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| Lost my Kits... | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 25 2014, 03:55 PM (189 Views) | |
| louierabbit | May 25 2014, 03:55 PM Post #1 |
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Get the Duct Tape, Stat!
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I spent the night at a friends house last night after her party. I came home this afternoon and found the blue tort baby dead outside of the box and the vienna marked fawn dead inside the box. The white baby was cuddled on top of the fawn baby, alive. I brought her inside. I have no clue how they died. It was 50 last night and they have fur. It was only 70 today so no heatstroke. The cage was locked, so no animals killed them. Could it have been Sadie? I don't know what to do to keep the white baby alive. Please help me. I'm heartbroken...I don't know what happened and I want answers. |
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Visit my website at The Rabbit Louie Keep Hopping! | |
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| sidd-says-gimme | May 25 2014, 04:13 PM Post #2 |
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sidd says stay gold
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![]() Unfortunately, there's no way we can know what happened. Any injuries to suggest that Sadie attacked them (though that seems unlikely). Any bugs? Any signs of diarrhea? Were they acting normally before you left? Maybe something spooked them? So sorry. |
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| louierabbit | May 25 2014, 04:31 PM Post #3 |
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Get the Duct Tape, Stat!
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No diarrhea, they were acting perfectly normally, no injuries at all. When they were born, there were a lot of ants in the nest. I killed them. The ants built a nest underneath the nest box. I killed them and destroyed their nest each time it popped up again. There were no signs of them getting into the nest though. Maybe Sadie got sick and is giving them something? Should I keep the white baby out there or should I try to hand raise her? |
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Visit my website at The Rabbit Louie Keep Hopping! | |
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| NCK | May 25 2014, 05:31 PM Post #4 |
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that. I really hope your remaining kit thrives!
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| louierabbit | May 25 2014, 07:29 PM Post #5 |
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Get the Duct Tape, Stat!
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That's the thing. How do I keep her alive? Do I hand feed her? Put her back with Sadie? I need to know before tonight so that I can figure out what to do with her. Please help. |
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Visit my website at The Rabbit Louie Keep Hopping! | |
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| NeuBunny | May 25 2014, 09:29 PM Post #6 |
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Genetics Geek!
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oh no - so sorry for you losses! Hardest part is not knowing - and there really isn't any way to know. Could be a hundred different things. Babies don't do well without mother's milk. Handrearing kits less than 3 weeks is very, very hard. But lots of people who have does with a history of being 'bad mothers' (harming kits) only bring the kits to mom twice a day for feeding. It's actually a good mimic of the way wild rabbits feed their offspring -- hide them in a nest or underground burrow (depending on species) and stay away most of the time (so as not to give the position of the nest away to predators). Supervise the feeding if you suspect she may have harmed the kits. Do check Sadie -- mastitis (infection of the teats) will cause her belly/teats to be hot to the touch. In which case she needs antibiotics -- and her milk will not be good. Handrearing -- most success seems to be with an eye dropper and raw goat milk (have to get direct from a farm - stores can't legally sell raw milk in most states) or kitten milk replacer (most vets carry). Fostering - find someone who has a litter of kits of similar size/age and foster your kit with that litter. Edited by NeuBunny, May 25 2014, 09:30 PM.
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| louierabbit | May 25 2014, 09:58 PM Post #7 |
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Get the Duct Tape, Stat!
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Her teats are not hot but are hard and small. She tried feeding the baby but the baby gave up because she wasn't getting anything. I think Sadie isn't producing milk. I tried some sugar water just to keep the baby hydrated. It's sunday night so no stores are open and tomorrow is memorial day. We had evaporated milk in the pantry so I tried a little of that and she wouldn't take it so I just gave her some parsely to munch on and she liked that. I won't be able to get KMR until tomorrow. The only place I know with goats doesn't milk them. I think Sadie just isn't producing milk and the other two starved to death, which is very sad. I think I'm going to keep the baby inside tonight to watch her and if she is doing ok, I'll put her back with mom in the morning for a test feed. |
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Visit my website at The Rabbit Louie Keep Hopping! | |
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| NeuBunny | May 26 2014, 05:24 AM Post #8 |
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Genetics Geek!
