Edge of the Wilderness
Ridin' The Range
I have a first time mother who prior to kindling was very antsy with her nesting box. She would build her nest and then proceed to dig and fling the whole thing out and start over again. She kindled Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. Everything seemed to be going ok. She had 7 kits; one was a loss. I saw her nurse them Sunday Night. The 6 remaining kits were huddled and healthy looking.
Yesterday morning I was a little under the weather and didn't get out to check on things until around lunch. When I checked her cage, I noticed that the nesting materials in her box were pushed to the edges so that there was a depression in the center and could not see the kits. I immediately pulled the box to check for kits. I found them spread out against the sides at the very bottom of the box. No two were together and they were all dead. My assumption was that she started messing with the nest again and shoved them all over the place at the bottom of the nesting box. Does it seem possible that is what happened? Is there another explanation for what I found?
Should I chalk this experience up to a first time mom thing? Or should I expect her to continue to have failures? Is there something I could have done to help prevent this?
Yesterday morning I was a little under the weather and didn't get out to check on things until around lunch. When I checked her cage, I noticed that the nesting materials in her box were pushed to the edges so that there was a depression in the center and could not see the kits. I immediately pulled the box to check for kits. I found them spread out against the sides at the very bottom of the box. No two were together and they were all dead. My assumption was that she started messing with the nest again and shoved them all over the place at the bottom of the nesting box. Does it seem possible that is what happened? Is there another explanation for what I found?
Should I chalk this experience up to a first time mom thing? Or should I expect her to continue to have failures? Is there something I could have done to help prevent this?