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[bhoffman]

My one doe had her kits sometime through the night. I was actually starting to think i was wrong on her pregnancy.anyways she had all four outside the box but ate one! Kits were sooo cold but i got then warmed and moving. So now my questipn is:

Shoyuld i put them back in with mom or try and sort of foster to sissy or cinnamon? Their kits are just over 2 weeks old. I can keep the box in the house and just hold them to sissy everyday. I dont know what to do for this now.

 

[Imbrium]

I'd try to get them back with mom if you intend to try to breed her again, but keep a very close eye on them and if she doesn't start caring for them, foster them to another doe (from what I've heard, they generally don't care if there's a big age difference between their own kits and the fosters). I wouldn't give up on her right away, since they can't move kits around - just because she made the mistake of having them outside the box doesn't necessarily mean she won't care for them if you put them in the nest... and the one she killed could've had something wrong with it or been stillborn for all you know, so I wouldn't really consider either a sure sign that she's an overall poor mother.

if they don't have full tummies now, I'd see about holding them to their mom to get their tummies full to tide them over until she's due to feed again tonight... then leave them with her overnight and see if she's fed them again by tomorrow morning.

 

[majorv]

Is the doe who just had the kits a first time Mom? If not, has she ever done this before? If she is, then the only way you'll know what kind of a mother she'll be is to leave her with a couple of kits and watch her close. Try fostering the other two.

 

[bhoffman]

Thank you. i am letting them warm up a bitmore then will pop them bck in with her. i was mostly concerned because she ate one but yoi are right. I bought her from a lady who said she had been bred before and was a good mom. Will see whay happens i guess. thanls for the help!!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Good luck.

 

[woahlookitsme]

If she was a good mom I would give her the benefit of the doubt. Try keeping them with her but if they arent getting fed make sure to foster them quick! 2 weeks is a pretty big difference between fosters. Is there anyone else they could go to? I would be worried that the 2week olds would push the newborns out of the way. Friends house maybe? Or even holding her to feed if you feel brave. I haven't done it and luckily haven't had to

 

[Imbrium]

how are they doing today? full tummies, I hope!

 

[bhoffman]

Unfortunitely all three passed away.

 

[woahlookitsme]

So sorry for your losses are you going to rebreed mom?

 

[Imbrium]

hopefully if you give her another chance, she'll do better next time!

 

[majorv]

Bummer! I don't know...if you give her another chance, make sure you breed another doe at the same time so you can foster at least some of them to another doe with same age kits.

 

[bhoffman]

I have not rebred her yet.. still undecided if I will or not. I think I will wait until I have homed all the kits I have right now. We currently have 15 bunnies to rehome . I guess I shouldn't say it like that as they are all basically spoken for, just depends on who choses which bunny! Wish I could keep them all.. lol but I think I will try rebreeding her in a few weeks. These guys all go to their new homes in 3.5 weeks. I kinda want a small break from babies for a bit, and not sure I want to have any kindling or kits through the summer... or the beginning of summer anyway. We are planning a holiday for the beginning on August. So we will see what happsn I suppose.

 

[woahlookitsme]

We had to breed during the summer in order to have competitive babies for the ARBA convention. Never will we do that again. It was a horrible experience. Polish with long ears tans with slight structural problems. It was very hard on the does too. I would definitely not recommend it.

 

[majorv]

Canada summers can't be as bad as ours, but I expect that depending on where you are it can get pretty humid if your close to water.

 

[Imbrium]

imo, Canada summers are actually worse, because most people don't have air conditioning, lol (granted, that's not applicable to outdoor bunnies).

 

[bhoffman]

Where we are it does get pretty hot. we have indoor areas ans a/c so im not concerned aboit heat. We just plan on going on holidays. we have a neighbour who cares for the bunnoes while we are away, but i want to be here for kondling and as the bunnies grow.