On a homestead, there is no doubt the joy of life and the sadness of death.
I've been witness to this many times over my years with animals – whether it be from man-caused illnesses (such as acidosis, yes, I've seen it) or natural causes.
In particular, I always hated loosing a calf. That was always the hardest for me. Most likely because I love cows dearly. And cow babies are, in my opinion, one of the top five best things on this planet.
And speaking of animals, and babies, we were blessed with our first litter of kits this past week. The doe was bred when we bought them and sure enough, three days after beginning to pull her hair out (they do this to help expose their nipples and to make it easier for the kits to nurse), she had them.
After seeing her in the nest box, I ran out to check on her.
It was the wee hours of the morning. I was wearing grey sweatpants, my red Bogs, an XXL flannel jacket (a large portion of which is missing fabric and thus shows off the inner fuzz lining), and a hunter-orange shirt that read ‘Hunting Brotherhood' or something ridiculous like that. Needless to say, I was looking sexy.
And no, I hadn't brushed my hair. Or my teeth.
That point has nothing to do with the story.
Of course, neither did telling you what I was wearing.
I just thought you should know that I look really good. I always try and look fancy when birthing is involved. That's why I made sure to have makeup on before I went to the hospital with both babies.
What were we talking about again?
Oh ya. The kits.
So anyway, I went out to the nesting box and slowly opened the hatch. She was nursing them at the time and I could see a few little feet sticking out from under her black fur.
Well hello, little ones! Aren't you sweet!
The not so sweet part of the story is about to come next. Just warning you.
As instructed, I slowly reached below the momma to count the babies and to check for dead kits, which is unfortunately quite common. I had been instructed to remove any dead kits as soon as possible to ensure the momma doesn't eat them.
Yes. I said eat them. This can cause a momma to eat the rest of them…even the alive ones…and ain't nobody want that business goin' on.
So I reached below, only to find a cold and stiff little kit tucked under her. It didn't look like it'd been hurt or bitten. It was right in the nest box, cuddled up in hay and hair like it should have been. But it was dead, no doubt.
So I placed it on the top of the cage, and reached in again.
Dangit.
Another cold, little kit.
But then a warm, wiggly one.
And another warm, wiggly one.
So far, there were two dead. Two alive.
I pulled out the last kit. It was cold, barely alive, and I could see it shivering. Remembering back to a book I'd read, I ran with the kit inside to try and revive it.
As the book suggested, I submerged the body of the kit into a warm-hot glass of water. Instantly, the kit revived and began kicking with his hind feet. He also began moving his mouth, as if to nurse. I held him there, in all my morning flannel glory, right in our kitchen sink – next to the now cold cup of coffee I'd previously poured.
After a few minutes, I removed the kit and vigorously rubbed him dry in some towels. He kept kicking, kicking, kicking…
And then nothing.
Right in my hand, he died.
We lost three out of the five kits – most likely due to the cold snap we'd had pass through the same night. They all looked healthy, but who knows. The first two could have been born dead – there's just no way to tell.
The beauty in this is that we still have two vibrant and healthy little bunnies.
And thus is born the spectacular and painful cycle of life and death. Anyone who has a homestead will tell you – the amount of animal death you see can get discouraging. It's just a fact of life on the farm – animals are born and animals die.
The best we can do is be good stewards of the animals that have been entrusted to our care, ensuring they have a good life while we have them.
So I made sure to give momma an extra cabbage leaf that morning.
Three and a half more weeks until we will have our next litter. I'm already praying for a better survival rate and the wisdom that comes from experience and time.
Homesteading is without a doubt a combination of emotions, but I do believe we are that much more grateful for positive outcomes. That, and the only animal we have named is the trusty farm dog. I’ve learned my lesson 🙂
So sorry! We got chicks for the first time in February and I lost one. Not sure why and I was soo bummed. I’ve heard it’s not uncommon to lose a chick or two. It’s probably the same with rabbits…
I had a litter die due to the mama not feeding them. I suggest learning to tell the difference between what a fed baby bunny looks like compared to one that is not. It can be hard to tell, but it all comes down to wrinkles.
