# babies!



## chickenchaps (Jan 27, 2012)

I finally got some babies!  I have NZ white does and a Calif/NZ red buck.

One doe had 11 babies on Monday (or sunday night) day 31 (or late day 30).  
My other doe just now had 2 HUGE babies last night thursday day 34.  

Can doe one feed 11 babies ok?  or can I put some of her babies with doe 2? 

Being that they are so many days apart, would that be bad to do?  
(and I cant do anything today, I have to leave for the day and be home late tonight, so if I moved any, it would be either late tonight or tomorrow)

Any advice appreciated!  Thanks!


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## oneacrefarm (Jan 27, 2012)

chickenchaps said:
			
		

> I finally got some babies!  I have NZ white does and a Calif/NZ red buck.
> 
> One doe had 11 babies on Monday (or sunday night) day 31 (or late day 30).
> My other doe just now had 2 HUGE babies last night thursday day 34.
> ...


You could take the two or three smallest ones from the mom with 11 and foster them to the doe with two. That would certainly help even the load.


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## Citylife (Jan 27, 2012)

I totally agree with oneacrefarm.........  I have done it many times and it sure saves the first momma from over-load.
Congrats! on your new babies.


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## AZ Rabbits (Jan 27, 2012)

8 is the optimal number in a litter. I'd foster over at least 3 babies to the mother who had 2.


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## flemish lops (Jan 27, 2012)

I agree with the above, and congrats on the litters!


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## chickenchaps (Jan 27, 2012)

Great!  Thanks folks!    There will be no concern of the foster mom harming the new additions?  I am so worried she will hurt the new ones...

btw, how many teats does a rabbit have?

Want pictures?  or seen one seen them all?  I think they look so alien!  lol  

I appreciate the responses!


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## brentr (Jan 27, 2012)

Large breed rabbit does usually have 8 teats, they run from right up under their front legs all the way down to their hind legs - four on each side.

Rabbits usually feed early morning and at dusk; I've had the best luck fostering kits into a litter by moving them right AFTER the morning feeding.  That way all kits are fed, and momma won't be checking the nest for a while.  Gives the new additions time to wriggle around with the existing kits and pick up/exchange scent, so when the momma comes back to feed in the evening, all is well.

Some people swear by the trick of rubbing a drop of vanilla extract on the doe's nose so that all she can smell is that scent for quite a while, and not anything new in the nest.

Since your kits are only a few days apart, you shouldn't have any troubles.  The sooner the better, though.


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## chickenchaps (Jan 28, 2012)

Ok, I moved 3 babies from Reeba and gave to Hops.  Crossing fingers now that they will be ok.   

Thanks for the advice!  

Reeba's 11 babies






Hops' 2 Big babies


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## TherapyBunnies (Jan 28, 2012)

So Cute


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## Genipher (Jan 28, 2012)

I love all the different colors!

How has the fostering gone so far?


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## chickenchaps (Jan 29, 2012)

So far no problems at all!    I checked on them several times yesterday and just went out this morning and all is well.  
Thanks for all the help! 

What color will they turn out?  How is it I got 3 colors, actually 4?  The white, tan, one brown, and black.


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## Bunnylady (Jan 29, 2012)

Actually, you have at least 5 colors!

Rabbit coat color is a complicated business - I've seen entire books on the subject. But I'll try to make my answer short.

The NZ Whites are a color know as Ruby-eyed White. Genetically, it is the true albino; the gene that codes for it occurs on the C locus. A "locus" is the particular place in the genetic code where a particular gene is found. There are lots of other loci (locations) where genes that influence rabbit color are found. Because the gene causing the Ruby-eyed White  color shuts down production of all pigment that would go into the coat, you can't tell what the other genes the REW rabbit has code for. When you breed the REW to something else, you can get all kinds of surprises!

The "brown" baby is a Chestnut, sometimes called a "Chestnut Agouti." It has an Agouti gene at the A locus. Agouti patterned rabbits have white bellies, white around the eyes, white inside the ears, white around the nostrils and under the jaw, white between their toes and white on the bottom of the tail. The body hairs on agouti patterned rabbits are banded with color, having black on the tip, then a band of yellow, then blue-gray at the base of the hair. 

