# my story with rabbits



## blk90s13 (Mar 31, 2010)

I will try to make this as short as possible 


Got me a big rabbit hutch with two living spaces split with rabbit wire then a couple of weeks later I got two female NZ from a local that didn't have a use for them anymore ( pet rabbits ) 

I wanna raise meat rabbits so NZ is a good breed to have right ? 


then a couple of weeks later I found 4 bunnies for $20 at a local farm ( real little ones ) I bought them thinking when its time to check them I will split the males away 


well I checked them and thought I had 4 females  nope I had a male and I figured it all out when one of them gave birth to 7 dead bunnies ( male and 2 more females are in same cage ) 


so I started moving them around in separate cages 

each female have her own cage now and each male have his own cage ( I had bought another one that same day the female gave birth to 7 dead ones )


a second one gave birth to 3 more dead bunnies 

I have wire cages with plastic tubes for a nesting box ( I used them before long time ago and they worked perfect ) 


my question is why is my bunnies born dead ? 

I should be expecting another one to give birth any day now the first two were about a week apart 

they stay outside covered with a tarp with a little on the bottom of the cage showing to have some air ventelation 

I am building a 4 post shelter for them and will stack the cages under there for coming up winter


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## asher (Mar 31, 2010)

Are they having them in a nest box or are they having them on the wire?


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## blk90s13 (Mar 31, 2010)

on the wire they wont use the nest box


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## Bunnylady (Apr 1, 2010)

blk90s13 said:
			
		

> my question is why is my bunnies born dead ?


Did you see these girls give birth to dead babies, or did you just find them and assume that they were born that way? What are your nighttime temperatures? What are you using as a nestbox/bedding? (You said plastic tubes, I'm having a hard time picturing that, a big doe needs a big box, maybe your tubing is too small?)



> they stay outside covered with a tarp with a little on the bottom of the cage showing to have some air ventelation
> 
> I am building a 4 post shelter for them and will stack the cages under there for coming up winter


I can see lots of problems with the set-up that you have described here. I have seen rabbits come totally unglued over things that flap. If your tarp were too tight for that, they would most likely chew on it. How are you managing to clean them?  Rabbit waste will generate ammonia, which can cause all manner of respiratory problems. Moisture can get trapped under the tarp (even with the bottom open), and most of the tarps that I have owned leak. 

It seems to me that appropriate housing for 7 adult rabbits, plus grow-out cages for their offspring, should take more than 4 poles to hold up the roof. If you have the sort of cage with pull-out trays, you might be able to stack them, but once again I am concerned about ventilation and waste removal.

I haven't yet met a person who wants to spend big bucks building the dream rabbitry for meat rabbits, but I think you will have better luck if you don't cut quite so many corners. I really think that before you do any more breeding, you should read up on proper housing, sanitation, and feeding. Rabbits can be troublesome enough to breed by themselves, without the extra problems that a jury-rig like yours create. Good luck!


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