I have a 1 yr. old mini rex doe who has successfully raised a litter of 6 already but just gave birth to her second litter yesterday. There were 4, two died and the other two don\'t look so good (thin and listless). I am thinking she has one still stuck in the birth canal as she just sits in the nestbox with her eyes closed all day and her bottom is still really messy. Any ideas? Is there any way I can help her if there is one stuck? And if not, any ideas for trying to hand feed the two if they\'re orphaned? Help!
Ifit\'s been more than 24 hours since she kindled the four, and you think she may have one \"stuck in the birth canal\" - get her to a vet immediately. She is in real danger at this point.
Good luck.
Sounds serious. MischeifNite is correct. Get her to a vet ASAP.
I think we have had a couple of posts you can find regarding formulas for orphan bunnies. If it comes to that and you can\'t find them, repost and I\'ll upload the info again.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
Just a quick update, no vets in our area see rabbits so I had to wait it out. Forturnately whatever was bothering her is gone, she\'s cleaned herself up and pulled more fur for her nest, and the two surviving babies are doing great with big bellies!
That\'s good that she seems back to normal. Is there any blood in her cage? Good that the kits seem to be doing well and being fed.
I\'m glad your doe seems to be coming out of it and is eating well...always a good sign.
I always think it is a good idea to palpate the doe after giving birth if she seems to have had a problem as your did. Fetuses can be retained and causes infection, illness, or death if they are not passed. Sometimes, the doe will retain the fetus and it will become mummified - forever residing in the uterus of the doe. She will become sterile.
Hopefully (and it sounds like she may have passed either a kit - some does consume such dead kits, so you might not see it) or she had a placenta still attached and has passed that. She also could have just had a rough delivery and was feeling a bit \"punk\" for a day after.
I have an article on palpation that I had written for Countryside Magazine back in 2004. I tried to give a brief \"tutorial\" on how to proceed. If interested, I have placed the article on the Oregon League of Rabbit & Cavy Breeders Website...
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
for any of you all that have orphaned babys the best thing to feed them is goat milk its hard to find fresh but that is the best milk for any type of animal that has been orphaned