babies again

[Cookiemonster]

my mini Rex Silver had babies last night. all but one were alive.. now we have an owl attacking them. ugh if its not one thing its another.

 

[woahlookitsme]

That definitely does not sound good. Does your cage not have a top to it?

 

[Cookiemonster]

yes it does. thankfully the owl hasnt come back yet.

 

[Cookiemonster]

there were 10 babies. one died during birth and one died last night. now there are 8..

 

[JimJam]

Ooooh I hope everything goes ok, that sounds like your doe had a decent sized litter so it isn’t uncommon to have some not make it... good luck!
My minilop x Flemish doe is due on Tuesday (31 days) and has started making a nest with straw yay! I’m very excited as this is her first litter!

 

[Cookiemonster]

Hopefully all goes well with your doe!! this was my does third litter and the first two none had made it so if none made it this time i wasnt going to breed her again...

 

[JimJam]

How are the 8 babies doing?

 

[Cookiemonster]

they are doing good.. mom gets mad when i check them and will nip at me .. other than that all is good..

 

[JimJam]

My doe had her first litter of babies today!!! Not entirely sure how many because I wanted to leave them for a day before handling them... does anyone know what age it is ok to handle kits at? I first thought that there was no nest but it was completely buried underneath the straw and somehow I found out that there WERE babies hiding! I’m very excited - there is a black one, couple solid blues, broken blue and whites, and grey???

 

[Cookiemonster]

you can handle them anytime...

 

[JimJam]

thanks! I've just heard that the mum might not look after them if she smells human on her babies...but she seems fine with me looking at her buns

 

[JimJam]

So I did a proper count up and there are 8 healthy buns, 3 are black with white paws, 2 are grey/blue and 3 are broken like mum - 2 which are black and white and 1 grey and white. I got to watch mum feed them and it was amazing! They all ended up with super round tummies!

 

[JimJam]

 

[JimJam]

Almost 3 days old and just had a feed this afternoon!

 

[Cookiemonster]

how cute! Silver ( my mom bun) has been feeding hers.. I have gotten to see her feed.. she feeds way more than what cookie did.. the babes all have round tummies and look like they will all have mini rex characteristics and one that will look like her. the picture is of mom.. she is what ive been told is a purebred mini rex...

 

[woahlookitsme]

They are so cute! I miss babies!

The handling thing you were saying where Mom will stop taking care of them is a myth. You should take every baby out of the nest as soon as you can once they are all born. You must check for trauma, injuries, and count them all as well as remove any deceased. I would always check on them every day and make sure all were accounted for. The more you can handle them now the better they will be as they start to open their eyes and they won’t be as afraid of you. Also it’s a good way to start training Mom that your not there to eat or attack her babies so give mom a few good scratches if she will let you or bring treat with you to distract her. We had a couple that didn’t care why we were there they just wanted to fight so we would just have to take the entire box out to count everyone.

 

[JimJam]

That looks like a mini Rex to me! I have an important question: my female Flemish giant is day 20 today and is making her ‘practise’ nest. Is this a sign of a false pregnancy?

 

[Cookiemonster]

i am unsure..

 

[JimJam]

Ok thank you, hopefully someone will know... this will b her second litter and with her first litter she did the exact same thing but on day 21. She makes a ‘practise’ nest with pine needles and hay but no fluff then leaves it alone so that should hopefully be a good sign...

 

[Cookiemonster]

good luck and let me know..