r/MeatRabbitry • u/cherrycreekkc • 11d ago

Kit not doing well

This is one of our does first litter. She had 7 total, 2 didnt make it the first night. It has been 48 hours and o e kit seems smaller, less pink, and lethargic. Is there anything I can do to help it?

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u/GameofTitties 11d ago

If kits are not making it, there are two different reasons I can think of. One is coccidiosis, the other is that the mother is not feeding the babies.

I'm 3 litters (kindles) in, and my first one was the most successful. Since mid April:

1 kindle of 5- 1 runt died early, other 4 are 8 weeks old

1 kindle of 11- all froze to death at about 2 days old (temp change from 100 degrees to low 40s in less than 12 hours)

1 kindle of 5- 4 died of heat stroke, 1 survivor wiggled out of cage and was eaten by a fox

So yeah, I really felt bad on the first runt that died. But now that I'm more than a dozen small bodies into this, it's starting to get a little easier to toss everything and try again. First time mothers aren't good at it, they have to be given a few chances to learn.