Breed Now or Wait?

[brentr]

Have you been free feeding her since she kindled??
If you have, it's strange that she would become thin. Her bowl should rarely be empty if there are kits with her.
I would wonder if you should deworm her or do a better check of her to see if she could be sick before thinking about breeding her.

You can breed her now and just free feed until the next litter is being weaned.

My kits self wean starting at 3 weeks old, that is if they are on pasture. In a hanging cage, they start around 4wks. But some kits will harass mom for milk until you separate them. 4wks is the minimum, if the kits are not eating the pellets properly and showing sickness of any kind, leave them with mom longer.

I have been free feeding since kindling the previous litter, and I supplement her with 2 tbl oats & 2 tbl calf manna daily. Her condition is starting to come back. I've wondered about the worms myself, but have never found any on her bottom or in her waste (and I've examined *very* fresh pellets) so I'm not sure it is worms (still thinking of worming just to be sure) but not sure it is not, either! All other signs are good - she's active, good coat, good appetite, etc.

My best guess at this point is still that she just put all her energy and calories into milk production. She is a very heavy producer, been that way with every litter. That is part of what makes her a great doe for me.

I like the suggestion of breeding and continuing the free feeding. Maybe a bit more rest and if she is still improving, I'll do that.

 

[lexibot]

Depends on how desperately you need the babies, and how much you need your mommy rabbit.

Personally, it would be best if she got to rest if you think she's not up to it. Get her back up to parr, then try her again. I don't know how many babies she'd had, but if it's more than 10, she's just completely tuckered out, and should have the rest.