Are My Kits Getting Enough Milk?

One of the most common questions I receive from newer rabbit breeders is concern over if their kits are getting enough milk.  This may be due to never seeing the mother nurse her young, as does only nurse their litter once or twice a day, and they are good at doing it when you are not around.  They also rarely ever "check" their nests, which leads many to be concerned that a doe abandoned her litter.  With that in mind however, it is still not uncommon for one or more kits in a litter to not be getting enough milk.  In this article I will describe how to evaluate if kits are getting enough milk and some of the causes as well as solutions to this problem.  I also want to emphasize the importance of being proactive and checking the kits regularly as you can significantly reduce mortality rate by stepping in early when needed.   

There are two initial questions to ask yourself in these situations.
1. Are the kits actually getting the amount of milk they need?
2. If not, is it due to inadequate milk production or inadequate maternal care?

Are the kits actually getting the amount of milk they need?

Well-fed Kits

In well-fed kits, the bellies may range from noticeably round to very large “toad” bellies, white milk can be seen through the skin, kits spend a lot of time sleeping and may also squeak and stir in the box when they sense movement, and mom is lactating well.  

 

Occasionally breeders have the opposite concern that the kits are actually getting "too much" milk.  This is not a cause for concern unless there are other factors at play such as a genetic predisposition for splayed legs in combination with slick floor surfaces, both of which should be avoided.  In my rabbitry, I am always happy to see very big bellies of milk as the kits always thrive.  

These kits are thriving with round bellies full of milk.

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Under-fed Kits

In under-fed kits, the belly is not round, very little or no white milk will be seen through the skin, the skin may be wrinkled, the kit may be stirring and squeaking quite a bit in the box or may be weak and lack energy, and the kit must be fed soon.  This can also quickly lead to hypothermia.  In older kits, the roundness/fullness of the belly can still be evaluated.

 

This kit has very little milk in its belly and wrinkled skin.

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The following tips are with the assumption that the kits are healthy and the only issue is with access to milk.  There are certainly situations where a kit is unhealthy or it may have a genetic issue that prevents it from nursing properly such pituitary dwarfism (peanut).   

Is the mom producing enough milk? 

In my experience, more often than not, the cause of hungry kits is actually an issue with the mom not producing enough milk rather than not taking care of her litter.  

Lactation requires a lot of energy from the mother and she therefore has increased nutritional demands.  Take a moment to look at the NRC nutritional requirements for various stages of rabbit production and check your feed labels to see if you are meeting them.  Lactating does should be fed ad libitum with an increased protein diet of around 17-18% and increased digestible energy.  A rabbit's energy output into milk is very high compared with many other species due to the rate of milk production and richness of the milk that they produce. I have had very good success with supplementing my does' diets during lactation with raw rolled oats which can be purchased from a feed store or grocery store.  I would also recommend feeding a "grow" formula of pellet or something that is formulated for increased nutritional demands such as in lactation.  Be careful with hay quality and quantity during lactation as the nutritional requirements may not be met without carefully supplementing and making sure the doe is consuming enough of the supplement to meet requirements.  If a doe is fed, for example, a diet of Timothy hay and a maintenance pellet during lactation, she will not milk well.  A free PDF of the 1977 NRC Nutrient Requirements of Rabbits can be found here: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/35/nutrient-requirements-of-rabbits-second-revised-edition-1977.

Litter size also plays a role in milk availability as a doe may be producing enough milk for 5 kits, but not for 10.  Feed a doe nursing a large litter really well, but if she still cannot produce enough for all the kits, some or all of them will likely fall behind.  Another interesting consideration (especially with large litters) is the number of teats that a rabbit has (8-10 is average, but they can have 6-12 with independent mammary glands).  Since a rabbit feeds their kits in a very short window of time, there may simply be not enough teats to go around for a large litter.  In these cases, fostering (or grafting) some kits onto another doe that has enough milk is the best option.  I will discuss fostering techniques in the next blog post. 

Heat stress also affects milk production, resulting in lower feed intake and milk yield, so care should be taken to help nursing does stay cool in hot conditions.       

How do you tell if a doe is producing enough milk besides looking at the kits?  Does that are lactating very well will have a pretty pronounced mammary system that you can feel when putting your hand on the doe's belly.  If the area around each teat is raised, that is a good indication of good milk production.

  

This doe is on day 2 of lactation and is lactating extremely well.  You can see and feel the raised mammary glands over her belly.  Many does will not look this pronounced, but will still be lactating sufficiently to raise their litter.  

 

 

You can also express a little bit of milk from the teats to check milk production, especially in animals with less pronounced mammary glands.  You do not want to introduce bacteria when doing this, so clean the area before and after with some diluted iodine and wear gloves.  

 

Occasionally a doe's mammaries can become engorged with a lot of milk that causes her pain.  This often includes the mammary tissue feeling hard and the doe reacting sensitively to touch.  In these situations, the kits can go hungry if not attended to.  Holding the doe while her kits nurse to relieve the engorgement and a warm compress can help alleviate this problem.

 

Although fairly uncommon in rabbits, ruling out mastitis (infection of the mammary glands) is also important.  Symptoms include the mammary area being hot to the touch, fever, and bloody, clumpy, or discolored milk.  If you find signs of mastitis, this will certainly explain kits not getting enough milk and you should consult with your veterinarian for treatment and find another doe to raise the kits or a way to supplement them ASAP.  

Is the mom taking adequate care of the litter?

If no issues are found after evaluating milk production in the mother, it is likely that the doe is not taking adequate care of her kits.  In my experience, this is often in first time moms that are not outrightly rejecting their litter, but are simply not nursing them enough.  I have had good success helping to feed the kits on their mother (which I will cover in more detail in the next post) and the doe's instinct usually kicks in and she takes good care of the kits on her own soon after.

While it is certainly possible to have a doe outrightly reject her litter, I have not run into it personally in 10 years of raising rabbits, likely due in part to the fact that I select for animals that have strong maternal behavior and ensure that they have a stress-free environment to raise their young.  While you may hear about does rejecting litters like it is a common problem, in my experience, so many litter rejections that are talked about are often misidentified with some of the other factors above being the actual source of the problem.  Just because the mom's nest of kits is hungry, doesn't mean she has rejected them.  When a doe is truly rejecting her litter, she will often act aggressively towards the kits.  In these situations, remove the litter ASAP and try to find an alternate way to raise them.

 

Orphans, assisted nursing, fostering, and bottle-raising kits

This will be coming soon in the next post!  

I hope you find this information helpful and please feel free to leave a comment below or send a message with any questions or comments!