The solid black babies are likely just that, solid black (called self black, black selfs, or just black!). They are "self" at the A locus, so they don't show the agouti "trim." They might turn out to be steels (steel does turn up in NZ or Cali crosses) though I'd expect to see some ticking at this point, and I don't.

The white babies will most likely turn out to have dark noses, ears, feet and tails ("points") like a Californian. That color is called Himilayan, or Himi for short. Himi also occurs on the C locus; there are at least 5 (some say 6) genes in the C series. Every rabbit has 2 genes in each series (one that came from the mother, one from the father), whether they are the same or different forms depends on what the parents had. The REW mother has 2 copies of the REW form - you can be sure of that, because REW is the most recessive form in this series. The only way you see the color coded for by a recessive gene, is when there isn't a more dominant gene present in that animal. The father in this cross is expressing the full-color form (C), you said he's a red. Assuming one of his parent was a purebred Cali, then he got a Himi gene from that parent. Himi is recessive, it is "outranked" by every other gene in the series except the REW. If the babies don't get the dark points, then the Cali was carrying REW, and had an outcross not too far back. Himis may show the white trim of an agouti around the nostrils, under the tail, and in the other pigmented areas on their coats.

The "tan" babies are actually two different colors. There is at least one that has dark insides to its ears - that color is a tort. The ones with light insides to their ears are reds or oranges. Tort/red/orange occurs on the E locus. There is a gene, called the non-extension gene, that sharply limits the amount of black pigment that shows up in the coat. It pushes the black tipping of the agouti almost completely off the hair, revealing the yellow/red color underneath - giving you a red/orange. Selfs have more black pigment in their coats (without the agouti gene to remove it from some areas) so a self-patterned rabbit with the non-extension gene winds up as a tort.

And this is a short answer!!???


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## Erins Little Farm (Jan 29, 2012)

AWWWW soo cute!!


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## chickenchaps (Jan 30, 2012)

WOW!  What a great explanation BunnyLady!!!  I love genetics.  Its fascinating!    I am anxious for them to get fuzzy now.    I love all the colors.   

Thank you for taking the time to explain all that.


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## chickenchaps (Feb 11, 2012)

So far so good!  I moved 3 of the 11 and gave to the doe that only had 2.  The move was successful, everybody is happy.  They are just so cute! 

Thanks so much for the advice.  

















They grow SO fast!


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## hollymh (Feb 11, 2012)

chickenchaps said:
			
		

> So far so good!  I moved 3 of the 11 and gave to the doe that only had 2.  The move was successful, everybody is happy.  They are just so cute!
> 
> Thanks so much for the advice.
> 
> ...


 I NEED baby buns! They are sooo precious!


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## Mamaboid (Feb 11, 2012)

Oh wow....talk about cuteness overload.  Yup, gonna have to get me some waskilly wabbits.


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## PinkFox (Feb 11, 2012)

beautiful, im IN LOVE with that red baby right in the center! sooo pretty!


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## zzGypsy (Feb 12, 2012)

PinkFox said:
			
		

> beautiful, im IN LOVE with that red baby right in the center! sooo pretty!


the one with the racing stripes?  what color is that?


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## chickenchaps (Feb 12, 2012)

zzGypsy said:
			
		

> PinkFox said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think, according to BunnyLady's reply earlier, that one is a Chestnut Agouti.  ???  

This is the other nest of babies.  One of these "tort/red/orange" has alot of gray underneath.  I guess it is the "tort".  The other red/orange ones have the white...   






Here is the dad, just for kicks.
Both moms are pure white.


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## SarahMelisse (Feb 12, 2012)

Awww! The red/oranges are so stinkin' cute! I hope I get a red kit in the nest box soon..


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## billyandtimmyplace (Feb 28, 2012)

exciting! i loved getting my first two babies from Angel!


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