# I picked up my first pair of rabbits yesterday...



## Pyxis (May 21, 2017)

...and come to find out that the previous owner has had them living together for the last three weeks  She's also pretty positive the doe is pregnant, and I don't see why she wouldn't be. So she's probably due in a week. Talk about jumping in with both feet!

So I'm in a scramble to get everything ready and build a nice hutch for the doe to kindle in. I have her in a hutch but I'm not wild about it for having babies in. So I'm going to build a new hutch this week, put the doe in that, and upgrade the buck to the female's hutch from the cage he's currently living in.

Hopefully there's enough time! Does anyone have any tips or advice for me on my first litter? I have done a lot of reading but I thought I'd have more time to read up some more, and it looks like I don't. These are a pair of Netherland Dwarfs, by the way, and it's the female's first litter. Both the buck and doe are about a year old.


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## Marie28 (May 21, 2017)

I have only had one litter so far (it was a accident)
They have more experience :]] 
@Pastor Dave @Bunnylady @DutchBunny03 

 Best advice i personally can give is follow your does lead and try to relax. Get a kindling box give her some hay and see what happens. If she wants her nest in a different area move the box to the area she wants. If she is snarky with you than back off and give her space (some does get cranky when pregnant) you don't want to stress her out. Does tend to jump in the nest if they get spooked. You can trick a doe to leave her nest alone if you give her something tasty at the other end of the hutch. 

Rabbits only fed there young a couple times day and do not hang out with them like other mammals do, they also do not move their kits so if you see one away from the others or out of the nest box than you need to move it.




 (skip to 0.57) she is only a couple days old as you can see very mobile.


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## Pastor Dave (May 21, 2017)

First time does are learning as they go. It may or may not be a success, but they generally do better with the next, etc.
There can be a high infant mortality rate, and there's almost always some stillbirths.
Check the nest box once a day for any kits that didn't make it, and remove them. The nest box gets nasty quick sometimes. 

Take the bunnies out of the nest box no later than Day# 18. They can get eye infections staying in longer. In the warm months, they tend to vacate on their own. If you need to use 2 liter bottles of frozen water to keep your buns cool, I use a 1 liter in the nest box. If it's too hot, they can suffocate in there. 

Once the kits are out, they learn to eat and drink by watching mama. They will try to nurse, but she will only let them when she's ready. It usually only takes a week or two for them to catch on. Most breeders wean at 6 weeks up to abt 8 weeks. As a meat breeder, I wean at 5. I have caught my does nursing the litter the night before I have taken them out the next day, so they still get her highly nutritious milk, but know how to eat and drink on their own.

Depending on their purpose and your intentions, sex em and separate around 10 weeks. They begin to get sexual mature around 10+ weeks.

Hope this helps some.


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## Pyxis (May 21, 2017)

Thank you both! So, my first goal is going to be to get the new hutch built ASAP. I'm working tomorrow but Tuesday I will devote the day to it. I'll also make sure to put a nest box in with the doe now, since I don't know her actual due date, just in case.

I've also seen mention on threads around here of giving Calf-Manna to nursing mothers. Is that something I should pick up and have on hand?

I forgot in my first post, but here are some pictures of the little guys:


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## Hopalong Causually (May 22, 2017)

I've never used Calf Manna and never noticed that my rabbits were deficient in any way.


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## Marie28 (May 22, 2017)

Calf Manna is great for nursing mom's especialy if she has a large litter. With that said we never gave ours any and she was just fine. She really really likes black oil sunflower seed and they are great for growing kits and nursing mothers,


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## Pastor Dave (May 23, 2017)

Your alfalfa pellet feed should have enough nutrients. I just boost ours by giving the lactating does a Tb.
My breeders get 1 tsp with their 1 tsp BOSS. My grow-outs get a couple Tb apiece with their 1 tsp BOSS. It's mainly preference and not something you must do. It is pretty expensive in a 50lb sack, but lasts a while giving small quantities.


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## Pyxis (May 23, 2017)

Bad news and good news today. Bad news first - my rabbits got out. My young cousin decided that the hutches needed to be moved so they could have new grass. And so she moved them - but not the wire dig barriers they were on. So they got out.

The buck I haven't seen. I'm hoping he shows back up. I left the door to his hutch open and will set a live trap. The doe I found laying near the hutch. One of her eyes was crusted shut. I cleaned it and she was able to open it again. I'm not sure what happened. Is it safe to use Terramycin on her?

Better news, I knocked out most of the new hutch today. Here are some in progress pictures.

  
  

Of course I forgot to get a picture of the whole thing at the end! But it just needs a roof and some trim to make it look better. I'm hoping to bang that out Thursday.


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## Pastor Dave (May 23, 2017)

I like vetrimycin jel spray. Maybe it's similar? Mine is ok if ingested and in eyes, so I use it on almost everything including eyes.


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## Pyxis (May 24, 2017)

Thank you, I'll be on the lookout for that when I stop by Tractor Supply. In other news, I have a line on another buck. I wanted to get another one anyway since breeding BEW is a one way street and my buck wasn't pedigreed. So at least I might be able to buy a pedigreed buck in another color. Still hoping the other buck turns up though.


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## Pyxis (May 28, 2017)

Well, not the best news here. The doe kindled and had two stillborn kits. Could have been because it was her first time, could have been the stress the experienced in her last week of pregnancy, or both.

I'm going to pick up a very nice silver marten buck from a breeder on Tuesday. My BEW buck still hasn't turned up. It's going to be over two hours to get him but this breeder has been breeding for years so he will be very nice and definitely worth it.

How long should I give the female to recover before breeding her to the new buck, or is it fine to breed her to him right away?


