# Aggressive doe?



## Fishychix (Dec 28, 2020)

My doe had kits on the wire and they did not survive. This has been about three weeks ago. We did not rebreed her yet. However, she never minded being touched and petted but ever since she lost the kits she has been very grouchy. She will let me sort of touch her, but not let me really pet her. I do want to rebreed her but not if she has turned aggressive. She is eating and drinking a lot but has not exhibited other signs of still being pregnant on the other side. I’m not sure whats going on 🤷🏻‍♀️


----------



## nuthatched (Dec 29, 2020)

Does she have full "udders"? (I don't know the professional name) that could be causing discomfort.
She could be pregnant in the other horn or hormonal. I suppose you'll see for sure soon.


----------



## Nao57 (Dec 29, 2020)

It could be she spent too much money on credit cards and is now throwing up a fuss to make her man/sugar daddy pay for it. 

'If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy'.


----------



## promiseacres (Dec 29, 2020)

Probably hormones. I would rebreed.


----------



## Nao57 (Dec 29, 2020)

promiseacres said:


> Probably hormones. I would rebreed.


How long would it take hormones to be reset or settle?


----------



## promiseacres (Dec 29, 2020)

sometimes never...some does are happier bred. many get "grumpy" around the time they mature. Not all. several of our Mini rex does are like this, they got better after they had and raised a litter. Just not super into being handled but good mamas. One reason experienced breeders know that bucks usually are better pets.


----------



## Fishychix (Dec 29, 2020)

nuthatched said:


> Does she have full "udders"? (I don't know the professional name) that could be causing discomfort.
> She could be pregnant in the other horn or hormonal. I suppose you'll see for sure soon.


Teats, I think. I havent checked. Im not a fan of those razorblades they call teeth. I did think she may be pregnant on the other side and have been keeping an eye on her, but I dont believe thats the case. 


Nao57 said:


> It could be she spent too much money on credit cards and is now throwing up a fuss to make her man/sugar daddy pay for it.
> 
> 'If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy'.


Hmm 🤔 interesting theory, but probably not 😹


promiseacres said:


> sometimes never...some does are happier bred. many get "grumpy" around the time they mature. Not all. several of our Mini rex does are like this, they got better after they had and raised a litter. Just not super into being handled but good mamas. One reason experienced breeders know that bucks usually are better pets.


Yes, they do seem to be the calm ones usually. 

I will rebreed her soon.


----------



## Ella carpenter (Dec 29, 2020)

My does get moody when they wanna be re bred. I would re breed her.


----------



## Ridgetop (Jan 6, 2021)

promiseacres said:


> sometimes never...some does are happier bred. many get "grumpy" around the time they mature. Not all. several of our Mini rex does are like this, they got better after they had and raised a litter. Just not super into being handled but good mamas. One reason experienced breeders know that bucks usually are better pets.





Ella carpenter said:


> My does get moody when they wanna be re bred. I would re breed her.



Does are notorious for turning grouchy (nasty in some cases) after they reach breeding age.  Her hormones are telling her to reproduce NOW.  There is nothing you can do to "settle her down" other than breed her and keep her bred.  Bucks are much calmer, make better pets, and are all around easier to handle.

Rebreed her immediately.  Does are the most fertile right after kindling.  They calm down a little while feeding a litter.  Since your doe had hers on the wire and they died all she has is her urge to rebreed.  So she is acting nasty.  This is because in the wild the doe produces a litter, immediately rebreeds, and abandons her previous litter at 4 weeks old. just before kindling again.  There is a reason rabbits are at the bottom of the food chain.  They produce lots of young very rapidly to keep predators fed.  

Breed her and keep her bred and producing.


----------



## Niele da Kine (Jan 27, 2021)

Back to back litters, though, can be tough on a doe after a few litters.  We let ours have their litter and then wean them at around four weeks with another month of rest after before rebreeding.  That gives the doe recuperation time, especially if she was feeding a large litter and lost weight and condition.  However, ours are a wool breed (angora) so we keep the same rabbits for years and years.  Also, they don't get too moody between litters which for your doe is the current problem.  Since she didn't feed a litter and it's already been a few weeks, rebreed her and see if she settles down.


