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Hanna Pearl

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
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Location
Annville, Kentucky
Hi, I am from Kentucky and have just recently got into bunnies. I currently have 1 male and 2 pregnant females. I'm keeping them outside and am looking for any helpful advice on outdoor hutches and also advice on what kind of preparation I need to do for the upcoming little ones. Thanks! :)
 
welcome to RO :D

I recommend posting in the "rabbitry and showroom" section if you have specific questions about your upcoming litters - we have lots of breeders/ex-breeders around that can give great advice.

you'll need to provide each doe with a nest box (something with this general design - http://www.petstore.com/ware-manufa...m_campaign=mdcseshopping2&utm_content=WK01570 ). if they're first time moms, especially, they may not know what to do with the nest boxes - if they kindle outside the box, you'll need to build a nest out of hay inside the box yourself, then carefully transfer the kits + mom's fur from the nest she built into the nest box (mother rabbits will NOT reject kits because you touch them). it's very important to have them inside the box - otherwise, they could wriggle out into other areas of the cage (where they don't have the nest/their siblings to keep them warm) and die of cold because the mother is unable to move them back to the nest herself. you can (and should) gently handle the babies from the day they're born. check them daily to make sure they're all alive, warm and have big, round tummies.

if something happens and one of the moms isn't feeding her babies properly, your best option (since you have two does giving birth around the same time) is to have the other doe foster her babies. take the foster-mom-to-be out of her cage, add the new babies to her nest, give them a little time (maybe an hour) to roll around and get their scent on her kits and vice-versa, then add the mom back to the cage.

rabbits will only nurse for about 5 mins at a time 1-2x a day, usually late at night/early in the morning and the rest of the time they'll ignore the nest completely, so don't worry if you don't see her with them.
 
Thank you so much! That was very helpful. I was wondering about the "fostering" thing, since one of my girls has never had babies and the other has and I was told she was an excellent mother.
 
rabbits tend to be very accepting of fosters :). if the one that's never given birth before isn't feeding hers, you can also try holding her on her back and placing them on her to nurse 1-2x a day - sometimes after a day or two of that, they get the hang of it and start caring for the babies themselves, which is a really good thing if your intention is to have an ongoing breeding program. if that doesn't work, though, fostering is always a great option to have.

it's good to breed two does at once in case one doesn't care for the babies or in case something should happen to a mother during kindling. it's possible to hand-raise a litter using KMR, but their odds of survival are *much* lower than they are if they get milk from a mother rabbit, so fostering is by far a better option. as a note, the foster babies can even be a week or so apart from the original kits - they don't have to be exactly the same size/age to be accepted.

as a note, it's not uncommon for a doe's first (and sometimes second) litter to be still-born or to not survive - I believe breeders usually breed a doe three times before giving up if she still hasn't had a successful litter.
 
Welcome and good luck with your coming litters! Will you keep the kits?
 
I always keep my rabbits outside but they were 2 males in diffrent cages and they both died over fly babys(magets)they ate them inside out!



I don't know why i'm going to post this picher it just looks like a picher for this moment.

Michelle's pic 168.JPG
 

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