'm going to the forums. Please, I'm desperate here!
