First time mother??!!
by Amber
(Shropshire)
I have a yellow dutch rabbit who is due tomorrow, it will be her first litter!! Is it rare that first litter live, or do they have the same chance as the third or tenth litter??!!
Please help me out!! I'm soooo worried!!!
Amber xxx
****Karen Sez****It's not rare at all for first time mums to do a great job with their litters. If the doe is an airhead, she'll be an airhead on the first litter, but we still think the actual success rate for first litters is way up there -- like 80-90 percent.
I cannot say for certain how YOUR doe will do, or if her maternal instincts have been killed through successive generations of sibling-breeding and then failure to select for smart rabbits.
(Oops, your anxiety just spiked, didn't it? Sorry!)
Take a deep breath, and let your rabbit be a rabbit and do her thing. Provide her the nest and nesting materials (I'm sure you've done all that), and then let nature take its course. Either your doe is going to be a good mum, or she isn't. Don't fret until you know which way the cookie will crumble.
Good luck, and God bless you,
K