# My favorite New Zealand is pulling fur!



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 6, 2020)

So, a little bit of good news today...which is nice...lol...yesterday was day 25 for my favorite little bunny, Alice...since she was bred.  She is a beautiful red New Zealand..but somehow has a little white stripe on her shoulder...so somewhere in her lineage there must have been a broken.  But I don’t care about that since these rabbits are purely for hobby.  Anyways, she was the only red out of a litter of 9 and the rest were black as coal.  Mom is red.  So, I Couldn’t wait  to breed her.  I chose a beautiful black buck, no name yet, darn.  I wasn’t 100% sure she was bred since. Only saw 2 fall offs, but I was busy, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt.  Yesterday my hubby put in a custom nest box for her...a tiny lip in the front...  Today there is a bunch of fur pulled!  Bingo!  Wonder how many days she’ll fiddl with her nest?  in the beginning, we always woke up eato check the nests...and were disappointed.  Now we’ve learned, some rabbits fiddle for days or a week!  Here’s a picture of the little mom to be....


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## Bunnylady (Jan 6, 2020)

Until you have experience with a particular doe, you have no idea what they will do in the way of nest prep. I had one Jersey Wooly that pulled copious amounts of fur starting about day 21, and kept at it until the kits came (by which time the cage was swimming in wool, and she was almost completely bald). 

That said, most does don't pull fur until just before or just after kits come (or when they end a false pregnancy). I'd keep a close eye on this girl just in case, but I am a bit  concerned about her doing this on day 25. Oh, well, time will tell.  

BTW, your doe's color is Chestnut, not red. Also, the white on her shoulder could be a sign of Dutch or Vienna, but that's not the kind of markings that you see with the Broken gene.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 6, 2020)

Ok, we were told red..either way, I think she’s beautiful!  I’m fine with her pull fur now...she’s new...and, yes, I know how they fiddle..I like the anticipation!!  Makes it fun!!  We’ve only had a handful of falsies....they were sad...my one that kindled three weeks ago played with her nest for almost two weeks..I had no clue what was going on...lol..they are a hoot!


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## Xerocles (Jan 6, 2020)

Ok. You guys got the new kid wondering and worrying. I understood the nest box went in on day 28, to avoid it being peed and pooped in. That will be this coming Wednesday. Am I behind the curve already? I did notice today that there were two tiny bits of fur in her cage, kinda clumped at one end like they had been pulled.


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## Bunnylady (Jan 6, 2020)

Xerocles said:


> Ok. You guys got the new kid wondering and worrying. I understood the nest box went in on day 28, to avoid it being peed and pooped in. That will be this coming Wednesday. Am I behind the curve already? I did notice today that there were two tiny bits of fur in her cage, kinda clumped at one end like they had been pulled.


Give her a handful of hay, and watch what she does with it. If she tries to gather it all up in her mouth and carries it around ("haystache"), go ahead and give her a box.


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## Xerocles (Jan 6, 2020)

Bunnylady said:


> Give her a handful of hay, and watch what she does with it. If she tries to gather it all up in her mouth and carries it around ("haystache"), go ahead and give her a box.


 will do.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 6, 2020)

Xerocles said:


> Ok. You guys got the new kid wondering and worrying. I understood the nest box went in on day 28, to avoid it being peed and pooped in. That will be this coming Wednesday. Am I behind the curve already? I did notice today that there were two tiny bits of fur in her cage, kinda clumped at one end like they had been pulled.


Yes, I had saw some fur yesterday..so I put in the box.  You’re not behind any curve...lol...she’s young....I’ve been watching her like a hawk...last week, she was...umm...trying to mate with her sister...I still had them together for play time, since they’re bonded and I felt it was fine. but when she was acting like like...I separated her, and started watching...and...well...I saw a clump yesterday but wasn’t sure if it was just...fuzz....I don’t simply breed my bunnies..I play with them and They are my pets....so, if I don’t get everything right... I don’t stress...because, it’s a lot simpler than raising goats!!


