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Fostering - Newborn Singleton and 8-Day Old Litter
Topic Started: Nov 23 2013, 03:59 PM (308 Views)
NCK
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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My Holland doe kindled today - she had one live kit and the second one was stuck. She's fine, but now I'm left with a singleton. I have another litter of 4, 8-day olds (the does were due one week apart, but it was day 32 for the one who kindled today, so the babies are technically a week apart). I know there are risks with putting a newborn in with an older litter, but I think that outweighs the risk with keeping it by itself. And I know the other doe has plenty of milk. My question is, could I foster one or two of the 8-day olds to the new mom and her newborn? For some reason, it just seems odd to foster older kits to a new mom versus the other way around. I don't want to make the wrong decision, but I really want the new mom to raise a litter - I know she will be an AWESOME mom.
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ZRabbits
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NCK
Nov 23 2013, 03:59 PM
My Holland doe kindled today - she had one live kit and the second one was stuck. She's fine, but now I'm left with a singleton. I have another litter of 4, 8-day olds (the does were due one week apart, but it was day 32 for the one who kindled today, so the babies are technically a week apart). I know there are risks with putting a newborn in with an older litter, but I think that outweighs the risk with keeping it by itself. And I know the other doe has plenty of milk. My question is, could I foster one or two of the 8-day olds to the new mom and her newborn? For some reason, it just seems odd to foster older kits to a new mom versus the other way around. I don't want to make the wrong decision, but I really want the new mom to raise a litter - I know she will be an AWESOME mom.
I'm far from an expert when it comes to breeding and even fostering, but if this was my situation, I would bring 1 or 2 of the older kits to the New Mom and the singleton. As you feel she will be an awesome Mom, it gives her a chance to prove her ability plus the singleton would have a better chance of getting milk with 1 or 2 older kits vs 4 older kits.

Hope you get some advise from experts. Wishing you luck with the singleton and the First Time Mom. Please let us know how it goes. Fingers crossed all is well.

KAZ
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sidd-says-gimme
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Hey, give it a try and watch her (and the kits) closely. Might be better to foster just one of the older babies, as a kit that has had a week of development over a newborn can cause problems with fighting for milk.
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NCK
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I did go ahead and foster the two smallest of the older kits over to the new mom. She had been "looking" for her baby all over her cage and was so excited when I returned the nestbox with babies in it. She immediately hopped in and started feeding them. That was about 5 hours ago. I just checked on them, and all three are well-fed and the newborn is doing great. She is being very protective of her babies! Doesn't like it at all when I take them out :) But she really likes being a mom!
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ZRabbits
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Thrilled to hear the switch is working out.

First Time Mom sounds like she's doing a super job! Kudos to you for giving her a chance. You definitely know your doe.

Please keep us updated.

KAZ
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sidd-says-gimme
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Good news.
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ZRabbits
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How's it going with your first time mom and her kits?

KAZ
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NCK
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Thanks for asking!

It's been working out even better than I had hoped! This doe is an amazing mom. For about the first week, a couple of challenges arose due to the age difference (i.e. the older kits needed a clean box for opening eyes while the "baby" still needed lots of fur to stay warm) but the older kits were actually pretty content to stay in their nestbox beyond 2 weeks and the little one came out early, so it has all worked out.

I can't believe they're almost 4 and 5 weeks old!
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ZRabbits
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NCK
Dec 18 2013, 09:38 PM
Thanks for asking!

It's been working out even better than I had hoped! This doe is an amazing mom. For about the first week, a couple of challenges arose due to the age difference (i.e. the older kits needed a clean box for opening eyes while the "baby" still needed lots of fur to stay warm) but the older kits were actually pretty content to stay in their nestbox beyond 2 weeks and the little one came out early, so it has all worked out.

I can't believe they're almost 4 and 5 weeks old!
Thanks so much for the update! So thrilled for you that it went so well with your doe and the kits.

Time does fly by when we watch kits grow! Congratulations, hope those babies turn out to be lovely Hollands! Would love to see photos of them.

KAZ
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sidd-says-gimme
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Great news! Pics are a must. ;)
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NCK
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Okay, started a new thread with some pics :) ... 4 and 5 Week old Holland kits!.
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