I haven\'t been on for quite a while. But I have a question. I have six Holland Lop Babies that are about 2 and a half weeks old. I was just wondering if a mother doe will stop nursing around. Yesterday when I checked them they didn\'t seem to have any belly on them. If this is the case is there anything that I can do to make sure that they get enough to eat. They are active when they are outside the box but they still like to sleep a lot. I am just curious. Thanks for any information that any one can give me.
Maggie
At 2
1/2 weeks, the bunnies are just about ready to have their nest box removed. The doe\'s milk production peaks at 3 weeks and begins to fall off gradually after that. When bunnies emerge from the nest box early, it is often a sign that the doe is not producing as much milk as she should.
At this point, there isn\'t much you can do to increase the doe\'s milk. I would concentrate on making sure the protein level of the pellets is at least 16% (17-18% is even better). I like to give old fashioned oatmeal on top of the pellets. (20% or less of the total intake won\'t affect the protein too much.) Keep the feeder full. The best time to feed for good milk production is early on in the lactation period (about 5 days post kindling). A good supplement for increasing milk production is a high protein pellet such as
Animax,
Calf Manna,
Calf Maker, etc. I feed about a tsp/day to the doe. You have to be careful though, about the kits eating it as it is pretty rich and can cause loose stools.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
Another thing to do is to keep a good supply of fresh timothy hay for the babies to nibble on. That is a large litter for a dwarf breed to produce for so she could use any extra help you can provide. We also use mannapro calf milk replacer for our does when they are nursing a large litter. It seems to help them along. Hope this helps and good luck! Tony Artist, Artist Rabbitry(breeders of Netherland Dwarfs & Holland Lops in Indiana)