----------



## Fishychix (Jan 27, 2021)

Niele da Kine said:


> Back to back litters, though, can be tough on a doe after a few litters.  We let ours have their litter and then wean them at around four weeks with another month of rest after before rebreeding.  That gives the doe recuperation time, especially if she was feeding a large litter and lost weight and condition.  However, ours are a wool breed (angora) so we keep the same rabbits for years and years.  Also, they don't get too moody between litters which for your doe is the current problem.  Since she didn't feed a litter and it's already been a few weeks, rebreed her and see if she settles down.


we did manage it finally on Saturday. She was NOT having it so we tried again after dark and with lettuce 🤣🤣🤣
We had two fall offs. Yay! Poor Spyro! He was SO patient with her 
We bred our other doe too, so 🤞🤞🤞


----------



## Niele da Kine (Jan 29, 2021)

Did he make any noise when he fell off?  We had one who would yodel, strangest bun, ever.  Then he'd lay there stunned for a bit, then get up and stomp around letting everyone know "he's the Bun!  He's the Bun!" while the doe would just roll her eyes.


----------



## Ridgetop (Jan 29, 2021)

If you are doing an intensive breeding program like I was you need to increase your pellet to an 18% protein.  Then there is no problem with condition loss.  I forgot to add that we also used a grain mix that we made ourselves and fed 2 ounces in the am to each rabbit.  We bought the ingredients in 50 lb. bags, used an old cement mixer to mix it, and stored it in 50 gallon metal barrels.

Here is the nursing doe & litter formula:

50 lbs. Rolled oats (to avoid the regular oats falling through the screen bottoms in the feeders)
50 lbs. Barley
20 lbs. Calf Manna
25 lbs. Sunflower seeds

For growers, bucks, and show stock:

50 lbs. Rolled oats
25 lbs. Barley
25 lbs. Sunflower seeds

Occasionally we would toss in about 10 lbs. of goat feed per recipe.  Not much because of the molasses content, but it would help to control the fines.

FYI:  If we ever had rabbits with the runs, I would pull all grain, cut the pellets in half and give them a crock of plain wood shavings for fiber. It cleared up the runs.  Chopped straw would do the same thing probably.  I also used to toss a square block of 2x4" scrap pine into the cages for them to chew on.  This was particularly good for the bucks that got bored, occasionally I would screw a small screweye into a piece and hang it from the roof of the cage with a chain for the bucks to play with.  Even in a large meat operation I occasionally gave a treat.  LOL  The does were busy raising litters, but grower replacement stock would also get a chunk to chew and toss around their cage.  As well I used to cut and give them a 9" x 14" piece of gypsum wallboard to sit on.  That is meat rabbit size - you can adjust for small breeds in smaller cages.  If it got too messy with urine or poop stains I turned it over.  When they had chewed that too small, I replaced it with another.  *WARNING:  DO NOT USE GREEN OR PURPLE TREATED* drywall board.  The treatment chemical is toxic.  You can often get scraps or broken drywall sheets for free or a couple dollars.  Use a utility knife to score one side, bend on the cut, and it will break evenly.  Then take that long piece and score it into the smaller pieces, breaking each off as you go.  Super fast and easy.  I used to cut the entire piece u and store the cut portions in a box easy to replace in each cage when needed.


----------



## Fishychix (Jan 29, 2021)

Niele da Kine said:


> Did he make any noise when he fell off?  We had one who would yodel, strangest bun, ever.  Then he'd lay there stunned for a bit, then get up and stomp around letting everyone know "he's the Bun!  He's the Bun!" while the doe would just roll her eyes.


Nothing noticeable, maybe a small grunt.  Definitely no yodeling


----------



## Fishychix (Jan 29, 2021)

Ridgetop said:


> If you are doing an intensive breeding program like I was you need to increase your pellet to an 18% protein.  Then there is no problem with condition loss.  I forgot to add that we also used a grain mix that we made ourselves and fed 2 ounces in the am to each rabbit.  We bought the ingredients in 50 lb. bags, used an old cement mixer to mix it, and stored it in 50 gallon metal barrels.
> 
> Here is the nursing doe & litter formula:
> 
> ...


Never thought of drywall at all. 
Right now, I’m just doing a couple of litters and keeping things small. I dont have a space that I can setup for anything bigger. I cant really do my own feed and there arent any feed mills around here unless you count the Purina plant 
I will keep all this in mind though, so thank you 😻


----------