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## Bunnylady (Jan 6, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> we were told red..



Seriously? 'Cause it's not even similar - I wonder why they missed so badly? Do a google search for New Zealand Red rabbit - red in the NZ is a bright, even shade all over, somewhere between dark orange and brick red. Some breeds, like the Mini Rex, allow a white/cream belly, but even the belly is red on an NZ (the MR baby in my avatar is actually an Amber, not a Red, but it is fairly close to what a Red looks like)


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 6, 2020)

Xerocles said:


> will do.


Not sure if you remember...doubt you do..but my bunny..slip up..got the hay in her mouth, without pulling fur and she wasn’t supposed to be pregnant..and that’s how I knew!!  But now the babies are adorable and we’re playing with them a ton..Chris always loves when their “thumpers”are bigger than their heads.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jan 6, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> Yes, I had saw some fur yesterday..so I put in the box.  You’re not behind any curve...lol...she’s young....I’ve been watching her like a hawk...last week, she was...umm...trying to mate with her sister...I still had them together for play time, since they’re bonded and I felt it was fine. but when she was acting like like...I separated her, and started watching...and...well...I saw a clump yesterday but wasn’t sure if it was just...fuzz....I don’t simply breed my bunnies..I play with them and They are my pets....so, if I don’t get everything right... I don’t stress...because, it’s a lot simpler than raising goats!!



 ...lots of things are simpler than raising goats...particularly during kidding time...


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## Xerocles (Jan 6, 2020)

Bunnylady said:


> Seriously? 'Cause it's not even similar - I wonder why they missed so badly? Do a google search for New Zealand Red rabbit - red in the NZ is a bright, even shade all over, somewhere between dark orange and brick red. Some breeds, like the Mini Rex, allow a white/cream belly, but even the belly is red on an NZ (the MR baby in my avatar is actually an Amber, not a Red, but it is fairly close to what a Red looks like)


Ok, so it doesnt matter because all kits are going to be terminal. But this is supposed to be NZ red, broken. Tell me?


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## Bunnylady (Jan 6, 2020)

The base color is Red, yes. White on the face, feet and chest like that is typical of the Broken pattern - it's just a little bit more than you see on what  are sometimes called "booted" Brokens. But there also seem to be a lot of white hairs mixed into the colored areas that aren't a typical expression of Broken - possible silvering?


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## Xerocles (Jan 6, 2020)

Bunnylady said:


> The base color is Red, yes. White on the face, feet and chest like that is typical of the Broken pattern - it's just a little bit more than you see on what  are sometimes called "booted" Brokens. But there also seem to be a lot of white hairs mixed into the colored areas that aren't a typical expression of Broken - possible silvering?


You got me. 6 weeks ago, when someone referred to a broken rabbit, I was envisioning vets and casts. I got her cause I wanted a NZ in my terminal breeding program. Kits will be Cali X NZ. They will be called "lunch".


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## Xerocles (Jan 7, 2020)

Xerocles said:


> Ok. You guys got the new kid wondering and worrying. I understood the nest box went in on day 28, to avoid it being peed and pooped in. That will be this coming Wednesday. Am I behind the curve already? I did notice today that there were two tiny bits of fur in her cage, kinda clumped at one end like they had been pulled.


So. I decided to go ahead and put the nest box in a day early. Also gave her a handful of hay on the cage floor, just to see. She began to industriously _eat it. _Apparently it was much tastier than the same hay in her hay rack. But no gathering it in her mouth. But she is fascinated by the nest. In. Rearrange. Out. Rinse. Repeat.
One new tiny bunch of fur on the wire today. If this breeding didn't take and there are no kits come Saturday, (day 31) I am gonna be ONE BUMMED OUT BOY.


