Confused Mother

[rebypox]

My doe just had her first litter of 3 bunnies but she didnt pull out any of her belly fur My bro says she'll have more tomorrow but my experience with my breed (dont know exactly which kind) is that they have about 4 buns max.
:huh

 

[wendymac]

You can actually pull the fur for her, and line the nest with it and some over top of them. She could have a stuck kit. Is she eating and drinking? Does she look uncomfortable?

 

[majorv]

You can also usually find nestbox fill material at pet stores if you don't have or can't get fur from her to cover them with.

 

[tonyshuman]

I'm going to move this to the Rabbitry where people with more breeding experience will see it.

It is pretty rare for rabbits to have litters split in time by such a long period. I would try to pull some fur from her or another bun that's shedding, maybe, and put that in with some straw/hay.

Here's a similar topic:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f20/she-took-all-materials-out-her-nest-box-73539/

Here's some talk about split litters:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f20/retain-foetus-deliver-kits-later-73484/

And some about stuck kits (which can be the cause of not all babies being born at once)
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f20/what-do-i-do-resolved-73408/
I'll point to PamNock's post

Without knowing how to properly palpate, it's difficult to determine if a kit is being retained. Generally, a doe will sit in the box and strain when trying to pass a stuck kit. However, these efforts will generally cease after a day or two. A retained kit may mummfy or may begin to decay which can be fatal. In some cases, the stuck kit is sticking out and can be pulled out with firm, steady pressure (care must be taken not to pull the kit apart!) Oxytocin can also be given, but in cases when it isn't effective, the kit must be removed surgically. Over the years, we've had to deal with each of these scenerios.

It's not abnormal for a doe to continue to pull fur after kindling. Do you know anyone who can accurately palpate and determine if there even is a stuck kit? If not, without taking the doe to the vet, it's impossible to know if she's still retaining babies. At this point in gestation, I'm questioning the bunny "movement" - it's very tight quarters in the amniotic sac. Massaging the doe's belly is of no help in passing a retained kit.

 

[ladysown]

is this her first litter?

you can turn her over and pull fur from her belly and her dewlap. Use that to line and cover the nest. that action also helps to stimulate milk production.

Do watch to see if she's caring for them as often does who lack the skills/instincts to pull fur will often not care for their young either.

 

[wendymac]

While it may be rare to have them split a litter, I have had that happen....11 weeks ago. Max delivered 3 on a Saturday night, nothing on Sunday (when she was actually due), 2 more on Monday morning (around 7 am) and then 3 more on Monday evening (11 pm). I ended up bottle feeding the kits for a day because the funky kindling screwed up mother nature's cue to drop milk. Out of all the babies, I only managed to save 3.

 

[ladysown]

I've had it as well. 13 kits born over three days. All survived quite nicely through being fostered to other rabbits. The doe on the other hand did not. She damaged herself during kindling. Was almost healed up and someone thought breaking into my rabbitry and roughly removing her from her cage would be a good idea. I found her dying through massive blood loss, too late to save her. I know it was a break-in since three other rabbits were out of their cages as well and babies moved around that shouldn't have been. It was a lovely fine mess up....

 

[wendymac]

OMG! Did you ever find out who it was that broke in? Poor momma rabbit. What's strange is that the surviving 3 were the 3 born first. I didn't have anyone to foster them to, or I definitely would have done that. Thankfully my momma is fine, and I'm going to breed her again when Kitty breeds a few does for meat pens for the fair.

 

[ladysown]

it's not strange that the three surviving are the ones born first. They weren't behind a stuck kit (which in all honesty is what tends to cause these delayed births). The first three came out easily and well, the remaining ones had to wait their turns and that's generally not good for mammalian young.

 

[wendymac]

Well, I didn't lose them at birth...I lost them throughout the following weeks. I just hope she has a normal next delivery!

 

[rebypox]

She bit off the head of one of them and chewed of its limbs. )
I gave her a bunch of alfalfa and some ground corn. The'res this razorgrass that the grows like crazy here i feed my buns that as their main diet.
She used a bund of stuff from her cage for a nest (corn husks, woodchips, straw, etc.) Since the first casualty everything has been going well.
Lets hope for the best. :/

 

[tonyshuman]

Too bad. At least she has made a nest now. Does she get pellets? Ground corn isn't always the best for bunnies as it's high in starches which can cause the wrong kind of bacteria to grow in the GI tract. The husks are also indigestible and sometimes can get stuck in the GI system for years. Grass and alfalfa hay are good but a high-quality, high protein pellet will be helpful for her as she feeds her babies.

 

[rebypox]

Last one is dead now too. She bit off all of its limbs The corn husks are still green now. I live in a one horse town in ecuador so pet food of any kind is hard to come by. Besides, I cant afford Rabbit pellets (quite expensive here) I feed them Razorgrass, Fresh alfalfa, selected weeds from the garden, green corn husks, and ground corn every now and then.

That bunny has a serious psychological problem.
I have been sick lately so i havent been able to give them diverse foods.

My other doe, Hester, has done a very good job of raising her young. Here in ecuador its hard to get good small livestock.
30% or so is inbred. :/

Cheers
Anonimous