# How old are these baby rabbits?



## kukupecpec (Dec 17, 2013)

I am slowly moving into a little homesteading and the next step was rabbits. Before investing in good quality meat rabbits I decided to give the whole raising rabbits thing a try with pet quality rabbit mutts from my feed store. 
The father is the white rabbit Bugsy, Red is the mother (she is blind in one eye, was the only survivor of a bobcat attack as a baby, her old family moved to an apartment and couldn't keep her. I'm a bit of a collector of special needs animals. She is a sweetheart and had had a few litters before I got her so hoped her good mothering instincts would help me start my venture. Don't know her breed though)

I was having trouble getting them to breed, Bugsy chases her around lots but she never seems to let him catch her, so I wasn't expecting a litter. I was doing a little more research on when and how to mate them when I noticed fur around the door of the burrow box. I peeked in and sure enough there were babies! 

So now I am wondering how old they are? (I re-built the box with much easier access so I can better monitor her pregnancies in the future)


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## secuono (Dec 17, 2013)

Two to three weeks.


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## Hens and Roos (Dec 17, 2013)

x2, are they coming in and out of the nest box and trying to nibble mom's food?  Very cute btw!


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## kukupecpec (Dec 17, 2013)

The only one I ever saw out of the box was dead  
I'm not sure what happened, I came out yesterday morning and it was still warm and wasn't stiff, but it was sunken and definitely dead. The other babies are running around in their big box, and when I was fixing the door so I could get in better they were exploring the door out of the box but nobody really ventured out. They are nibbling at the straw though.

Thanks! I'm super excited!


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## secuono (Dec 18, 2013)

I'd start sprinkling some of mom's pellets into the nest so they can eat some and get used to it. Make sure the nest stays clean, it might need new straw in it.
Rabbits die, is she a first time mom? If so, be glad she fed them at all from the start. Many have no idea what to do the first or second time and the litter dies.


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## Hens and Roos (Dec 19, 2013)

I would think that they will  start going in and out of the nest box soon and trying mom's food and mom will encourage that!  Our one doe will actually lay down in front of her dish so the babies can get right in there to eat!  Ours will be 4 weeks on Dec 25th and have been checking everything out!


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## Bunnylady (Dec 19, 2013)

I hope you have another cage ready. If not, you probably ought to start building one right now.

Rabbit does become fertile_ immediately_ after kindling. In fact, this is one of the most fertile times a rabbit will ever experience; litters conceived at this time tend to be large. If the buck was with her at the time she gave birth, the odds are excellent that she re-bred, and is now pregnant. Those babies look about 2 weeks old to me, so you may have another litter born in about another 2 weeks.  You will need to separate the older litter out, or you will likely lose the second litter. 

Mind you, I can't guarantee that the doe is pregnant again, or even that she is due exactly 31 days after those kits were born. Just IME, you know?


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## kukupecpec (Jan 13, 2014)

Dad and twin baby





Out exploring





Enjoying the food bowl mom tipped over for them












Family Dinner


Thanks so much for the info! I need to figure out how to get this site to notify me by email, I saw these messages a little late. Or maybe I just need to visit here lots 

She is a really great momma rabbit. This is also not her first time. She had other litters with her previous owners, this was just her first one with me. I hoped that by having a proven momma rabbit it would make MY first time go a little smoother. I still lost a lot of babies though, it was a shame. Is that normal? Or did I do something wrong? 

The babies are doing GREAT! They are all on solid food and drinking lots of water and have been for a few weeks. I sold them all as pets to earn some money to build a new hutch. I lucked out and got all of them to new homes on the same day so mom could dry up. 

I was unaware of the super-fertility post kindling. I actually had a new litter born TODAY. It's not 31 days after kindling, but it is only 2 weeks after removing the first litter from mom. Is this too soon? I was hoping she would get pregnant again right away, but I don't want it to be TOO close together that it causes her complications. Red seems pretty good about running from Bugsy when he goes to mount her, and he usually leaves her alone pretty quick if she's not having it. I just figured she knows what's best for her.

Last time she had 8 kits  (only 6 survived, one died very early on and another died when I found them, somewhere between 2-3 weeks old is what you guys guessed for age), this time she only has 4. Is this swing in size normal? They also seem quite large to me, but maybe they are supposed to be this big, considering I've never SEEN pinkies in person before. I rooted around in the nest to make sure I wasn't missing any but she definitely only has 4. 
There IS a little blood in the nest. The babies are all fine. I checked Red and she has a little blood weeping from her vulva. Is this normal? They were definitely born in the last 24 hours. I changed the nesting box straw day before yesterday, and yesterday she had made a little nest just with the straw and added a bunch of alfalfa they eat on top, and today when I checked there was a big pile of her fur and it was squirming. Red looked quite healthy other than the little bit of blood, I just want to make sure she is ok. She's been super friendly since having the first litter, I definitely love her and would take her right to the vet if she needed it. 