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## Bunnylady (Jan 7, 2020)

The rabbit eating the hay isn't an absolute sign that she isn't pregnant, it's more along the lines of, "not today." At the opposite end of the spectrum from my bare naked Wooly was a Harlequin doe that did nothing, absolutely nothing in the way of nest preparation, until mere minutes from the time the kits began arriving. This doe was so disinterested, I thought she must have missed, but I'd had so much bother in getting her bred (this doe insisted on fighting with the buck for a bit before she'd breed, and it took me some time to realize that I had to just grit my teeth, wait her out and hope that nobody got hurt before she was satisfied that the buck was worthy), I gave her a box anyway. By chance, I was in the rabbitry at the time she kindled, and such a flurry of hay gathering and fur pulling you never did see! She was a great mom - one of the ones I had to watch when the kits were tiny, because she was pretty protective - raised good litters with no problems. 

Oh, and don't hold too tightly to that 31 days. I've had does that went 32, even 33 days; if they are carrying only one or two babies, they often go 34 or 35 (though the babies are so big at that point, delivering them takes so long, they usually don't survive). I also had a Holland Lop that gave birth on day 30, every time she kindled. I have had does go as early as day 28 when they were carrying huge litters (12 or more). I've had just a few does that gave birth prematurely; of those, the only litter that survived were born on day 27.


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## Xerocles (Jan 7, 2020)

I think my bunny is a little "confused"? I went ahead and put the nest box in this morning. It was a thing of beauty! Nice little tunnel into a hole in the back. Well packed. Wish I had taken a picture. Then an extra handful of hay on the cage floor for her to give it her "personal" touch (which she ate).
The rain finally stopped and I went outside to get some little things done, and of course, stopped by the rabbits. Her cage looks like I am using the deep litter method for my rabbits! She pulled every bit of the hay out of the nest box. She was sitting in the middle of it, contentedly eating hay! RABBITS! Oh well, if she has the babies today, they certainly won't be "on the wire". There's enough hay spread around her cage, I think kits would be quite comfy.


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## Bunnylady (Jan 7, 2020)

Yep, and now, as she moves around the cage, most of the hay will get kicked through the wire and wind up on the ground beneath the cage. 

Some does seem to think the box is the last place hay should be - they pull every scrap out and experiment with every other corner in the cage - go ahead,  move the box to the one where she piled it, and she will once again un-stuff it and put the hay somewhere else. Sometimes they "get it," sometimes they simply won't; if I have a doe that seems like she just won't use the box when the time comes, I'll do one of two things:

1) put a deep layer of hay throughout her cage (at least 1 "flake" of hay) if the weather is warm

2) put the doe and her nest box in a carrier stuffed with hay, and put the whole arrangement in my hall closet (I call it my "maternity ward"). Most of the time, they put the babies where they belong, but even if they choose another corner, the conditions in the house are mild enough for the litter to survive until I can put them in the nest box.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 7, 2020)

Xerocles said:


> Ok, so it doesnt matter because all kits are going to be terminal. But this is supposed to be NZ red, broken. Tell me?View attachment 68634


The mom looks a little  that. ...at least lighter...I’ll take a picture...I guess I just figured she was the same...


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 7, 2020)

Xerocles said:


> You got me. 6 weeks ago, when someone referred to a broken rabbit, I was envisioning vets and casts. I got her cause I wanted a NZ in my terminal breeding program. Kits will be Cali X NZ. They will be called "lunch".


I love the way you talk..you always crack me up...it’s kind of the way I see it..I chose my bunnies because I liked the way they looked, and the info came later...this is a hobby farm.  Chris has eaten about 4. He says we’re taking these babies to the auction...  rabbits went for $3 at the last auction...I think we’ll just be giving them out to more friends..pretty soon I won’t have friends.


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 7, 2020)

We gave one to my sister in law.  But they already had a very old, mean Rex.  We keep teasing to each other that we’re going to take our buck over for a visit!!


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