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## Pyxis (Jun 11, 2017)

Just an update, I did make a long trip out to get the buck and he's very nice. I put him and the female together and...nothing. He didn't know what to do, lol. But, she loved his company so I left them together. She was grooming him within the hour. So they're still together. I'll pull him out when her first possible due date approaches but until then I think I'll leave them together because they very much enjoy each other's company.


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## Pastor Dave (Jun 12, 2017)

How old did you say the new buck was?
He will show interest when he's more mature.


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## Pyxis (Jun 13, 2017)

He's nine months old. According to the breeder he's never bred another doe before, so he might have just had to get the hang of things. I have since caught them mating a couple times, I think. She's probably pregnant. I'll be splitting them up a week before her first possible due date so that he can't breed her back immediately.


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## HaloRabbits (Jun 13, 2017)

Is it safe for them to be mating if she has conceived already?


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## Bunnylady (Jun 13, 2017)

HaloRabbits said:


> Is it safe for them to be mating if she has conceived already?


It might not be safe for_ him_, if he won't hear "no" when she says it.


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## Pyxis (Jun 13, 2017)

Lol! They'll be getting split up shortly. So far he hasn't pushed his luck but I wouldn't want him to get injured.


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## Pyxis (Jun 30, 2017)

Well, my doe gave birth today but all is not going smoothly. I went out to check her and she had given birth on the floor of the hutch, not in the nesting box. She doesn't seem to have pulled fur either. She had five babies but by the time I found them three were dead and the remaining two were working on freezing to death. I brought them in to warm up. Any chance I can put them in the nesting box and she will care for them or should I plan on hand feeding these guys?


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## promiseacres (Jul 1, 2017)

Pyxis said:


> Well, my doe gave birth today but all is not going smoothly. I went out to check her and she had given birth on the floor of the hutch, not in the nesting box. She doesn't seem to have pulled fur either. She had five babies but by the time I found them three were dead and the remaining two were working on freezing to death. I brought them in to warm up. Any chance I can put them in the nesting box and she will care for them or should I plan on hand feeding these guys?


You can try. Also if you can you can hold her while they nurse. Depends on the doe if that works.


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## HaloRabbits (Jul 1, 2017)

Holding her while they nurse is a much more successful approach than hand feeding. Hoping all goes well!


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## Pastor Dave (Jul 1, 2017)

I have had a couple that has kindled on the cage floor. I put them in the nest, and the does did fine. Even pulled more fur. One of these was a mature, experienced doe, and the other a first-timer. The deal with the mature doe was straw I put in during winter for all my rabbits. She had them in a pile in a corner. I learned my lesson. No straw for does ready to kindle. You never know what makes them disregard the box, but generally if they are placed in there for her, they take over. Instincts kick in, and they do better next time.


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## Pyxis (Jul 1, 2017)

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will put the baby in the nesting box and see if she will feed it. One of them died last night so now there is only one, do you think it will be able to stay warm on its own?


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## Pastor Dave (Jul 2, 2017)

They usually need the litter to generate body heat. Maybe this time of year it will be ok though.


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## HaloRabbits (Jul 2, 2017)

Pastor Dave said:


> They usually need the litter to generate body heat. Maybe this time of year it will be ok though.



Agreed. But is there fur in the nest now? 

One of my does always pulls a ton of hair and so I always grab a couple handfuls and put it in a bag and save it. I do this in case I have a doe that doesn't pull, then I will have some fur that I can put in the box. I never had this happen to me but it does happen. Or in case the box gets dirty I can clean it and have fur to replace the dirty (also haven't had this happen but it does happen).  I heard some people take dryer lint in the case a doe doesn't pull enough fur.


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## Pyxis (Jul 2, 2017)

There is no fur, but I can try some dryer lint. Or maybe just take it out a couple times a day to let her feed it and then bring it back in?


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## Pyxis (Jul 3, 2017)

Well, it was a no go on getting mom to take the baby, and I didn't want to risk it freezing to death, so I'm hand feeding it. Here it is, sleeping until it's time to eat again:


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## Pastor Dave (Jul 4, 2017)

You get an A for effort. Let us know how things work out.


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## HaloRabbits (Jul 4, 2017)

*Don't forget* you have to stimulate it to use the bathroom. A warm paper towel usually works. What are you using to feed it? I heard a combination of whole cream, goats milk and kitten milk replacer is the most successful.


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## Pyxis (Nov 10, 2017)

A very late update. That little bunny did not make it. Refused to eat from the syringe, and when I tried just taking it out for mom to feed it, she wouldn't feed it.

After that one passed away, she didn't get pregnant again, even though I had her living with the male. So I'm not sure what was up with that, but since that male doesn't seem to be doing his job, I picked up a very cute nine week old opal buck this week. I'll try breeding her to him in the spring - no babies over the winter.

Here's the little cutie:






I might see about also getting an opal doe for him in the spring. I'm in love with the color.


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## Latestarter (Nov 11, 2017)

Sorry the previous match didn't work out and the baby buns didn't make it. Hopefully better luck next spring. Glad you stopped in with an update.


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## Pyxis (Jul 3, 2018)

It's been quite some time, but I wanted to stop in again. I hadn't had much going on with my rabbits, but, I am happy to say, I now have four healthy happy six week old bunnies out of my chinchilla doe and opal buck  All of them are chestnut, but I'll be keeping one of the does back because she should carry the dilute gene and when bred back to the buck she should give me some opal babies.

The doe is proving to be a great mother this time around, thank goodness.


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## Pastor Dave (Jul 4, 2018)

Congrats!
Most of the time a doe improves as time goes on.


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## Hens and Roos (Jul 4, 2018)

that's great!


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