Oneof my standard chin does has been in labor all day. She passed a healthy chin clored kit wearly this morning. Then passed another white one after i pulpated her. Shes got more babies inside her that I can feel. Its been more then a couple of hours since she passed the last kit. Ive been keeping tabs on here. Shes very distressed right now, and wants to bite if I touch or handle her. If she dont have the rest soon, I may run her into my vet to have labor induced. This is not a rabbit savy vet. So i need to know how much oxytosin(Sp?) to have him give her. or is there anything else I can do?
Let her out to run alittle. For all of us that are mothers, what is the one annoying thing they made you do in the hospital while you were in labor - get up and walk. It could be that one is sitting sideways and alittle excercise can get them to shift. If you truly feel that she is in danger, then of course, immediately get her into the vet. I can\'t find my book right now but I know it does not take very much ocytocin to get results. It will happen very quickly after the injection. If nothing happens, then an x-ray would be needed to see why. Too much oxytocin can cause rupture and death of your doe so go for the smallest amount possible. In the future, lack of calcium has been shown to be a contributor to poor labor in rabbits. I start my rabbits on 1 fruit flavored Tums tablet per day about 3 or 4 days before they are due to give birth. If they won\'t eat Tums, alfalfa is very high in calcium so use it instead. For now, all I can do is wish you and your doe well.
ive tried that. Now that my vet is open, she\'s going in for an exam and oxytocin shot tonight. She\'s still kinda distressed, and just sits there honking and growling.It could be possible shes playing tricks on me. BUt rabbits just don\'t give birth to one baby. then give birth to another after a tummy massage many hours later.
If my vet feels she might need surgery, he\'s gonna direct me to someone in the area that does c sections on them.
What happened with your rabbit? Obviously the outcome is too late to affect now, but I wanted to give a little input that might help someone else in the future...
The advice given by the one person to let the rabbit \"run\" was a good one, though in your case this didn\'t help. A large kit stuck in the canal is usually the culprit. Sometimes the doe can eventually pass the kit (which, in most cases will be stillborn), but if not, the doe may become ill and die or in some cases, retain the fetus/feti which will render her useless as a breeder.
You must be cautious with the use of oxytocin as serious injury to the doe can result if the kit is too large to expell through contractions alone.
I had a Satin doe this month have a problem passing a large kit. She had 5 kits successfully, then had a 6th become stuck. She was miserable, but did pass the kit about 6 hours later. She still had another kit that amazingly was born alive and well almost 24 hours after that! All 6 kits including the delayed 7th born, are doing well and are almost 1 week old.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com