A little blood on the straw in front





A little blood on the straw to the right


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## Hens and Roos (Jan 14, 2014)

I think it takes a bit for the blood to dry up- but would keep an eye on her just to make sure.  Ours have a bit of blood left in things in the nest but they do clean up pretty good.

So she has had back to back litters?  Is the buck still with her?  If it were me I would remove the buck asap as she might already be pregnant, and having litters this close could overwhelm her.  She would probably benefit from a break.

Good Luck with the babies


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## Bunnylady (Jan 14, 2014)

Yes, newly kindled does usually have a slight discharge for a day or so - nothing to worry about. Babies from numerically small litters usually are a bit larger at birth than those from larger litters, so the size thing is normal, too.

How old is Red? While rabbits are often less fertile during the winter, does tend to become less productive as they age. A doe does her best producing between 6 months and 2 years of age; most tend to show declining numbers after that. Most does are basically infertile by the age of 4, though I have had a few does that still produced well at 6 years of age.


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## kukupecpec (Jan 14, 2014)

I'm glad a little blood is normal. I'll still keep an eye on her but at least I know she should be ok. 
I set up the hutch so they can be separated and still be near each other, there's a large door that separates the hutch in 2. I went ahead and closed it yesterday when I found the litter. I like it because they can still nuzzle through the door. It was supposed to be how I separated the babies from mom so she could dry up, but it works great for this purpose too! 

I'm not sure of Red's age. Her previous owners rescued her from the bobcat and she looked full grown to them then. They had her for about a year. So she may be close to 2. You say the small litter number might be a sign of age? 

What do you guys suggest as a rest time between litters? I have a couple books about raising meat rabbits, but I wasn't able to find anything about how often to breed them or the bit of blood after kindling.


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## Hens and Roos (Jan 14, 2014)

Depends on what your goal is- if you are raising for meat then how much meat do you need? 

We raise meat rabbits and my kids use them as their 4-H projects-last year we only raised 3 litters.  We watch the does to see what condition they are in when litters are weaned.  Some people will breed the does back when current kits are 4 weeks old, wean at 5-6 weeks and the doe gets a little break before the next litter.  We are still figuring out what works for us so our does get a month or so between litters.

Typically depending on your weather and how hot it gets there-you would probably want to let the doe be litter free for those months.  Also the buck may not be fertile during the hotter months.


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## kukupecpec (Jan 15, 2014)

I would like to produce as much as possible without harming the breeders - they are also our pets, we adore them. Personality is just as important as the meat to us. 

That might explain why it took this long for her to HAVE a litter. They have been living together since June! But I live in Tucson AZ so summers here are 100+ degrees. The bunnies get ice bottles and have a nice misting system, they seem pretty content, but no babies. 

I would really like to get another doe. Will Bugsy's relationship with Red be affected with the addition of a new doe? She would be housed separately. Or could it affect his mating with the new doe?


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## P.O. in MO (Jan 16, 2014)

I don't think Bugsy will mind a new doe, he probably wishes you had more.  I breed about like Hens and Roos, waiting until mine are weaned before breeding back but I have 4 does so I am not pressed very hard for production.  Since you are where you can't breed in the heat I would definitely breed back pretty quick in the months that your rabbits are productive.


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## kukupecpec (Jan 17, 2014)

Do you think it would make much of a difference to Red if I took Bugsy out to breed other does and then put him back in his hutch with Red? I'd definitely like to keep them together even when I get more ladies for him, but I certainly don't want anyone to get hurt.


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## Bunnylady (Jan 17, 2014)

Depends. If Bugsy smells enough like the other doe, Red may attack him for smelling strange (I've seen does do this to their own babies when the kids took more than one litter out to play with them). You would certainly have to take him out, though - you can't put a strange doe in Red's cage. You also don't want to put Bugsy in another doe's cage, or _she _may attack him!


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## kukupecpec (Jan 18, 2014)

Red actually lived in a "community" setting before she came here with 2 other does and 1 buck. It was just a small apartment porch. They each had their own cage that they nested in and would get their food portions but the cage doors were always open to the small porch so they all hung out. She was at the bottom of the pecking order, the other does would attack her if she got too close to the buck, and they would reject the buck after he would spend time with her, but she never attacked anyone. I'm hoping this will keep her from attacking Bugsy after mating... but I will put him behind the wire wall after the first time JUST to be sure. Not that I have a new doe yet or anything haha still working on building a new hutch for the future doe. 
I have a medium dog crate I was putting Bugsy and Red in so Bugsy could catch her to mate, I think that would probably work just fine for a new doe  since now that it's cooled down Bugsy and Red are mating all on their own so Red would never have to be in the crate. 

My rabbit information is pretty jumbled between "house rabbits" and meat production. I know for meat production people tend to keep all their rabbits in small cages for better use of space. But the pet/house rabbit people are very adamant about the big roomy cages with lots to do and space to run and play. Is there a reason I SHOULDN'T give my breeders that big run around and play space if I have it? I plan on using the smaller modular type cages to raise the babies that we are going to eat, but the breeders are our pets that we like to play with and spoil so we get production AND the fun part of playing with a pet bunny. I just wondered if the small space saving cages have a purpose in meat production beyond just maximizing the space used?


