38 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 3 09, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BN 2ioir 

 Figure 17.— Photo of new-born litter 

 in nest. 



monia successfully, you must de- 

 tect it early. The doe's head is 

 held high and tilted backwards. 

 Breathing is difficult. Make the 

 doe comfortable and add a little 

 green feed to the ration if possible. 

 Injections of penicillin or a peni- 

 cillin-streptomycin mixture are ef- 

 fective in treating colds and pneu- 

 monia and reducing mortality. 



Caked breast may be caused by 

 the milk not being removed from 

 the breast, or by injuries. Early 

 symptoms of caked breast are firm, 

 pink breasts that feel feverish to 

 the touch. As caked breast de- 

 velops, the tissues around the in- 

 volved teats become enlarged and 

 hard. The skin turns dark, the 

 ends of the teats become discolored 

 and tender, and the doe refuses to 

 allow the young to nurse. Rub 

 lanolin on the teats and massage 

 the involved portion of the breast. 

 You may restrain the doe to allow 

 her own young or those from other 

 litters to remove the milk. You 



may also strip the milk from the 

 teats, taking care not to use too 

 much pressure. Do not lance the 

 tissues. 



Mastitis, or "blue breast," is 

 caused by bacterial infection and 

 may be very contagious. The doe 

 fails to consume her feed and is 

 inactive. The breast is congested 

 and feverish, turns red or purple, 

 and the teats are discolored. Re- 

 duce feed, give some green feed, 

 and inject penicillin intramuscu- 

 larly in the thigh. (See treatment 

 recommended for pneumonia.) 



Care of Young Litter 



On the day of kindling, or soon 

 after, inspect the litter and remove 

 any deformed, undersized, or dead 

 young. If you are careful and 

 quiet making the inspection, the doe 

 generally will not object. There 

 is no danger of causing her to dis- 

 own the young. If she is nervous 

 and irritable, place some tempting 

 feed in the hutch immediately after 

 inspection to distract her attention 

 and quiet her. 



Litters vary in size. The utility 

 breeds usually average eight young. 

 Some may number 12 to 18. For 

 commercial purposes 7, 8, or 9 may 

 be left with the doe. Does from 

 strains that have been developed 

 for heavy production may care for 

 9 or 10. 



You can transfer some of the 

 baby rabbits from a large litter to 

 a foster mother that has a small 

 litter. Adjusting the number of 

 young to the capacity of the doe 

 insures more uniform development 

 and finish at weaning time. Mate 

 several does so that they will kin- 

 dle at about the same time. For 

 best results, the young that are 

 transferred should be within 3 or 

 4 days of the age of the foster 

 mother's young. 



