Reviving Stone Cold Kits

by Indigo Hills Farm

If you find a kit has gotten lost in THE CAGE and is hypothermic stone cold - if it has a round belly - gently massage its skin and belly - watch its feet for any movement - if its little toenails are clear and not red - which would be coagulated blood - then it can be revived with massage and heat treatment -

I put my little guy on my chest and also covered him with a towel from the dryer - never just toss a cold 'lifeless' kit - within an hour he was squirming and returned to his mom who accepted him back with no problems - he probably came out of the box attached to mom's teat then he squirmed around until he became so cold he looked dead. Don't give up - be vigilant and check them often when they are newborn.

****Karen Sez****
Wow, excellent post and excellent tips. Thank you.

Here's another example with one more tip:

One early morning years ago, we found 'stone cold' kits strewn around the dewy grass in the early morning, many yards from their cage. It was a high-desert summer morning, so not horribly cold. The several kits had been 'played with' by the dog, who was probably confused that her playmates were so singularly unplayful.

When I found the poor dears, I woulda sworn they were lifeless. But I decided to run tepid water (bunny body temp is 102F, so approximate that temp in the water) over their chilly bodies (not heads). Didn't take all that long before I saw the first twitches in the extremities.

I was awed and overjoyed to bring those kits back to life, and a fence went up around the rabbitry shortly thereafter.

Just so you know, some kits cannot be revived, so don't feel too bad if you find your kitcicles too late. But, it never hurts to give resuscitation a fair try.

Use Indigo's guidelines to help you determine whether there's still life in a very cold little body.