CaliFarmsAR
Loving the herd life
The are so dang cute!!!!!
When do you help?
- Thread starter KatieOH
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- #22
Do they look good? I think they look good, but I'm a newb and could be missing something. They all seem very strong and able to hold their own for milk, so I'm cautiously very optimistic!! One did have a little feces on it's bum so that's a good sign, right? I was going to try and clean it off but it just about squirmed out of my hands and my 4 year old was going in to grab another so I put mine away and returned the box to the den.
LilTxFarmer
Overrun with beasties
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They look good and healthy!
- Thread starter
- #24
This is this morning. They are all still very lively but seem a bit skinny. I can't get belly pictures for the life of me; they're SOOOO squirmy.
They've all lost a few grams. Is that okay? They are all clean and there's more of momma's hair in the nest so I feel like she's taking care of them. She just does it in the middle of the night when my camera wifi is off for the night.
Nobody looks like they're starving, but again if I need to intervene and get babies onto mom I'd prefer to do that early before they're in real danger. Is there a sign to look out for? Like a first sign of mom not feeding them to intervene? Thanks for everyone's help!! It's really helping reassure my daughter and myself.
They've all lost a few grams. Is that okay? They are all clean and there's more of momma's hair in the nest so I feel like she's taking care of them. She just does it in the middle of the night when my camera wifi is off for the night.
Nobody looks like they're starving, but again if I need to intervene and get babies onto mom I'd prefer to do that early before they're in real danger. Is there a sign to look out for? Like a first sign of mom not feeding them to intervene? Thanks for everyone's help!! It's really helping reassure my daughter and myself.- Thread starter
- #25
LilTxFarmer
Overrun with beasties
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Honestly, it's really not necessary to weigh them all the time. I've never weighed mine in the past 3 1/2 years of raising rabbits. Don't see the need in it, unless I was raising them for show. Their weights will vary from day to day. Every now and again one may miss a feeding. One of my moma's had 8 kits and I noticed, over several days, that 2 were getting thin. I also found some outside of the box where they had hung on to moma's tit as she jumped out of box and ended up on the wire, overnight, thus missing its morning feeding. Could be a number of reasons. Moma's usually feed early in the morn and in the evening and they're not in the box that long. Just keep your eye's on them like you've been doing. If you see one getting exceptionally thin, that's when you intervene, as you mentioned. In my case, I, fortunately, had another moma that had kits at the same time as the other, but she only had 6, so I put the 2 thin ones in with her until they fattened up a bit, maybe 4 days, and then put them back with they're moma. They all turned out well. 
Grizzlyhackle
True BYH Addict
@KatieOH don't beat yourself up. Life happens. Last year I lost a doe while she was kindling. Chinchilla doe, big girl, dropped one kit and they both died. I was outside checking out her smaller sister, counting her kits. Not 4 feet away I heard her moving around thought all was good. Checked an hour later and cried like a little kid. Smaller doe gave me 6, 5 made it. The kits look good. Mom should pull some more hair probably. Some feed them twice a day. It's quick she won't stick around long. If she was a cottontail she'd leave the area completely. Unless you knew she had a nest you would think she was just resting a bit. And then she just leaves.
You're doing ok check em ever so often, make sure there in the nest. Some hold on, some squirm out. They'll bunch up, or separate depending if their hot or cold. Make sure Mom's got food and water, keep her cool. Take a lot of pictures. They grow soooo fast.
You're doing ok check em ever so often, make sure there in the nest. Some hold on, some squirm out. They'll bunch up, or separate depending if their hot or cold. Make sure Mom's got food and water, keep her cool. Take a lot of pictures. They grow soooo fast.
CaliFarmsAR
Loving the herd life
They definitely look great to me, they look very heathy!
- Thread starter
- #29
Thank you so much!!! Seeing her hang out in there was really reassuring and seeing them all fat and wiggly is boosting my optimism. I'll just keep checking them a couple times a day and watch for what you pointed out. Nobody seems lethargic so I'm feeling like I can be a little more hands off now and nothing will suddenly go wrong.Honestly, it's really not necessary to weigh them all the time. I've never weighed mine in the past 3 1/2 years of raising rabbits. Don't see the need in it, unless I was raising them for show. Their weights will vary from day to day. Every now and again one may miss a feeding. One of my moma's had 8 kits and I noticed, over several days, that 2 were getting thin. I also found some outside of the box where they had hung on to moma's tit as she jumped out of box and ended up on the wire, overnight, thus missing its morning feeding. Could be a number of reasons. Moma's usually feed early in the morn and in the evening and they're not in the box that long. Just keep your eye's on them like you've been doing. If you see one getting exceptionally thin, that's when you intervene, as you mentioned. In my case, I, fortunately, had another moma that had kits at the same time as the other, but she only had 6, so I put the 2 thin ones in with her until they fattened up a bit, maybe 4 days, and then put them back with they're moma. They all turned out well.
My daughter had a big sigh of relief when I read her that. Thank you!!
- Thread starter
- #30
Oh my stars they sure do! The difference from day 2 and 3 was crazy,
