I'm so mad at myself!! Yesterday I posted about Alice and the one kit she had. How she killed it and disposed of it. Well I took the nesting box out of her cage and cleaned it out. But I did not put it back! STUPID,STUPID, STUPID!!!!
I went out this morning and Alice was waiting for breakfast, with 6 DEAD KITS, laying on the wire on the floor of the cage!
I had though that her having only one kit was kind of strange and killing it was stranger still! But she must have known there was something wrong with it and taken care of it.
STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!! 6 more kits! And all of them lost because of my stupidity! Can someone please come and kick me in the A..!?
And CR, you now know what not to do with new kits and nesting boxes! Do not touch the kits or move the nesting box for the first few days! I believe that Rabbits are like birds, if you handle the new born, they will kill them or abandon them. And I have read that trying to bottle feed them is almost impossible.
I called and talked to Chris (the guy I got them from) and he could not understand that, first she only had the one and that I took the nesting box out and had not put it back.
He had matted her with a "Silver Fox" buck the last week of December and 28 - 30 days latter, she had her litter. I just screwed up and did not do my part! When I see Chris in the morning, He has promised to give me a swift kick in the pants!
Any other volunteers? Please!
Tom
I went out this morning and Alice was waiting for breakfast, with 6 DEAD KITS, laying on the wire on the floor of the cage!
I had though that her having only one kit was kind of strange and killing it was stranger still! But she must have known there was something wrong with it and taken care of it.
STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!! 6 more kits! And all of them lost because of my stupidity! Can someone please come and kick me in the A..!?
And CR, you now know what not to do with new kits and nesting boxes! Do not touch the kits or move the nesting box for the first few days! I believe that Rabbits are like birds, if you handle the new born, they will kill them or abandon them. And I have read that trying to bottle feed them is almost impossible.
I called and talked to Chris (the guy I got them from) and he could not understand that, first she only had the one and that I took the nesting box out and had not put it back.
He had matted her with a "Silver Fox" buck the last week of December and 28 - 30 days latter, she had her litter. I just screwed up and did not do my part! When I see Chris in the morning, He has promised to give me a swift kick in the pants!
Any other volunteers? Please!
Tom
Oh bummer. Really. But honestly, I've done worse, so don't fret too much. And it really IS a learning experience so long as you LEARN from it...and it doesn't hurt to let others learn from your experiences, although sometimes it's hard to admit mistakes. So thanks for sharing with us, the good and bad.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry the babies were lost. We all make our mistakes, and learn from them. Hopefully the next litter will do much better! :-)
ReplyDeleteoh, terribly sorry! this is why i've never bred any of my animals (except for my barn cat that got pregnant before i could get her fixed). i could never handle it if something went wrong.
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping by my blog!
So sorry to hear about the babies! Learning from mistakes is a common thing when animals are involved, as I, too, am finding out!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn,
DeleteYour right, sometimes it's a hard lesson we learn! And at least now you know what not to do and so do I! Thanks!
Lisa,
I do not see that Alice will have any other problems the next time and hopefully, I will remember this "Learning exsperance!
TexWisGirl,
I just started with the Rabbits. The first attempt at providing meat for the table. But the loss of the first litter is a bitter pill to get down!
I will return to your Blog and read all of it! That's what us Blog Junkies" Do! Your pictures are great and I love the Dogs!
Prairie Cat,
I really learned something this time didn't I! Boy, did I!
Oh Tom, what a rough start. I'm so sorry. There are so many possible pitfalls with every new venture. Hopefully after all that butt kicking you can forgive yourself! That's the hardest part, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteLeigh,
DeleteYes, So many things can go wrong and mistakes are part of the process. I hope that I do better with the Chickens that I hope to get this spring! My Bloging Friends, like you, make it a lot easier to deal with. Thanks!
Oh Tom, please don't be so hard on yourself. We've all done things we wish we hadn't. (I STILL feel bad about the very first doe kid we lost and feel it was my fault. And that happened about 45 years ago!) You're an honest person to share what happened with us and it may well keep someone else from doing the same thing. And you KNOW you'll never do a repeat! So if any of us can learn from what happened, it's okay to feel badly but it's okay to move on, too.
ReplyDeleteMama Pea,
DeleteI know your right and if this is the only mistake I make with the Rabbits, I will consider myself lucky! I'm just glad that I did not make this kind of mistake with the Worms! 1,000's would have died! HA!
Thanks for your kind words!!!!