Post by twistedwillow on Apr 21, 2016 3:36:35 GMT -5
About a month ago an old man came into the feed store where I work wanting a small amount of rabbit food. Someone in his neighborhood had let some rabbits go. He had been watching them, and said that they weren't looking good, so he wanted to trap them. I thought there was NO WAY a rabbit would go into a trap for regular old rabbit pellets- so I offered to take one. The NEXT day a co-worker called and said that there was a rabbit there for me. She was super skinny, and was missing all of the hair off her back. She also had bite marks everywhere- from another rabbit. Well, when she started to put on weight I palpated her. I felt nothing. She quickly gained weight and grew all of her hair back. She looks gorgeous.
Sunday my daughter's goat, Stormy, had babies. I was expecting twins, but she had QUADS! FOUR baby goats! And there are still 3 more goats that are due in the next 3 weeks or so. We are supplementing the babies- just to be sure they are getting enough. So after we finished feeding babies, I was walking by the rabbit's cage and she was eating something weird looking... HOLY CRAP! It was a placentae! She had a baby in there. I freaked! NO nest box. NO nesting materials. NO attempt to pull hair... I picked up the rabbit and the baby and put them in the brooder that I was getting ready for turkey poults that are coming this weekend....while she was popping out another one! She cleaned them off really well, and another one was coming. 9 in total! After they were all dry and clean, she started to build a nest. I put a cardboard box in with her, and moved her babies into it. (There wasn't enough bedding under them, they were too close to the metal floor, and it would have been really cold.) I moved her food and water into the brooder, and she ate. She is STILL fat! Her babies are all really big, really active. She still hasn't made a very good nest for them, hasn't been in there with them for very long- so I don't know if she has even nursed them, and has only started pulling hair. I am afraid they are going to get too cold; they aren't covered yet. I really, really hope they survive! If I open the brooder, she runs over and jumps on top of her babies- she knows right where they are, and is protective- I have been praying that they all do well. I'm nervous. I am also mad at myself that I didn't palpate her again.
Sunday my daughter's goat, Stormy, had babies. I was expecting twins, but she had QUADS! FOUR baby goats! And there are still 3 more goats that are due in the next 3 weeks or so. We are supplementing the babies- just to be sure they are getting enough. So after we finished feeding babies, I was walking by the rabbit's cage and she was eating something weird looking... HOLY CRAP! It was a placentae! She had a baby in there. I freaked! NO nest box. NO nesting materials. NO attempt to pull hair... I picked up the rabbit and the baby and put them in the brooder that I was getting ready for turkey poults that are coming this weekend....while she was popping out another one! She cleaned them off really well, and another one was coming. 9 in total! After they were all dry and clean, she started to build a nest. I put a cardboard box in with her, and moved her babies into it. (There wasn't enough bedding under them, they were too close to the metal floor, and it would have been really cold.) I moved her food and water into the brooder, and she ate. She is STILL fat! Her babies are all really big, really active. She still hasn't made a very good nest for them, hasn't been in there with them for very long- so I don't know if she has even nursed them, and has only started pulling hair. I am afraid they are going to get too cold; they aren't covered yet. I really, really hope they survive! If I open the brooder, she runs over and jumps on top of her babies- she knows right where they are, and is protective- I have been praying that they all do well. I'm nervous. I am also mad at myself that I didn't palpate her again.