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bluepez

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I am new to this forum so I am hopefull I can gain some great knowledge here :)

So here it goes.

My English Lop is a year old, her first litter she had 8 babies and they all died. Just kept dropping. I thought she was stepping on them and crushing them, but didnt know for sure. It was her first litter.

She just gave birth on the 18th to 7 babies. 4 are already dead. All under her fur nest in the nest box. They would be fine in the AM and dead in the PM.

Both times she was bred to a differentbuck. SO. Can the mother carry a genetic problem that would cause the babies to drop like this??? Shes nursed them, so I am so confused what is going on and disappointed. I have 3 left...I would LOVE for them to make it.



Thanks
 
Oh sorry, I see you already have a post in the Rabbitry. I moved your Infirmary post here too.

Can you tell if the babies are getting fed? Do their bellies look really fat after they've been feeding? Like they swallowed a ping-pong ball?

Some does just make lousy mothers, but there may be a physical problem.


sas :pray:
 
My first suggestion would be to check the mother for mastitis. Check her teats for any swelling, hardness, heat, etc... Any sign of infection. For them to die so soon after birth, I suspect there may be something wrong with her milk. If any of the teats are swollen, hot or hard to the touch, you may have to try and hand raise the babies. Infections like that can kill the babies. And they are too young to treat with antibiotic themselves.

If there is no sign of infection, do you have a vet you work with? It may be too late for this litter, but have the vet get a sample and check out the milk. Maybe have it analysed for infection. She may need a course of antibiotic prior to breeding (next time) to reduce the chance of infection.
 
Hi there.
This morning there was another. I am not sure if she is just sitting on one of them as the others nurse?? The 2 remaining are fat little babies like they swallowed a ping pong..so they are nursing.
And the does teats are fine. Not red, hot, or swollen. It was suggested to take the nest box out during the day and give back in the am for an hr or 2 so she can nurse them..until the kits are bigger?
What do you think?
 
With only 2 remaining, I would remove the nestbox and only return it to her for feedings. But not for an hour. I'd put the nest box in and wait for her to nurse (should only take 3-4 minutes, plus a minute or two for clean up) then remove the box immediately. Early in the morning and after dusk at night. She should be anxious to nurse them and should jump right in as soon as you put the box in it's "spot".
 
Ok so do that 2wice a day..Sounds good. I have removed them already after I dropped my kids off from school. I will do that..and then right when the sun goes down.
Thanks so much for your help.
 
Good luck. I want to say that it is entirely possible that she carries some gene that causes a failure to thrive very early in life. If you know her breeder, it may be good to ask how many of her siblings survived, and if they've had this in that line before, if you plan on breeding her again. There are a lot of genetic defects that are difficult to see that can simply cause rabbits to die young, be it 1 day old, or 6 months.
 
Hi there. Thanks for your information. I have talked to the breeder and all of her siblings survived.
I am going to try taking out the nest box and putting back 2x daily. To see if that will help. Then I will know if its her stepping on them or not. If they still die...I am going to get her in the vet asap and see if they can test her milk. To see if anything wrong there.
If comes back nothing wrong..Then..I will not breed her again in fear something is wrong genetically with her and I dont want to put her thru pregnancy again just for this to happen. Sucks bad tho, the kits that have died would have been SUPER cute.
 
Guess what?? They are doing good!! I took them out yesterday morning..gave back in the PM..she fed and cleaned them..And did the samething this morning! :):)
So I will give back tonight..
Think I should do it inthe afternoon as well?

They are doing good..So if they continue.>I will know that my clumbsy mom just doesnt realize shes stepping on her kids.
 
Actually, I would continue this until they completely open their eyes, around day 12... try leaving them with her during the day and see how it goes.

I'm really glad it wasn't anythign to do with her milk! :)
 
leaving them in there after day 12? thats what you meant right? I am assuming that..cause they are so small still..I planned on doing this for a couple weeks anyhow till they are bigger. Thanks lots!
 
Yeah, once their eyes are open, you cantry leaving them in with her during the day. Remove them after the night time feeding.... return in the morning. If you're worried, just keep doing what you've been doing. By the time they are 3 weeks old (21 days) they will jumping out of the box on their own, no need to continue after that. They will be chasing her down for a meal!
 

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