What are you using for nest boxes? If its still chilly, you want to be using boxes with a roof.
Congrats on your first litter!
Also, feel free to check out my site. I am going to try to keep up on my blog, now that I have a reason to. I am so excited for Spring. http://wickedhare.webs.com/
So sorry to hear about your losses with your first litter. I always feel bad for the mamma, like I could have done something to prevent it.
We got our first rabbits from my husbands boss. He bought 3 of them at a 4H sale and intended to have them butchered until the little girl selling them informed him she was pleased that he wasn’t going to butcher them. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. We had discussed raising rabbits in the future but then all of the sudden we had some. 3 of them to be exact, 2 bucks and 1 doe. So we were kind of thrown into it. With no knowledge or background we were totally unprepared. Two months later our lone doe gave birth to a litter of 6 and we didn’t even know she was expecting. Needless to say we were a little more prepared the next time. Although we were building the nesting box during her delivery and completed it after she kindled the entire litter. She delivered 7 and they all survived. We ended up selling the entire first litter as pets to people locally. She delivered her 3rd litter 10 weeks ago. there were 9, two didn’t survive the first day. I think 7 is a good number for her. It seems we will only have 3 left of that litter after selling the other 4 as pets as well. The good news is, we use the money to buy their pellets. We live in Wyoming so we don’t have any weeds yet that we can feed them, but I do give them grains that I have had around longer than I would like to use for my family. They rush their hutch doors when they see me coming with it. I give them scraps as well. We started with 3, we had 23 recently but I sold two of the kits on Sunday. So down to 21 and I spied our original doe busy in her nesting box about an hour ago, so I imagine we will be up to 28 rabbits by morning. We have been doing this since August 2012 and our family of 7 is thoroughly enjoying it.
How true – how true! We have lost entire litters – it is heardbreaking to see the loss! But, it is part of God’s cycle and we must not try to change it. I lost twin lambs a few weeks ago – full term and beautiful – but dead. But you are right – it is up to us to make sure we are good stewards for the care of the critters God has let us nurture! God Bless!
late to the party and trying to get up to speed with your adventure, but please tell me you don’t feed cabbage to your rabbits anymore. No iceberg lettuce or tomatoes either.
Hey Shaye; you might already know about it, but you should join this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Backyard.Meat.Rabbits/ . I’ve learned a LOT about rabbits from these people, they’re the best! The most popular way to warm cold kits is to stick them in your bra and continue to go about your chores until you feel them wiggling. There may even have been a chance for the first two cold ones you pulled out. If they don’t have blood pooling in their nails, there is still a chance! Another way is to put the baby in a plastic bag (don’t close the bag), and submerse the bag in warm water; that way the kit gets the benefit of the warmth, but does not have the shock of getting wet itself.
Wishing you many more happy, healthy litters!!
Thanks for these tips, Rose!
Oh this is a awesome post! I have a few girls who got pregnant two weeks ago, im so nervous about dead kits! Any advice on how to go about it! Any advice?
I knew right away that thumbnail image was a lifeless kit. Looks just like a picture I have on my phone right now. It was our rabbit’s first litter and also our very first rabbit litter as homesteaders. We lost only one out of 6 and for that I was so grateful but it did pass away in my hands and less than two weeks later, so did our only breeding buck. My only guess is that it had something to do with the snowpacolypse that came through here in a region (Texas) where we don’t often get much cold. It was so heartbreaking and definitely discouraging. We’re newbies to animal husbandry and losing so much life in such a short time period (we also lost a chicken the previous month) really had me doubting if I could do this. I felt that I had failed them until one morning, I came out and witnessed the kits seeing the world with open eyes for the first time! I realized, yes, we lost a couple of rabbits but we have 4 more than we started with and life and death are part of the fullness of life. Bless you and thanks for sharing your journey!