YorkshireJumbo
Young Bun
First post - glad I found this site :wave:
We had 2 neutered does from the same litter, and got a 2-storey hutch with a run attached which we move around the lawn. Sadly one of the does died, and we got an un-neutered doe as a replacement. We haven't been able to get them to socialise yet, so we've had to keep them separated. We've done this by having a small hutch attached to the run, and keeping the double-decker close by without access to the grass. We change them over daily.
A month ago, the kids left one of the latches off and the new doe escaped. Lo and behold, we had a surprise litter of 4 new-borns this morning. :shock: (Actually she did start getting broody yesterday, but I didn't realise). She had them in the small open hutch attached to the run, but it seemed unsuitable - there was nowhere for her to make a proper nest and I found one of the babies crawling across the grass.
I prepared the private area of the double-decker (she'd done some of this already without me realising) and made sure I didn't smell too human. I then moved the mum and babies into the hutch, gave her plenty of food and moved the older doe into the small hutch with the run. I've also fixed a piece of cardboard across the entrance as I found a couple of the babies escaping.
Now have I put her in the right place? It's secure, private, but not a huge space (5ft x 3ft x 2). Or would she be better having access to the run, which would mean locking up the older doe in a 4ft x 2ft hutch for the next few weeks?
We'll make sure the new mum is neutered after the babies are old enough, and we'll make very sure the hutch is secure to stop this happening again. Any other advice gratefully accepted - this was a shock and we're totally unprepared... :shock:
We had 2 neutered does from the same litter, and got a 2-storey hutch with a run attached which we move around the lawn. Sadly one of the does died, and we got an un-neutered doe as a replacement. We haven't been able to get them to socialise yet, so we've had to keep them separated. We've done this by having a small hutch attached to the run, and keeping the double-decker close by without access to the grass. We change them over daily.
A month ago, the kids left one of the latches off and the new doe escaped. Lo and behold, we had a surprise litter of 4 new-borns this morning. :shock: (Actually she did start getting broody yesterday, but I didn't realise). She had them in the small open hutch attached to the run, but it seemed unsuitable - there was nowhere for her to make a proper nest and I found one of the babies crawling across the grass.
I prepared the private area of the double-decker (she'd done some of this already without me realising) and made sure I didn't smell too human. I then moved the mum and babies into the hutch, gave her plenty of food and moved the older doe into the small hutch with the run. I've also fixed a piece of cardboard across the entrance as I found a couple of the babies escaping.
Now have I put her in the right place? It's secure, private, but not a huge space (5ft x 3ft x 2). Or would she be better having access to the run, which would mean locking up the older doe in a 4ft x 2ft hutch for the next few weeks?
We'll make sure the new mum is neutered after the babies are old enough, and we'll make very sure the hutch is secure to stop this happening again. Any other advice gratefully accepted - this was a shock and we're totally unprepared... :shock:
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