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sounds like Sadie lost her milk. one of those odd things that happen sometimes for no apparent reason. sounds like you are doing everything you can. Is the baby eating hay yet? If so make sure she has plenty of that. Parsley, grass, dandelion leaves, other greens will help too - but start slow - her digestive system is likely pretty upset. Will she drink water from a dish? Mine born May 1 are now drinking pretty well from a water dish, which will keep away dehydration. |
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| NCK | May 26 2014, 06:10 AM Post #9 |
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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I think your litter was born the same day as one of mine (May 8, right?) and they are eating hay and I caught a couple trying pellets and water last night. Definitely give the baby access to hay and water, as NeuBunny said, and perhaps a few oats and pellets as well. I have also heard that for kits who need the nourishment from mom's milk and are older, but not quite ready for pellets and hay only, you can give something like spinach baby food in place of formula. Not sure how the baby would do with that, but it's something I might try. |
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| sidd-says-gimme | May 26 2014, 08:09 AM Post #10 |
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sidd says stay gold
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The babies looked nice and fat in the video you posted. She may have lost her milk, but I wouldn't give up yet. Just about every time that I have ever tried holding a doe down/on her back and getting a baby to nurse, it had been unsuccessful (even when I knew the doe had milk in). There's a certain time when they have enough milk, it seems... in the winter, I bring my babies upstairs where it's warm and bring their babies down every morning/night. The babies always do well. If I bring the babies too early, the mothers are generally not interested in feeding them. KMR isn't the best for hand raising rabbits, since cats are carnivores the milk doesn't have the right nutrients for rabbits. Goat/sheep milk is quite similar, so try that if you need to. You can also try recipes online, not sure how well they work though. I have hand raised babies before... one I used a hand made milk (which, looking back, was terrible) and ripped up baby spinach when she was older. Other I used sheep milk replacer... was a powder I mixed with water. If you can find spinach baby food, I hear that works really well. You could use sheep/goat milk and spinach baby food/spinach. I wouldn't give up on bringing her out to Sadie once a day, though. Just wait a few hours, put the nest box back in and watch to see what happens. Even if she only has a bit of milk, that little bit will help tremendously. Rolled oats (not quick/minute cook, regular, dry) also helps young kits. |
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| Disney | May 26 2014, 08:36 AM Post #11 |
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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I dont know if this will be helpful to know but last year i had a doe who injured her kits during each feeding, they had scars all over and one had a teared ear so i pulled the kits to my room and 2x a day i would bring the doe out and put her on top of the kits, keep her tight so she can't move and in minutes the kits would drink, become fat and fall asleep. I raised 2 litters that way. The second litter was 3 weeks when i reunited them with the mother, she stopped injuring them and the third litter she raised on her own. |
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| louierabbit | May 26 2014, 10:48 AM Post #12 |
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Get the Duct Tape, Stat!
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I brought her out last night and had a successful feeding. This morning Sadie fed her too. Sadie loves her baby. She made a new nest last night and pulled more fur. She didn't pull much, but she did attempt to make a nest for her baby since I cleaned out all the fur. The video was taken on the 21st when they were 14 days old. They were fat and healthy there, but then I came home last night and they were both dead. I don't know how or why. NCK, yes they were born May 8. They were all eating hay, mom's poop, trying pellets and veggies. They weren't drinking water yet though. I really don't know what happened. They were all very healthy. It was 79 yesterday, I checked the exact temp. Is that too warm for little babies? I don't think so but I don't know. I think I'm going to keep the baby inside at night and leave her out during the day - maybe. I will be doing checks hourly to make sure nothing is wrong and she's not too warm or mom is harming her. If anything goes wrong, even the slightest thing, I'm bringing her in and will bring her out at night and morning. I've got a kitty carrier with a cardboard box in the back. It's got a "door" cut out of it so she can leave her nest and go out to get food. Now I just need a name for the little girl. |
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Visit my website at The Rabbit Louie Keep Hopping! | |
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| louierabbit | May 26 2014, 10:38 PM Post #13 |
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Get the Duct Tape, Stat!
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How do I know if the baby is getting milk from Sadie when I bring her out at night and morning? She acts VERY hungry each time. Tonight after feeding, her little belly was full and at first hard, but is now softer. She was fed about an hour ago. Also, when should I begin to bring her out to mom less? Is there a certain age when I can put her back with mom for good? She still hasn't tried water but does nibble on pellets and hay. Any extra info on this sort of situation is helpful! |
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Visit my website at The Rabbit Louie Keep Hopping! | |
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| sidd-says-gimme | May 27 2014, 06:16 AM Post #14 |
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sidd says stay gold
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Sometimes their belly is really big and hard after a feeding... then they have a pee and it frees up a lot of space. Sounds like she's being fed. Do you have a small water bowl for her? I would put a tiny bit of sugar in the water to convince her to drink from it. After a few times, she should drink easily. |
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| louierabbit | May 27 2014, 08:54 AM Post #15 |
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Get the Duct Tape, Stat!
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Ok. I will try that. I figure if she's still alive, she must be getting fed. |
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Visit my website at The Rabbit Louie Keep Hopping! | |
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oh no - so sorry for you losses! 
1:52 PM Jul 11