Advice for avoiding doe abandoning her litter

[clalso]

Hope I'm in the right forum. Excuse the mistake if I'm not. I'm new here.

Had a young doe with her first litter abandon her little ones. She's in a nice outdoor 6' long x 3' wide hutch half of which is occupied by the dad. She delivered on day 32. I went out about 6am and found nine babies laying on the screen mesh, not in the nesting box. They were all quite cold (Colorado mountain nights right now around 50 degrees) and I thought dead. My wife and I warmed them up, they moved / were breathing, so I placed them on hay in the nesting box, covered them with some of the hair momma had around her cage, and watched for a few days. I thought they were making progress though they themselves moved very little. They were in different areas of the nesting box when I looked hours later so I figured momma was moving them, nursing them, etc. Unfortunately none of them made it. Not sure the mother ever nursed them. I've read does only nurse maybe twice a day so was thinking she was nursing when I wasn't there. I never did see her in the nesting box with the little ones.

A few questions to avoid this in the future:

1) Is it common for a doe to abandon her first litter?

2) Should I have waited until she was older? She's about 6 months old.

3) Should I be on "guard" duty around the 30th, 31st, 32nd days so if a doe delivers the babies outside the nesting box I can quickly get them into the nesting box?

4) Do does make a lot of noise during delivery such that I could put a baby monitor by her hutch to listen for her delivering her young?

5) Would it be wise to place the doe on or very near the ground in the "barn" (shed with no floor) in a cage with her nesting box a few days before delivery? I ask because I think the ground in the barn would be warmer than the air flowing under the hutch. Right now it's too warm during the day to keep them in the "barn" but next time it might be perfect weather for it.

6) Is it unwise to house the father in the same hutch even though they're separated?

7) Could I be causing this problem by giving the doe other foods over the pellets? One morning she'll get a quarter apple, the next day a little lettuce (handful), next day some grass from the forest, a half carrot in the evening now and then, and I give them some alfalfa hay or timothy hay every few days.

8) Any idea why she delivered the babies on the wire netting instead of in the nesting box? I was giving her extra hay for several days before thinking she'd start building a nest but she never did. Neither did she pull much hair out the day before or after delivery.

By the way, she's a pretty good size New Zealand (not fat), appears very healthy, and was mated with a slightly smaller mixed breed.

Mostly looking for advice on avoiding this abandonment problem later. Don't worry if you can only answer one or two of my questions. Any help much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Clyde

 

[Maureen Las]

Hi Clyde ,
I am going to move this thread to the Rabbitry Section of RO where your questions can be more thoroughly answered.

 

[woahlookitsme]

welcome to the forum. It sounds like you did everything right. 32 days is okay for delivery. Babies do move in the nestbox to different corners. My mom will usually put them all back together in the rear of the box so mom has room to jump in but this normally doesn't last long. They can be so active in the box. Babies will not live past 48 hours without being fed. If they were alive for more than 2 days then she was feeding them. Rabbits normally feed their babies once or twice a day (im not too sure because I havent kept count) and its either late in the afternoon or early morning. Ill try to tackle your questions.

1. first time mothers can often make mistakes with a litter. In my experiences I have had mothers that have difficulty giving birth the first time, dont take care of the babies, or have no troubles at all. It is really a risk breeding which is why the chances must be weighed. Anything can happen, we have actually had a doe pass from giving birth to her first litter also. Once they get past that first litter we dont have too much trouble with the second. There are only small instances when we have one doe that continuously has problems with babies. Other breeders follow the three strike rule that if they can't raise a live litter within three times then the doe is retired. Although this highly depends on the purposes of your breeding. To sum it up generally first time litters can be a gamble.

2. 6mos is the age that breeders recommend breeding. What breed is your doe (if not sure is she larger or smaller/under 5lbs)? Larger breeds take longer to mature and so the age that they should be bred is older than smaller breeds.

3. You can definitely check on her but you dont have to be on guard. Does normally give birth at night or in the early morning. We also did have one that would give birth in the middle of the day. We normally just check on her more than usual. You will be able to tell if you need to keep watch more often especially if she doesnt make a nest in the box. We put the box out on day 28.

4. I am not present for birthing so I don't know.

5. Like I said we put our boxes in on day 28 and the doe starts nesting in it then. If yours doesnt you might want to line her cage with hay just in case or move her inside. One of my friends had a doe that produced awesome babies and was a CG winner but she would never have kits in a box. The owner moved her into a large plastic bin lined with hay before her due date to avoid this problem. Another thing I have heard is to put in multiple boxes. As far as moving her you could try it.

6. I would personally move him to his own separate cage. Does can be very territorial especially when they have babies and if she felt threatened in any way something could happen.

7. As long as your doe is healthy and in good flesh condition she should be fine. I would decrease the amount of veggies you give because the young ones will try to eat them once they crawl out of the box and this may cause them to have soft or loose stools. Gestating and lactating does have higher nutritional needs so as long as her nutritional needs are met(ex good flesh condition) then I think you're fine.

8. I think I've gone over this but again it really can be due to the lack of maternal instinct and she might do much better on the second round.

Sorry I just saw you mentioned she was a new zealand. I would definitely wait a couple of months before rebreeding. Like I said 8mos for larger breeds is best as they are more physically and emotionally mature. Is there a reason you are using a mixed breed buck? I always suggest keeping it purebred as people here do a lot of rescue work in shelters. Its always nice to have a goal when you breed two rabbits together. Making sure the babies will be healthy and not have any special health needs is always something to be mindful of and also thinking about where the babies will end up.

 

[clalso]

Thank you for your detailed response. It is very helpful.

You asked "Is there a reason you are using a mixed breed buck?". I did so because I have four rabbits: Two mixed breed one of which is male and the other female (they're brother/sister), a California male, and this New Zealand female. I enjoy having the bunnies as pets and treat them as such, I figured having a mix of breeds would better my chances of healthy babies. Maybe I need to rethink that idea.

You asked about her weight. Hmm, taking a guess here. She has the double chin, for lack of a proper term, but I don't see her as fat. Guessing about 6 or 7 pounds. She rebounded well after delivery. I'll plan to wait 2 months before breeding her a second time. By then her delivery will be around Thanksgiving so she'll be inside the "barn" in her hutch (alone, no daddy next door).

Thanks again!

Clyde

 

[majorv]

Sarah did a good job of answering your questions so I'll just add that new moms need more protein than normal, so depending on the protein % in your pellets you may need to add additional the next time she has a litter.