WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS GRAPHIC AND MAY BE UPSETTING TO SOME READERS. PLEASE CONTINUE WITH CAUTION.
This week, I have had to deal with the hardest thing about raising rabbits: stuck kits and dead babies.
Holly's Saige was due on Saturday, March 7. Sunday night, March 8, she delivered one huge, dead baby. I thought she was done.
Three days later, that Tuesday, I noticed that she had hardly eaten, and when I was giving her lots of love and cuddles, I felt a lump in her stomach. I gently massaged it downward.
Hours later, she began contracting and visibly pushing. I flipped her over to see what was happening, and I saw a foot protruding from her vulva. It went back in because her contractions stopped.
I got a tub of lukewarm water and a towel and floated Saige on her back in the water. Using my cupped hand, I poured a bit of water over her belly and tail. I held her in the water for about 5 minutes and slightly towel dried her.
During the day and throughout the next, I gave her a ton of kale, about a cup and a half (over two days). Kale is very high in calcium, and calcium helps build strong contractions.
On Wednesday, there was still no baby. I could tell she was making progress, as the lump was moving downward and her vulva was swollen. I let her get exercise on the grass for over an hour. She actually seemed to really enjoy it. She ate a bunch of grass and ran and binkied.
That night, she finally delivered the kit. It was dead, and absolutely huge!
Even after that, she had another stuck baby. It was a total of a week until she was finally completely done delivering.
I hope my story can help others and give you ideas of how to help your doe during a difficult labor. What I did really seemed to help her and progress the labor.
Saige was such a trooper through the whole thing. Needless to say, she's getting lots of love and treats now, and a well-deserved break for a few weeks.
This week, I have had to deal with the hardest thing about raising rabbits: stuck kits and dead babies.
Holly's Saige was due on Saturday, March 7. Sunday night, March 8, she delivered one huge, dead baby. I thought she was done.
Three days later, that Tuesday, I noticed that she had hardly eaten, and when I was giving her lots of love and cuddles, I felt a lump in her stomach. I gently massaged it downward.
Hours later, she began contracting and visibly pushing. I flipped her over to see what was happening, and I saw a foot protruding from her vulva. It went back in because her contractions stopped.
I got a tub of lukewarm water and a towel and floated Saige on her back in the water. Using my cupped hand, I poured a bit of water over her belly and tail. I held her in the water for about 5 minutes and slightly towel dried her.
During the day and throughout the next, I gave her a ton of kale, about a cup and a half (over two days). Kale is very high in calcium, and calcium helps build strong contractions.
On Wednesday, there was still no baby. I could tell she was making progress, as the lump was moving downward and her vulva was swollen. I let her get exercise on the grass for over an hour. She actually seemed to really enjoy it. She ate a bunch of grass and ran and binkied.
That night, she finally delivered the kit. It was dead, and absolutely huge!
Even after that, she had another stuck baby. It was a total of a week until she was finally completely done delivering.
I hope my story can help others and give you ideas of how to help your doe during a difficult labor. What I did really seemed to help her and progress the labor.
Saige was such a trooper through the whole thing. Needless to say, she's getting lots of love and treats now, and a well-deserved break for a few weeks.
RSS Feed
