The little REW kit did not make it last night, Hannah doesn't know yet but I'm prepared to let her know. The kits have been with Piper since yesterday and from what I can tell, she hasn't been in the box. She's given up and there is nothing more I can do. So....with that said, I have learned quite a bit through all of this. Here's what I've learned:
1. I'm not saving any more hair. If the doe doesn't pull then it's a lost litter. Now, I realize that by putting the other rabbit's hair in the next she's rejected the babies. It was a death sentence from the get go with the whole litter anyway-this is strike one...two more and I'm going to have to consider a different brood doe for us.
2. I won't be checking the nestbox more than once a day after they are born. The protocol should be, check after they are born to remove dead kits, then at feeding time every day to check the kit's condition.
3. No more bringing the nestbox inside-if it's 30 degrees out then I'll just have to hope that she pulled enough hair. With no nestbox in her cage she won't produce adequate milk(I think does need the stimulation from the kits and knowing they are there for her to care for).
4. Lastly, I'm going to be hesitant about telling Hannah when a doe is due or pregnant. She just gets too excited and asks every day when the babies will come.
Alright, I'm tired of bad, sad, depressing, disappointing news...it's time to move on-we're moving on. I hope you don't stop reading this blog, hopefully things will turn around and in a few weeks I'll be able to write up some posts worth reading.;-) Oh, we're getting a proven, experinced brood doe this saturday and I'm putting the breeding date for Nov. 23rd. So see, there is some good news to look forward to! *Smiles and Hugs* to everyone!
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1 year ago
4 comments:
I'm so sorry!
Just to let you know, I know a lot of experienced breeders who take their nestboxes in at night. I'm not sure if that's a problem.
Sometime does just take a while to get the hang of having a litter.
Also, does take a while for milk to come.
In any case, I wouldn't give up on Piper yet. I had my doe do the same type of thing three times in a row before having a really nice live litter.
*hugs*
Thank you Ali!! We're crossing fingers and toes she'll turn around and be a good mom to this kit. I didn't know that about the nestboxes...good to know that maybe there's hope for her to start making some milk. Thanks so much!
I am so sorry to hear that Lindsey. Please give the bigger kit another chance. Try to intervene if it is still healthy. You just need to feed it once a day (that's what does normally do anyway). But if all else fails then you should not be too hard on yourself. I had this problem with BlueBerry's singleton from her first litter. She has got no interest at all and doesn't seemed to be producing milk. The second litter worked out great. Please don't give up on Piper.
Also, when rabbits go to new places, they tend to screw things up a little. The next litter will be good, trust me.
BTW, my targeted mating date for Holly Hope is 22nd November so we might be getting a litter around the same time. I have been trying her with Skor for the past week and she's rejecting him all the time. Her vent is very pale to begin with but Noobie's vent is red. I need both of them to be in sync for mating so that I can have Noobie as a backup since it is Hope's first litter.
Another thing about planning out breeding is that we can set the date but it is still up to the doe if she is ready or not.
Lindsey, please don't despair. This is part and parcel of being a breeder. Stay strong.
Just an idea, maybe you can tell Hannah that Jesus wanted her to meet the little REW kit and He needs it back with Him now. I believe that would be better for her to accept cause it is hard to explain death to a young girl.
also another thought, (which I'm going to try) depending on your set up, include more sunlight in the rabbitry, if you have lights, run them 24 hours a day for a few days in a row . . . it's said to help.
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