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## Hens and Roos (Jan 19, 2014)

I guess the best thing I can say is you'll have to try and see what works best for you and your situation.  It maybe take you a bit until you get your system down.  As long as you make sure the rabbits aren't hurting each other that is probably the main thing.  Good Luck and kept us updated.


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## P.O. in MO (Jan 19, 2014)

kukupecpec said
" Is there a reason I SHOULDN'T give my breeders that big run around and play space if I have it? I plan on using the smaller modular type cages to raise the babies that we are going to eat, but the breeders are our pets that we like to play with and spoil so we get production AND the fun part of playing with a pet bunny. I just wondered if the small space saving cages have a purpose in meat production beyond just maximizing the space used?"

Not in anything I can remember reading.  I would love to have space for my breeders to run around but I do keep them in 30 x 36 cages.  I don't think there is any other purpose in the smaller cages other than maximizing space use.


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## Bossroo (Jan 19, 2014)

It is NOT a good idea to let the male and female rabbits run together... very POOR management.   The doe  is fertile within a day of giving birth, witch means that the newborns will be just over 30 days old when the doe will give birth to the next litter.  You will have very poor growth to both litters, if not the loss of one or the other litter . Also, the doe will be in very thin / poor condition.  It is best to keep the buck in his own cage, and when you want another litter, take the doe to the buck's cage for breeding.


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## P.O. in MO (Jan 19, 2014)

I agree with Bossroo. I think more space is good but definitely separated by sex .  I think even intense breeding doesn't allow breeding back before the kits are about 4 weeks old.


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## kukupecpec (Jan 23, 2014)

I would like to have a colony type system, where they bucks and does all run together. Theoretically the doe should only become pregnant when she is ready, right? If not, how do those systems work? 
I don't know how well my current system going to work, but I'm hoping to have a kind of hybrid of the cage and colony ideas. I like maximizing my space by stacking/using levels because I don't have a ton of space, but I also want to give especially the breeders the freedom to run around and enjoy their lives as producers as well as pets.


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## Support (Jan 23, 2014)

kukupecpec said:


> Dad and twin baby
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Hey @kukupecpec! Your Momma Rabbit is doing great. 

Btw, to receive email notifications, you can follow these steps:

1.) In the reply portion, click "More Options"





2.) Check the "receive email notifications" option






Hope this is helpful to you!


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## kukupecpec (Jan 23, 2014)

Oh awesome!!!! Thank you! I'm still getting the hang of this forum. I'm an avid BYCer so I figured this one would be much the same just different animals. I was right! Everyone is super helpful!


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## kukupecpec (Jan 23, 2014)

Alright got it!


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## Hens and Roos (Jan 30, 2014)

kukupecpec said:


> I would like to have a colony type system, where they bucks and does all run together. Theoretically the doe should only become pregnant when she is ready, right? If not, how do those systems work?
> I don't know how well my current system going to work, but I'm hoping to have a kind of hybrid of the cage and colony ideas. I like maximizing my space by stacking/using levels because I don't have a ton of space, but I also want to give especially the breeders the freedom to run around and enjoy their lives as producers as well as pets.



I know someone who has the colony system, she has the does all together and keeps the bucks separate in cages within the colony.  She only lets the buck out to breed, that way she is able to keep track of when does are due to kindle and who are the parents of each litter.


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## jhough42 (Feb 1, 2014)

Congrats on being a new rabbit producer!  That is so exciting...how funny that she raised most of her first litter without you even knowing they were there! 


Just a few words from a seasoned breeder, take them as you will. I would house your doe and buck separately and only put them together for a day or two when you are ready to breed her again.  While it may seem to make sense that "momma knows best", those bucks can be very persistent about chasing the doe and while she is raising a litter, that's one more thing that will wear her out.  If you have a fairly young doe (6 months-2 years) in good productive health, you can breed her back-to-back a few times a year safely, but keep a close eye on her health and litter health.  Typical rotations would be to breed her again when her litter is 4 weeks old, wean the litter at 6 weeks, and then she'll have the new litter eight weeks from the last bunch.  If you're not raising them for meat, there's no reason to breed her more than 2-3 times a year though. I agree with several other statements that leaving the bucks in the colony - if that's how you choose to raise them - is very poor practice.  It's harmful to everyone's health.  


If you raise them on the ground, you will want to do regular fecal smears with your vet.  Because domestic rabbits have been housed off the ground for so long, they are very susceptible to parasites.  Very little research has been done on safe medications for rabbits, so prevention is best in my book.  After your first round of ear mites, coccidiosis, or a bad set of internal parasites, you may rethink colony raising.  :-(  


You should look into a membership with the American Rabbit Breeder's Association!  It comes with a wonderful little starter book on rabbit breeds and husbandry, and a subscription to a great bi-monthly magazine that's full of great info.  Check out arba.net!  Feel free to message me if you have any questions.  I'm always available to be of help.


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