Well, most of you know that my surprise pregnant Bertha had 10 babies on Friday. I was really worried that she wasn't feeding them, but up to this point all of the babies were very vigorous and doing pretty well. Well, this morning before I went to work, I found one out of the nest on the wire. It was still alive, but cold, so I held it for a few minutes and then put it back in the nest with the other babies. Then later today I called dh, and he said that one of them had died. By the time I came home from work 2 more had died, and now 2 more have died. So, I'm left with 5, and one doesn't look like it's going to make it through the night.
Tonight when I got home and realized that if Bertha was feeding the babies, only a couple were actually getting fed, I went ahead and layed her over and manually put the babies on. Most of them did really well, and they finally got bellies that looked like they had been fed. They feel so cold, and I don't know where all of Bertha's fur went, but there doesn't seem to be much left, so dh got a heat lamp. We have that on them right now to keep them warm. Besides the one that looks really bad, there are four that look like they are doing pretty well at this point.
So, my question. Since I don't think they have had hardly anything to eat since they were born Friday morning, should I go ahead and feed them one more time tonight by turning Bertha over? I have to work again tomorrow, so I won't be able to do it again until tomorrow afternoon when I get home. Second question, do you think I'm doing enough? Is there something else I should be doing? I feel so helpless.
I seriously don't know how you all breed your rabbits like you do. I have been an emotional wreck all day, and have been crying most of the night. I knew that there was a huge chance that most of them wouldn't make it, but it doesn't make it any easier. I just feel so terrible and feel like I should have done things differently.
Thanks for any help!
Tonight when I got home and realized that if Bertha was feeding the babies, only a couple were actually getting fed, I went ahead and layed her over and manually put the babies on. Most of them did really well, and they finally got bellies that looked like they had been fed. They feel so cold, and I don't know where all of Bertha's fur went, but there doesn't seem to be much left, so dh got a heat lamp. We have that on them right now to keep them warm. Besides the one that looks really bad, there are four that look like they are doing pretty well at this point.
So, my question. Since I don't think they have had hardly anything to eat since they were born Friday morning, should I go ahead and feed them one more time tonight by turning Bertha over? I have to work again tomorrow, so I won't be able to do it again until tomorrow afternoon when I get home. Second question, do you think I'm doing enough? Is there something else I should be doing? I feel so helpless.
I seriously don't know how you all breed your rabbits like you do. I have been an emotional wreck all day, and have been crying most of the night. I knew that there was a huge chance that most of them wouldn't make it, but it doesn't make it any easier. I just feel so terrible and feel like I should have done things differently.
Thanks for any help!